Antequera has fascinated historians for many years, showing a rich heritage of Roman, Islamic and Spanish cultures, but perhaps the most astonishing of all are the megalithic monuments, the Dolmen, three ancient burial sites that date back to before the ancient Romans. Now local residents are celebrating, because UNESCO has decided to make these monuments a World Heritage Site, the first megalithic complex of monuments in Europe to receive this coveted status.
Dolmen de Viera dates from around 2,500 BC to 2,000 BC, while Dolmen de Menga is even older, having been dated in 2006 as burial grounds first established in 3,790 BC. A third burial site, located about 3 km to the north of Antequeras, is called the tholos de El Romeral. These burial sites were constructed by local people transporting gigantic numbers of huge rocks from nearby hill sides to bury their dead chieftains under artificial earth mounts.
Slightly off the Coach Tour Circuit
Rather astonishingly, up to now Antequeras has rather missed out on the tourist trail of coach tours exploring Andalucía’s heritage. Visitors coming to Antequeras usually snap their selfies in front of the magnificent Spanish baroque houses that line the streets, and the ca. 30 churches that are dotted around this charming urban landscape. With the international recognition by UNESCO, however, local authorities are hoping a new era of tourism will see the town prosper in the near future.
UNESCO has also confirmed that the status of “World Heritage Site” is be conveyed on Peña de los Enamorados, the very mountain sitting opposite the Menga dolmen, and El Torcal, the sierra that faces tholos de El Romeral.
A delighted Susana Diaz, president of the Junta de Andalucía, visited the Dolmen and expressed her gratitude to all those who had worked so hard to bring about the inclusion in the UNESCO’s list of heritage sites.
“We have been dreaming of this moment for 30 years,” she said, visibly moved.
The UNESCO officials making the decision described the megalithic architecture as outstanding examples of their kind, and named them among the most recognised and talked about in the world, particularly the Menga Dolmen, which is famous for its geographical location: on 21st June, summer solstice, the morning’s first rays of sunshine rise above the Peña de los Enamorados, highlighting the entrance corridor of the dolmen. This significant positioning of the monument points to a mystical importance for the prehistoric tribes who lived in the Guadalhorce valley during the Neolithic era, the copper age, and were responsible for constructing the burial chambers. Given their venerable age, the structures are in remarkably good condition.
Gibraltar’s Gorham Caves also recognised by UNESCO
Meanwhile, Gibraltar’s tourism chiefs also had reasons to be cheerful: the Gorham cave has also been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, making the south of Spain even more alluring for historians from around the globe. The complex of four sea caves is world-famous as being the last-known site where Neanderthals dwelled anywhere in the world. Remains found have been dated to at least 28,000 years ago, but many believe that the caves were occupied well before that time.
The cave system was named after Captain A Gorham, who discovered them in 1907, an early tourist from the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers. The caves’ historical and geological importance, however, was only unearthed in recent times, when new excavation works were carried out.
The UNESCO application drew attention to the fact that the caves are unique, with no other site being quite like it. Only archaeologists and scientists are permitted to access the caves, which are protected by the Gibraltar Museum authorities.
These two recent additions to Spain’s heritage sites recognised by UNESCO will make Andalucía even more attractive to hobby historians about to retire and looking to relocate to Spain. Antequera is easy to reach by car, bus and train, with an AVE high-speed service connecting the town with Malaga, Barcelona, Madrid and Cordoba, and six trains a day leaving for Granada, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and daily services to Seville. Nine daily bus services leave Malaga for the one hour trip to Antequera.