VIII.—The Dolmens and Megalithic Tombs of Spain and Portugal

Extract

The work done by archaeologists in Spain, particularly within the last decade, in recording and exploring megalithic graves in that country has begun a new era in the study of the megalithic problem in Western Europe, since it is now at last possible to collate this new material with the evidence accumulated over a longer period in Portugal and thus to rewrite in a measure the history of the megalithic period in the peninsula.1 It is self-evident that in any investigation of the megaliths of Europe those of the peninsula must take an important place. For, if the theory of a diffusion of the megalithic idea from oriental sources is to hold good, those of the peninsula constitute, as it were, the half-way house, where the stream begins to bend round from the North African series on its northerly course towards its limit in Scandinavia. The present paper is an attempt to present certain points which seem to emerge from the evidence at present available, and for that purpose it is proposed to treat first of the forms, secondly of their distribution, and thirdly of the grave-finds, followed by some conclusions and suggestions.