16.- Kerexetaegia Hegokoa

16.- Kerexetaegia Hegokoa
The burial chamber was made up of several slabs, and another larger slab covered said chamber. Above, a cairn of stones covered the entire structure. Of that original structure, only 3 slabs were preserved in 1921, the cover was fallen and the tumulus was open with a pit. What can be seen today is the result of a reconstruction based on scientific solutions.

Measurements

A burial mound 17 meters in diameter and 1.80 meters high. The chamber is more or less 2x1.5 meters wide.

Research

J.M. found it. Barandiaran in 1920, and a year later it was excavated by T. Aranzadi, J.M. Barandiarán and E. Eguren. By then, the monument was already looted with a huge pit, and the cover of the chamber was already down. In the 1980s a group of private people did a rebuilding session, moving the cover. In 2014, M. Ceberio made an exact excavation and topography. Based on that data, in 2018, Bazeta, Tellería and Aguirre developed a reconstruction plan and gave it the appearance it shows today. The structure and materials have been published in several research works: Aranzadi, Barandiaran and Eguren (1922), J. M. Barandiaran (1953), J. Elósegui (1953), Cartas Arqueológicas de Gipuzkoa (1982, 1990), J. M. Apellániz (1973 ).

Findings

In the 1921 excavation, a stone axe, an arrowhead, two sandpapers, a splinter of flintstone and a piece of pottery were found. In the 2014 excavation, 17 pieces of pottery and 7 spark stones were found.

Highlights

Kerexetaegia Sur is the best preserved dolmen of the entire megalithic station, and for this reason its reconstruction has been possible. In addition, it is one of the monuments that has produced the most pieces, along with Gizaburuaga. The chamber that can be seen today is missing some slabs, but it was decided to leave it that way so that the interior of the chamber could be seen. It was also decided to leave the pit that the burial mound has, so that the structure could be entered.

Type
Dolmen
Date
Chalcolithic (3200-2200 BC)
Town
Bergara
Location

On a plain on mount Leiopago, near the border between Bergara and Azcoitia.