Monte dos Amantes – Megalithic Nightcache
This short and very simple nightcache will lead you to a
prehistoric burial site near Vila do Bispo. Here you can discover
several broken menhirs at the ground, some of them with engraved
symbols. The menhirs have been upraised about 4000-2000 BC as
landmarks, religious phallic symbols or marking of graves. There
are fragments of 9 Menhirs at Monte dos Amantes, but only 2 are
shown with this cache. The other 7 are very hard to find and too
far away for a reflective trail (south of the farm).
This cache can be completed at night only! You need a
flashlight or a headlamp to discover the reflective pins and to
investigate the engravings on the menhirs! I have placed much more
reflective pins than needed, so the trail can be found even with a
weak flashlight.
white reflectors: trail
white + yellow reflector: change direction
white + red reflector: stage
3 white + 1 red reflector: find direction from this place to the
final location
Park you car at the given coordinates. You can acces this point
from the big roundabout at Vila do Bispo only (not from the N268
directly). At the wooden sign "Roteiro Megalitico" you have to take
the road that goes right underneath the bridge.
Stage 1:
Menhir 1 can be found on the right side of the path. Look with your
flashlight for an engraving on the eastern side of the broken,
horizontal menhir. Hold your light tiltet and plane to the stone.
What can you discover?
cross in a circle: A=111
zigzag-line around the menhir: A= 342
double-spiral: A= 27
Stage 2:
Investigate the east side of the second menhir with your
flashlight. Which engraving can you discover? (This is a bit tricky
to identify.)
grid: B=364
animal (deer or cattle): B=143
phallic symbol: B=38
Stage 3:
Next to Menhir 2 you can find a late Neolithic Collective Grave
(younger than the menhirs). The rectangular grave is bordered by
upright standing flagstones. You have nothing to do here except of
looking out for 3 white and 1 red reflector!
Stage 4:
If you reach the place with the 3 white and 1 red reflector, you
have to find direction to the cache location.
The small box is situated under a bigger stone in a distance
of A meters in B degrees (true North).
Have fun with this cache!
Trollmond