Xerez Megalithic Enclosure

Portugal , Portugal

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Xerez Megalithic Enclosure, also known as Xerez Cromlech or Cromeleque do Xerez near Monsaraz in Portugal's Alentejo region close to the Spanish border, is a prehistoric megalithic complex dating to the 5th-4th millennium BCE, with evidence of use from the Upper Paleolithic through the Chalcolithic.

Discovered in 1969 by amateur archaeologist José Pires Gonçalves at Herdade do Xerez, it features a square enclosure of small standing stones interpreted as a cromlech surrounding a prominent central phallic menhir, alongside decorated menhirs suggesting ritual or ceremonial purposes.

 Submerged by the Alqueva Dam after 2001, the site was dismantled, excavated in 1998 revealing lithic tools, pottery fragments, and quartz artifacts, then reconstructed nearby in 2004 near a planned archaeology museum, preserving its Neolithic architectural complexity.