While in Portugal earlier this year I was very privileged to be granted access to an intact Neolithic barrowwith a full set of contemporary paintings inside its main chamber. This was made possible by the kind assistance of the Museum de Oliveira de Frades and Filipe Soares who was so generous with his time and expertise.
The Anta Pintada de Anteles - the painted dolmen of Anteles - was built between 3500 and 4000 BCE in what is now the Viseu district of northern Portugal. It is round in shape and houses a single chamber at the end of an entrance tunnel, unlike the surviving long barrows common in England.
A set of paintings decorate the chamber, with each stone telling a story - if only we could understand them. A sensitive depiction of a human figure peers round a corner, flanked by zig zag patterns, while what appears to be a shaman stands next to a possible totem pole or staff. They are wearing a cloak and a fringed set of headgear, delicately brushed onto the rock surface.
This type of ritual garb has actually been found during excavations, notably at Bad Dürrenberg in Germany, with the "fringe" made from small bones. To see it depicted inside a burial chamber, carefully brushed by someone almost 6000 years ago, was an unforgettable experience.
A depiction of the sun can be seen next, and more wavy stripes that might represent rivers. One possible interpretation of the whole thing is that this is the journey of the dead, instructions for their travel into the otherworld. They begin as the standing figure on the left, between two rivers, then the shaman presides over their passing over, before they are greeted by the sun and the same two rivers as they are reborn. The chamber entrance is aligned directly with the sunrise.
While the interior of the anta is quite damp, the paint survived as most of it contained iron oxides and other mineral compounds, rather than organic substances, but the entrance is now protected by a locked door with access only granted by special arrangement. This may seem a little extreme to some but I don't know how else the authorities can protect this ancient art. A similar site to the south of the country was ruined by hunters sheltering inside the chamber who lit fires to create a makeshift sauna, the smoke and flames damaging the paintings irreparably.
While the people of Portugal are very respectful of their ancient sites I can't say the same for every tourist, as we have seen with vandalism carried out in Rome, at Stonehenge and many other places.
While the metal door does jar with the atmosphere of the site, I was pleased to be told by Sr Soares that the floors of both the chamber and the path up to the door are original, exactly as paved all those millenia ago.
Not an experience I'll forget in a hurry, and one of dozens of Neolithic sites in very good condition around the Viseu area. This is why I take my holidays here every year, and I recommend the north of Portugal to any megalith aficianado looking for a holiday destination with a difference. On the day I visited the Anta de Pintada I went to five stunning dolmens within a few hours!
I look at the dolmens and barrows of Britain a little differently now, we can be fairly sure that they were probably decorated in a similar way but the damp air, acidic soil and different substances used for pigments are probably the reasons why none of their art has survived. With this in mind we must do our utmost to protect what we have left of our ancient sites, and not tolerate rubbish and careless vandalism.
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