Back in April we explored the
Visigoth rock tombs in the Sierra Martilla (click to see that post) but cleverly managed to totally miss the spectacular, 5000 - 6000 year old dolmens there.
The entire, extensive, necropolis site was used from the late Stone Age , though most dolmens date from the Copper Age which followed, and then through Iberian, Roman and Visigoth times although the burial styles changed. It lies on a plateau of calcareous sandstone surrounded by olive groves, and on the right bank of the Rio Genil and is easily approached by parking on the roadside and following a track up the hill, past a ruined farmhouse (a "reform" opportunity?!) to a small wooden sign.
If you turn off left here and wander around you will find plenty of Visigoth tombs, excavated in the bedrock and, incidentally, displaying cross stratification in the shelly sandstone. The rock is well cemented and has withstood weathering well though I'm not clear if it was excavated, or the tombs were robbed. Certainly nothing remains in them.
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| Visigoth rock tombs. The bedding plan of the rock slopes down to the left and the tombs are also on a slope. Feet downhill? |
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| Single "bath-tub" Visigoth tombs. |
The Visigoth settlement was gradually depopulated and eventually abandoned, leaving the necropolis.
We'd seen all this before however, and our object this time was to find the earliest dolmens! On the previous occasion we'd followed the ridge north, and also looked to the south of the Visigoth tombs, but failed to notice a fence on the edge of a small cliff on the west side. Following this north, looking for a gap, we saw that there was a fair sized level ledge below us and, a little further on we found a track which led down to a gate in the fence. Eureka! Not only that, but the gate wasn't locked so we were able to let ourselves into the fenced area to have a look.
The area has been laid out with explanatory boards, and also some botanic notes about the trees that grow there - but we are going to have to go yet again to have a proper look at those - much too excited by the dolmens to pay the biology much attention.
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The downhill side of the ledge is steep crags, and partly fenced off.
There are wonderful views to the Sierras south west of Loja! |
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| A rather battered information board helps orientation |
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| Immediately below us, by the road, are two further dolmens - one on the little knoll to the left, one to the right of the little white sign board. The fertile Genil Valley lies between those and lower hills |
Once we had appreciated the view it was time to take a look at the dolmens. An information board told us that there are several types:
- Chamber and corridor
- Artificial cave/modified natural cave
- Artificial cave and megalith
- Simple tombs sculpted horizontally beneath the ground
- Double and triple chambers
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| This example seemed to have several chambers leading into each other, and the remnant of a capstone on the furthest. |
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| A simple chamber with a corridor leading to it. |
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| Peering inside the chamber we found a swallow's nest on the ceiling! |
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| This tomb (below as well from a different angle) seemed to be made up of several linked chambers |
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| The linked chambers from a different angle, plus capstone |
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| There's more on a lower terrace reached by scrambling down a rocky gully |
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| This seems just to be a recess in the rock face |
After a good look around the ledge (which was obviously improved at least by the users as it had been cut back into a square shape at the back) we went back to the car and drove around to find the other dolmens at the foot of the hill.
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| From here we could look back up to the crags we had just been exploring |
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| The signboard we'd seen from the top showed us where one dolmen is |
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| This seems quite sophisticated! Several chambers and one capstone in place still. It looks, from the ditch to the right, as though it has been excavated. |
The second, larger dolmen is on the small hill but a bit of a scramble up so, "dolmened out" we decided to head back to Ventorros de San Jose for a beer - it was a warm day, heading for 30°C!
