A reutilização simbólica de menires no Alentejo Central: o caso do Menir da Caeira (Arraiolos, Portugal

Abstract

Research work carried out in recent decades in menhirs in Alentejo (Portugal) has identified some cases of re-use in later periods, namely the Bronze Age and Roman Period. The Menhir da Caeira (Arraiolos, Portugal) is presented here as a case study, where a clear ritual (?) re-use in later periods was identified, which proves the maintenance of symbolic practices for a long period of time. Thus, independently of the existing structures and changes between prehistoric societies and those that followed them, a continuity through the maintenance of religious practices associated with ancestral monuments is identified in these cases.