Dolmen de Soto
Spain · Europe
A passage grave where equinox light creeps down a corridor of armed stone guardians
Age
~4,500–5,000 yrs
Period
Chalcolithic
Setting
Megalithic
Art form
Petroglyphs
Discovered
1922
Status
Open (Visitor Centre)
Beneath a great earthen mound at Trigueros hides one of Iberia’s finest passage graves: a 21-metre corridor of megaliths raised around 3000–2500 BC. Engravings and traces of paint mark 43 of its stones with daggers, cups and schematic human guardians, and at the equinoxes the rising sun runs the corridor’s full length to light the burial chamber for a few minutes.
Gallery
Notable Features
- ◦ 43 engraved stones
- ◦ Equinox sunrise alignment
- ◦ The 21 m passage
Depicted Subjects
Human FiguresKnivesGeometric Forms
Plan a Visit
AccessThis cave can be visited.
Sources & Further Reading
Hours & prices change — always confirm on the official site before travelling.
Photographs via Wikimedia Commons — image credits. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.