Antequera

[VNwalking]

I just saw an article in the Guardian about "the best ancient sites in Europe," of course a subjective judgement. And one of those listed was a Spanish site listed that's right on the Mozarbe out of Malaga.

"In quiet Antequera, a small city in the heart of Andalucía, you can find a collection of breathtaking megalithic ruins. In particular the Dolmen of Menga is one of the earliest and largest known burial monuments in western Europe, dating from about 3600BC."

This post of @Bradypus from another thread here on the Forum affirming the extraordinary nature of this place:

The two sites which stick out in my mind particularly are the Neolithic burial mounds on the edge of Antequera and the ruins of an ancient adobe village near Campanario - both well worth taking time to visit. The scale of the Antequera mounds is extraordinary.

And some more information:

The UNESCO Awarded Dolmens of Antequera (2023)

The UNESCO Awarded Dolmens of Antequera is the largest in Europe. They date back to over 6000 BC. Dolmens - ancient megalithic tombs.

antequera.co.uk

If you are in a quandary as to whether to start the Mozarabe in Malaga or Almeria, this may be worth knowing about.

 

[Corned Beef]

Once visited Antequera which is a beautiful town. While looking for a restaurant, we notice there were tables set out in on the sand of the local bullring. So we stopped and asked. Indeed, there was a restaurant as part of the bullring and we could dine under the Andalusian stars.

Beef was on the menu.

 

[Tincatinker]

I love Antequera. The Dolmen collection are spectacular but also, between them, provide an insight into nearly 15,000 years of human pre-history and an opportunity to reflect on the impact we moderns have had on the landscape in the last 150 years. The Tholos de El Romeral, possibly the most spectacular, is hidden behind a vast industrial / retail estate. Take a taxi if you want to visit.

 

[Bradypus]

The Tholos de El Romeral, possibly the most spectacular, is hidden behind a vast industrial / retail estate.

It is a little over 5 years since I visited but I recommended Antequera to a friend just a couple of days ago. Well worth taking the time to visit all three mounds. As I recall the two closest to town are very near to each other and broadly similar in style though one is considerably larger. The Tholos is some distance away and a very different construction. It would be a great pity to skip a visit there.

 

[Tincatinker]

Our solution on our last visit was to get a taxi out to Tholos and then walk back to the pair in the “park”. I couldn’t get anyone there to give an explanation as to why an adjacent almost identical mound hadn’t been excavated. It’s a fascinating area for those fascinated by such stuff and there are several other Neolithic and early-bronze age sites within a relatively small radius. A comprehensive landscape within a 25km radius of Antequera. Worth a month or two.