WHEN LOCATION MATTERS: THE DOLMENS OF THE CENTRAL PYRENEES, A REAPPRAISAL

The area of the Spanish Central Pyrenees, in the province of Huesca, houses some

of the higher altitude dolmens in Western Europe. These megaliths were built by the agropastoral communities that occupied these areas seasonally during the local late Neolithic. Possibly built along routes to cross the mountain range and at areas used for cattle herding in the summer months, they are mostly located at the ravines close to the alpine river valleys. The megalithic structure is generally comprised of a small chamber with normally four or five stones defining a square chamber and a small tumulus or cairn surrounding this structure.

We present a detailed study on the orientation and location of 29 of these high altitude (up to nearly 2000 m.a.s.l.) megalithic monuments. Considering the high altitude of the mountains defining their local landscape, their orientation is always compatible with a lunar or solar orientation in the horizon, either rising or setting. To understand and contextualize these results, it is particularly important the area where the dolmens are located. These high-altitude valleys are normally covered in deep snow during late autumn, winter and early spring. Besides, recent ethnographic accounts indicate that the local herders bring their flocks to the highest pastures in coincidence with the start of summer. This information, together with the pattern of orientation of the dolmens, may shed further light to disentangle the possible use of these megalithic monuments at particular times of the year.

Megalithism. Pyrenees. Cycles. Archaoastronomy.