Cromeleque de Vale de Maria do Meio

About

The Vale Maria do Meio Cromlech is a megalithic stone circle situated in Évora district in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is believed to date back to the fifth millennium BCE or earlier, and is classified as a National Monument. The Vale Maria do Meio cromlech is located in an area with a significant number of megalithic monuments.

It is about one kilometer south of the Antas da Valeira, two neolithic dolmen or megalithic tombs, and 1.5km to the east of the Portela de Mogos Cromlech. The Almendres Cromlech, a major megalithic site, is about ten kilometers to the southwest. The cromlech was identified in 1993 by a team of students from the University of Lisbon, led by Manuel Calado.

Excavations in 1995, sponsored by the local authority and led by Prof. Calado, identified 34 granite menhirs, which are predominantly oval in shape and have an average height of 1.74 meters. They are believed to have come from a granite outcrop to the south of the site.

Suggesting an astronomical purpose, the stones form an east-west elongated arch, which is about 37 meters long and 25 meters wide, with the largest monoliths being placed at the highest point of the site, to the west.