| Outeiro Menhir | |||||||
| Native Name: | Menir do Outeiro | ||||||
| Alternate Name: | Penedo comprido | ||||||
| Map: |
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| Coordinates: | 38.4704°N -7.3936°W | ||||||
| Location: | Outeiro, Évora, Alentejo, Portugal | ||||||
| Type: | Phallic menhir | ||||||
| Height: | 5.6m (18.4feet) | ||||||
| Epochs: | Neolithic | ||||||
| Discovered: | 1969 | ||||||
| Archaeologists: | Henrique Leonor Pina; José Pires Gonçalves | ||||||
| Condition: | Very good | ||||||
| Ownership: | Portuguese Republic | ||||||
| Public Access: | Yes | ||||||
The Menhir of Outeiro (pt|Menir do Outeiro ), also known as the Penedo Comprido (long boulder), is a megalith located midway between the villages of Outeiro and Barrada near the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, in the district of Évora, in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is a few kilometers from the Portuguese-Spanish-border. The stone was discovered on its side in 1969 by Henrique Leonor Pina and José Pires Gonçalves and, on the initiative of Gonçalves, was raised again around 1970.[1] The menhir was classified as a Portuguese National Monument in 1971.[2] [3] [4]
The granite monolith is 5.6 meters high with an average diameter of one meter, and weighs an estimated 8 tonnes. It is the second largest in Portugal. The top has a hollow of 30 cm in diameter, which is believed to represent a urethra, thus giving rise to the understanding that the megalith symbolizes a phallus. It is considered one of the best examples of a phallic menhir in the Iberian Peninsula. Based on its similarity to other megalithic finds in the Évora district, the menhir is believed to date from the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic.[2] [3]