Bibcode
Belmonte, J. A.; César González-García, A.; Hoskin, Michael
Referencia bibliográfica
IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, #2227079
Fecha de publicación:
8
2015
Número de citas
0
Número de citas referidas
0
Descripción
Seven-stone antas are a group of megalithic monuments that were built in
the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula for a period of some one thousand
years in the 4th millennium B.C. They were constructed with a
pattern of orientations that certainly situate them among the oldest
monuments on Earth with undisputable astronomical orientations. They
were built in an extended area of the present day regions of Alentejo,
in Portugal and Extremadura, in Spain. The presence of such impressive,
extremely old monuments at both sides of the Spanish-Portuguese frontier
and their reliability as an extremely important Case Study for the
UNESCO Astronomical Heritage initiative makes of this particular set of
megalithic tombs a good opportunity as a paradigm for serial
nominations. We believe that seven-stone antas as a group, and
especially a particularly well-preserved set of them in the area of
Valencia de Alcántara (Spain) and central Alentejo (Portugal),
deserve recognition within the framework of the astronomical world
heritage initiative. This would certainly serve for guarantee the
protection of the sites for any possible challenge in the future and for
gaining a deserved recognition among society. Interestingly, at the
other extreme of the Mediterranean, in the Transjordan plateau there are
some of the largest and most attractive groups of dolmens of the Levant,
fully comparable to the best western exemplars. The orientations of 180
dolmens were measured, allowing the study of the astronomical aspect of
the megalithic phenomena in the region. In this case, EBA populations
orientated their tombs according to the sky, providing a 2nd potential
case for serial nomination. However, in contrast to Iberia, we should
stress that it is especially troubling that specialists in the Levant
are now faced with the rapid destruction of Jordan’s megalithic
heritage due to the huge quarries that are expanding as a plague. It is
indeed necessary to increase the interest through UNESCO promotion on
these beautiful and extremely interesting monuments. They may be
seriously protected as soon as possible by local authorities before it
is too late.