I was thinking about heading onto Valencia Island, but it was getting rather late. After checking the OS map I noticed that I was close to this Early Christian Settlement, so I turned off and took a look.

At first site from the road it seemed as if there was nothing here except for a low pile of stones and some ancient grave markers. When I walked onto the raised, round surface I noticed a couple of slabs standing up in the centre of the platform. This turned out to be a tomb shrine, a wonderful little tomb shrine.

It is made from two undecorated slabs that lean together to form a little tent. The stones forming the ends have been broken, allowing access inside. Within the shrine there are many lumps of quartz and some scallop shells. Seeing the latter brought a smile to my face after my recent visit to Santiago, where the sign of the pilgrim is the shell. These have obviously been left inside the shrine a long time ago by pilgrims to the site.

The shrine itself stands in a rectangular area defined by small slabs set on edge. The interior of this area seems to be paved with thin slabs that form a low dias for the shrine to stand on. The site is totally unprotected from the cattle (including a very big bull I only noticed as I left, but was watching me intenty), but its gravestone-strewn surface probably puts them off walking across it.

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A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments