Mores Altes I

Introduction

To speak about dolmens, is to speak about prehistory, so, it is a structure from the V millennium or IV millennium Before Christ. According to the Catalan Enciclopedia, a dolmen is a megalithic tomb of any kind. Usually the rests of dolmens that have reached our days are a small part of a much more complex structure. The stones that can be seen nowadays made up a small chamber that supported a small hill or tumulus of varying diameter, refilled with nearby stones or different soil.

Description

Surely the dolmen of Mores Altes I must be related to the ones of Mora, Mores Altes II and The table of the Thieves, which made up a group in an area where the valley of la Selva and the access by sea could be watched. In origin, it was an area of bushes and holly oak woods.

It is a passage tomb with a long trapezoidal chamber and a narrow corridor. The dolmen stones are slate. The upper slab shows motifs of cup marks joined by grooves. The tumulus must have been circular refilled with small stones, there are no remains of retaining, and it should have measured 10 m diameter.

History

For its long trapezoidal chamber and narrow corridor, it can be dated as second period of the passage tombs in l’Alt Empordà – Rosselló Second half of IV millennia B.C.

It is known since ancient times because it is located next to the historical path that goes from the coast to Sant Pere de Rodes. Eusebi Rius and Antoni Costa rediscovered it at the beginning of the thirties and they published a press article about it. Isidre Macau i Teixidor (1934) describes it and publishes a photo. Joan Garriga (1952) publishes the first ground floor plan of the dolmen, a photo and a sketch of the motifs on the upper slab. The dolmen is mentioned in 1979, 1983 and 1986. By different authors it is known as the dolmen of Dijous plain or of the Goita. The Geseart mentions it in 1988. In 1992 it is included in the book about megalithic monuments of Alt Empordà by Tarrús and Chinchilla.

Basic bibliography

Tarrús Galter, Josep; Poblats, dòlmens i menhirs. Els grups megalítics de l’Albera, Serra de Rodes i Cap de Creus. Girona: Diputació de Girona. 2002