The statue‑menhir 3 of Serra da Nave (Moimenta da Beira, Viseu)

Abstract

The statue‑menhir 3 of Serra da Nave is the third monument of its kind found in this region of Central Portugal. It is located in a mountain valley nearby the other two monuments and in close connection with several dolmens and other burial mounds from post‑Neolithic periods. The central motif of the piece is a subtrapezoidal shape with concave lateral edges and a convex proximal one. This same motif appears in both the other monuments of Serra da Nave, as well as in other similar material from the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula. In this case, the motif is associated with a possible representation of a sword (or large dagger) and an axe, located both on the opposite side of the piece. Considering its archaeological context and the archaeological and figurative parallels of the depicted motifs, we argue that the monument should be attributed to the Early or Middle Bronze Age. It is interpreted as a form of social appropriation of space and memory, a process that should be understood as a way of legitimizing a society that was already strongly hierarchical.