Antequera Dolmens Site

Top choice in Antequera


Antequera's two earth-covered burial mounds – the Dolmen de Menga and the Dolmen de Viera – were built out of megalithic stones by Bronze Age people around 2500 BC. When they were rediscovered in 1903, they were found to be harbouring the remains of several hundred bodies. Considered to be some of the finest Neolithic monuments in Europe, they were named a Unesco World Heritage site in 2016.

Prehistoric people of the Bronze Age transported dozens of huge slabs from the nearby hills to construct these burial chambers. The stone frames were covered with mounds of earth. The engineering implications for the time are astonishing. Menga, the larger, is 25m long, 4m high and composed of 32 slabs, the largest of which weighs 180 tonnes. In midsummer the sun rising behind the Peña de los Enamorados hill to the northeast shines directly into the chamber mouth.

The dolmens are located 1km from the town centre in a small, wooded park beside the road that leads northeast to the A45. Head down Calle Encarnación from the central Plaza de San Sebastián and follow the signs. A third chamber, the Dolmen del Romeral, is 4km further out of town.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Antequera attractions

1. Iglesia del Carmen

0.66 MILES

Only the most jaded would fail to be impressed by the Iglesia del Carmen and its marvellous 18th-century Churrigueresque retablo (altarpiece)…

2. Museo Conventual de las Descalzas

0.71 MILES

This museum, in the 17th-century convent of the Carmelitas Descalzas (barefoot Carmelites), approximately 150m east of the town’s Museo de la Ciudad de…

3. Museo de la Ciudad de Antequera

0.84 MILES

Antequera's town-centre municipal museum displays an impressive collection of Roman artifacts from the surrounding area, including glassware, jewelry,…

4. Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor

0.84 MILES

Just below the Alcazaba is the large 16th-century Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor. This church-college played an important part in Andalucía’s 16th…

5. Alcazaba

0.88 MILES

Favoured by the Granada emirs of Islamic times, Antequera’s hilltop Moorish fortress has a fascinating history and covers a massive 62,000 sq metres. The…

6. Dolmen del Romeral

0.95 MILES

This megalithic burial site was constructed around 1800 BC and features much use of small stones for its walls. To get here, continue 2.5km past the town…

8. Centro de Visitantes José A Valverde

13.18 MILES

You can watch an informative film about the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra flamingos and peruse some small exhibits at this helpful lakeside visitor centre…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "spain/andalucia/antequera/attractions/antequera-dolmens-site/a/poi-sig/1206989/1313832",
      "destination": "Antequera",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Spain",
      "region": "Andalucía",
      "city": "Antequera",
      "position": "superzone"
    }