Huge 5500-year-old "stone phallus" found in Portugal (photo)

A 5500-year-old menhir was found in São Brás de Alportel, Portugal. This is a vertical prehistoric stone monument, similar to a stele, which was often polished to create a phallic shape.

According to Arkeonews, menhirs are one of the first stone monuments in human history and the first in Europe to have a religious function. In practice, they symbolised the fertility of animals, people or land, which explains their phallic shape.

Read also: Evidence that ancient tribes cut off people's heads for rituals found in Mayan pyramid (photo)

It is noted that the first archaeological excavations in São Brás de Alportel began on August 14, 2021, after the discovery of a possible menhir by a resident looking for fossils at the top of Monte do Trigo.

Professor and archaeologist Antonio Faustino Carvalho, who came across the site, said he was "95 percent sure right away that it was a menhir". According to him, it is of particular importance for the Eastern Algarve and is interesting on a regional scale.

"Its shape, the raw material from which it is made (limestone) and its size are the same as Neolithic menhirs," the archaeologist added.

According to him, this is also the first limestone menhir with characteristics of the Neolithic period.

Earlier, experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico found another Mayan burial site. The sacrificed person was wearing a precious piece of jewellery, a jade ring.

If you want to get the latest news about the war and events in Ukraine, subscribe to our Telegram channel!