About the Presence of Exotic Materials in Some Funerary Megalithic Monuments in Alentejo (Portugal): The Cases of Cinnabar and Amber

Abstract

In the Iberian Peninsula, the Alentejo region is particularly important for its number of Megalithic monuments, both funerary and non-funerary. The majority of these monuments have been excavated during the last century, and nowadays, despite the fact that the methodologies used were not always the most appropriate, large numbers of archaeological artefacts are stored in various National Museums.

During the last couple of years a project has been developed to study some exotic materials recovered from the Megalithic monuments of Alentejo region and, in this communication, the results on the presence of red pigments (cinnabar and ochre) and amber in some of these monuments are presented.