Dolmens, and Altars, and Petroglyphs, Oh My!

Galicia has loads of ancient ruins, some of them well-preserved and cared for, others not so much. This weekend on a group hike accompanied by an archaeologist, we learned the stories behind some hidden pre-Roman monuments on the outskirts of Lugo. 

If you squint, you can see the dolmen

The first stop was a dolmen in a field. A mini-dolmen if you ask me. But of course, as the archaeologist explained, it was likely much taller than it appeared, still mostly buried underground. Dolmens are tombs, and she noted that in Galicia there are rarely any bones left in them because of the ground's acidity. Fun fact! But they are found all over Europe, so they know dolmens are for burial.

Next was a ¨roda,¨ an elevated circle in a clearing amongst pine trees. Honestly, if I had been hiking by myself I would not have thought it were millennia old. It just looks like a hilly clearing. But from the top of the ¨wall,¨ you can see it isn't natural, the circle even has a little opening which would have been an entrance. Our guide had worked on excavations here, and said that in the small portion of the circle that they had worked on, they only found pitchers and tools for grinding grains. Surrounding the circle they also discovered purposefully worked quartz, which would shine in the sunlight. They're not sure what this place was, but it reinforces the idea that Adai was a special place. A fellow hiker theorized that it was a place for congresses and politics, where they gathered from far and wide to decide on important matters. My slightly less formal theory is that it was a place for festivals and raves. Whatever it may have been used for, the archaeologist agreed that it was probably something that involved socializing among the numerous communities and tribes.

View from atop the ¨wall.¨
To the left you can see the dip which would have been the entrance

Our next stop was the Altar of Adai, a misnomer. It's actually a large, flat stone with holes carved into it, likely for beams to support a longhouse. It's one of the only known specimens in Europe. Assumedly there are more around, yet to be discovered.

¨Altar¨ of Adai

The last stop was a quick one to see some petroglyphs on a large boulder. There were several that were ¨crosses.¨ The circle was quite clear, with a cross inside it. Apparently they were from the Middle Ages. On the far side of the boulder were grooves likely for grinding grains. Milling was an important ritual ages ago.