Evaluation of megalithic remains
Introduction
The Site of the Antequera dolmens is a cultural asset made up of a series of three cultural monuments (Menga dolmen, Viera dolmen and El Romeral tholos)[1] and two natural monuments (La Peña de los Enamorados and El Torcal)[2] present in the Spanish municipality of Antequera, province of Málaga. The cultural institution responsible for its protection is the Antequera Dólmens Archaeological Complex.
It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016,[3] detailing the following four individual properties (with the protected area delimited):
• - 1501-001: The Menga dolmen and the Viera dolmen (3.6 ha);.
• - 1501-002: The tholos of El Romeral (3.9 ha);
• - 1501-003: La Peña de los Enamorados (258.8 ha);
• - 1501-004: El Torcal de Antequera (2,180 ha).
Declaration as World Heritage
Outstanding Universal Value
For a property to be declared a World Heritage Site, it must demonstrate that it has an Outstanding Universal Value, that is, that it has an extraordinary importance that transcends national borders and is of interest to present and future generations of all humanity.
UNESCO requires the justification of at least one of the six criteria set for cultural heritage by the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) to demonstrate the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. The proposal for the Site of the Antequera Dolmens is based on one of them (i), and ICOMOS in its final report incorporates two more (iii, iv).
• - Criterion (i): "represent a masterpiece of human creative genius." The Menga dolmen represents a masterpiece of megalithic lintel architecture (Atlantic tradition), based on orthostats and blankets, unique for its enormous dimensions that take the corridor tomb typology to the constructive limit, incorporating an unprecedented solution of intermediate pillars; Similarly, the tholos of El Romeral complements the catalog of megalithic constructions with a vaulted solution by approximating courses based on masonry (Mediterranean tradition).
• - Criterion (iii): "provide a unique, or at least exceptional, testimony about a cultural tradition or a living or disappeared civilization." Both the Menga dolmen and the El Romeral tholos have anomalous orientations, as shown by Professor Michael Hoskin when he confirms that 99.99% of the dolmens of the Mediterranean arc have a celestial orientation, that is, linked to the sunrise at the dawn of the equinoxes (as happens in the Viera dolmen). However, Menga is oriented to the anthropomorphic profile of La Peña de los Enamorados, and specifically to the shelter of Matacabras where cave painting has been located.[4] For its part, El Romeral is oriented to the El Torcal mountain range where the El Toro Cave is located (terrestrial orientation) and at noon of the sun on the winter solstice (celestial orientation). Furthermore, El Romeral is located on this Menga-La Peña axis. In this way, the Antequera dolmens build a unique megalithic landscape due to the unique intrinsic relationship they establish with the natural elements.