Pedra do Sino (Bell Stone) and 'rock tombs' at Necropole de São Gens, Celorico da Beira, Portugal. Source

The sparsely populated hills around the upper reaches of Portugal's River Mondego are pockmarked with individual and clusters of rock tombs.

Rock tombs are also reported in Spain, Italy, France, England, Ireland and the Isle of Man. But in parts of Portugal, Spain and Italy they found in large clusters:

Two of 60 rock tombs at Fornos de Algodres, north Portugal.

Rock tombs in England and Portugal are dated to medieval times. Italy's rock tombs are credited to both medieval times and to the mysterious pre-Roman Etrurians. The Romans allegedly conquered the Etrurians from around 500 BC onwards.

La Necropoli dei Morticelli, Vasanello, Italy. Source

And they were often carved out in clusters:

Trancoso, Serra da Estrella, Portugal. Source: Abandoned Rock-cut tomb necropolis

This is in the centre of Trancoso village. Not all rock tombs are hidden away in the countryside. The biggest rock tomb complex on the Iberian peninsular lies beneath a village:

Source: Finally, Moreira de Rei gave up her secret

See the stone cross on the right? With the troughs and jars next to it. Tap on the image to pull up a larger version.

Many Italian rock tomb clusters - Etrurian and otherwise - can be explored along Rome's busy former slave-trading route: the Via Amerina:

Via Amerina about 50km north of Rome. Source: Via Amerina

Via Amerina conveyed slaves - and today tourists - past many mysteries:

Maybe some sort of industry?

England's only known rock tombs were (apparently) first documented 200 years ago in 1830. But they got their real break in the 1970s:

Rock tombs at St Patrick's chapel, Heysham, Lancashire. Source

Heysham's rock tombs are unique.

From Britain Express: St Patrick's Chapel, Heysham:

Several of the graves have carved sockets at the head end that probably supported stone crosses.

They mean a second socket just beyond the head end of the tomb:

Five of six tombs have extra sockets. Source:

Five of Heysham's six main tombs feature a separate cross socket. Two smaller Heysham rock tombs - the so-called child and adult tombs - share a socket between them.

Square head notches, circular head notches, separate rectangular sockets and some rock tombs with neither notch nor socket suggest rock tombs were custom designed for different kinds of transition from life to death.

If the 'sockets for crosses' explanation is correct, then perhaps Portugal's occasional circular 'head' notches supported cross shafts made from unworked tree trunks:

Head notch at Sepultra da Cova da Moira, Carregal do Sal, Portugal.

In all countries, the official explanation for notched rock tombs is they were tombs for rich medieval children or for the remains of elites.

Note how some rock tombs have no head notches; some have square head notches, some have circular head notches. A few have wedge-shaped notches and a very few have keyhole-shaped notches.

Different shaped head notches (and other features in and around rock tombs) suggest different tombs were designed to serve different processing purposes.

Similarly, careful analysis of wear and damage also hints at specific processes used in some tombs.

This isn't the place for that level of analysis. However, in my opinion there is a pressing need to catalogue surviving rock tomb designs and wear and damage patterns in order to better understand the experience of commoners in their locations.

Here. I'm going to try to show one specific use case.

Many Portuguese rock tombs show signs of deliberate destruction. A good example is the Sepultra da Albergaria rock tomb just south of Carregal do Sal:

The sign says Albergaria rock tomb was destroyed.

It took hard work to smash out the rock sides of the Albergaria tomb. Photographs don't do justice to the damage. Nor to the work required:

And anyway, why so much effort to smash a child's tomb?

Of the Carregal do Sal cluster, the Albergaria tomb is the tomb closest to town and closest to the road leading to the River Mondego. It was the easiest tomb to get at and probably the tomb most often passed after its creators stopped using it.

Also unexplained is why rock tombs are so often found near ancient quarries:

Quarry face below Heysham rock tombs. Source: Phil Platt/Google Maps

The shaped boulder at bottom right in the former quarry at St Patrick's chapel is reminiscent of 'Pedro do Sino' - the curvaceous boulder that overlooks rock tombs of Portugal's Necropole de São Gens:

It is just possible that rock tomb complexes were bathing stations for quarry workers. But given their positions so high above quarry sides, this seems unlikely.

Fortunately, Portuguese folklore applies Maslow's Razor ¹ to this enigma and begins to explain what 'rock tombs' were for.

From Enchanted Moura:

Rock cut tombs called Masseira... the place where the mouras knead bread.

'Masseira' means 'trough' or 'manger'.

'Mouras' are supernatural females somewhat like northern Europe's witches though with a distinct 'local manageress' role. They may be the same entities as Celtic 'Morrigans'. They are everywhere in northern Portugal's folklore.

Southern Europe's artisans still use masseira:

Massaging the mass in a manger. Source: Tradition of Open-Air Pig Slaughter Abides on Spanish Island

They are preparing the filling for blood sausages.

Blood sausage is made throughout Europe:

French blood sausage before cooking. Source: Blood Sausage

Francisco Ubilla photographed this process in 2018. See more of his images at Tradition of Open-Air Pig Slaughter Abides on Spanish Island.

England's variant of blood sausage is "Black pudding". This combination of grains, meat, fat and blood is most popular in England's north and west - in places like Heysham, Lancashire.

From Black Pudding:

Black pudding is a distinct regional type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is made from pork or beef blood, with pork fat or beef suet, and a cereal, usually oatmeal, oat groats, or barley groats.

Each ingredient that goes into blood sausage has its own processing and hygiene requirements. Tools and structures were created to help with this. Their remains on the ground and their folklore tell us which processes rock tombs were built for.

From The Facts of Crucifixion:

Flogging, or scourging, was done before every crucifixion.

Blood loss was considerable.

How long he lived depended mostly on how severe the scourging was.

Christian narratives of crucifixion don't say much about what happened to the blood. Fortunately, a few images do:

Blood collection bowl at well-known crucifixion. Source: The Templar Knight

Almost every rock tomb anywhere has been picked clean or repeatedly filled with rainwater. But at two rock tomb complexes in Portugal, archaeologists found these:

Spike found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, Sara Prata, 2012, p139

The scale is 10cm (4in) long, telling you these aren't coffin nails:

Spike found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, p139

Spike found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, p140

Nail found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, p140

Spike found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, p140

Spike found at Vale de Bexiga. Source: As Necrópoles alto-medievais da Serra de São Mamede, p140

Christians say 'cross'. Butchers say 'gallows'. The device that also gives its name to 'hallows', 'hallowed', 'All Hallows Eve' and 'Halloween'.

From Roman Forms of Crucifixion:

Roman historian Seneca the Younger indicates:

"I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground"

Seneca seems to be describing production in an artisanal environment.

Victims still have their head down in modern industrial environments:

But the rock tombs are metal troughs. Source: AMI: Tour of a Pork Plant

Modern carcass processing volumes are very high. But the volume of product per carcass - and their individual handling requirements - probably remains more or less the same as in the old days.

Butchering an adult human releases about five liters (1.5 gallons) of blood plus lengths of slippery, hard-to-handle intestine:

• Adult human's large intestine: approx 1.5m (5ft) long.
• Adult human's small intestine: approx 6-7m (20–25ft) long.

Intestine management means hygiene management. Perhaps the word 'tomb' even comes from 'tumbling'.

It's an offal pun. Source: AMI: Tour of a Pork Plant

For profit and hygiene reasons, blood and offal must be collected and the intestines kept separate.

Intestines destined for blood sausage must be squeezed clean. Then they must be cured in a trough of salt water or by drying.

While they dry, they must be kept clean and undamaged:

Modern artisans use trees. Source: Tradition of Open-Air Pig Slaughter Abides

Symbols of these processes can be found from eastern Europe into Russia:

It's called "Julia's Rope". In Romance languages, 'Julia' is pronounced with an initial 'H'. 'Hoolia' sounds similar to the initial sound of 'hallows'. So think 'Hallows Rope'.

In sanitised form, this symbolism has also made it into the stories Westerners tell their children:

"An interesting way to learn about one’s culture and religion." Source: Best Coloring Pages for Kids

Locations discussed in this evidence collection

Key:

• Blue marker: rock tomb sites
• Yellow marker: Vale de Bexiga rock tombs

© All rights reserved. The original author retains ownership and rights.