Menhir of Patalou

The Menhir of Patalou is located in the Nisa municipality in the Portalegre District of Portugal, about 5 km from the town of Nisa [1]. The menhir is a megalithic standing stone dating back to the 5th millennium BCE [1]. It is believed to be the second oldest example of a menhir to be identified in Western Europe [1]. The Menhir of Patalou is situated on a gentle east-facing slope, framed by two small hills [1]. Having fallen over in the Chalcolithic era, it was re-erected in 2015, six meters north of its original location [1]. The stone was carved out of granite and has phallic features [1]. Its total height is 4 meters and the maximum diameter is 1.07 meters [1]. The menhir was found in the late 1990s by a hunter, João Francisco Lopes, when he was hunting in the Tapada da Bajanca [1].