Pedra Formosa ( port. Pedra Formosa - lit. "beautiful stone") - a characteristic monument of the archaeological culture of Castro in the north of Portugal. They are stone tombs, the front plate of which is decorated with intricately engraved decorative elements and symbols. The narrow entrance resembles in design the Sardinian " tombs of giants ."
The monuments are a lobby structure with a round chamber with a vaulted ceiling (which usually has traces of soot), and the Pedra Formosa itself, consisting of a room lined with stone slabs.
Monuments of the Pedra Formosa type were built mainly on the outskirts of ancient settlements - either as part of the outer wall or beyond. According to most archaeologists, they were tombs (Cardozo 1976); according to A. Nunes (A. Nunes 1993), these were temples of fertility or climatic phenomena, since the symbols engraved on the walls can be associated with the cult of fertility and / or the transition from one age to another.
Literature
- Álvarez Sanchís JR: Los Vettones. 1999
- Nunes A .: Monumentos tipo Pedra Formosa. 1993