I was born in Andalusia, a land accustomed to receiving cultures, beliefs, and religions throughout history that are never replaced but rather syncretized. Sacred sites are an important part of its cultural heritage, which includes all expressions of the relationship between the people, as a collective, with their land, with other living beings, and with immaterial concepts, all sharing the same space.

All aspects of heritage are interrelated and inherent to the traditional territory of a particular community. Historically, each community decides for itself the tangible and intangible aspects that constitute its heritage, a principle valid for all human groups regardless of their culture.

The oldest, the megalithic culture, left its mark on the population of Berrocal (Huelva) in the form of three dolmens symbolizing the beginning of complex thought, the kind that leads us to honor our loved ones after their death. The megalithic phenomenon is eminently funerary, undoubtedly accompanied by a collective ritual of encountering life and death.

From the same period, we connect it with the Dolmen-Chapel of Sao Brissos in the neighboring region of the Portuguese Alentejo. This chapel photographically represents the survival of a belief over millennia as it was built as a dolmen for burials, adapted to the various rites that swept through the Iberian Peninsula, and currently converted into a Christian temple, something already traditional in triumphant religions, reusing buildings from ancient beliefs, sometimes without changing their original decoration.

Like someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease, who sees and recognizes their surroundings, but no longer remembers their origins; the current users of this temple do not know the original rituals that were performed there, but they continue to attend and pay homage.

I was born in Andalusia, a land accustomed to the influx of cultures, beliefs, and religions throughout its history, which are never replaced but rather synthesized.

The oldest, the megalithic culture, left its mark throughout the southwestern Iberian Peninsula with constructions symbolizing the dawn of complex thought, prompting reverence for our loved ones after death. The megalithic phenomenon is primarily funereal, accompanied by collective rituals bridging life and death.

To engage with their environment, humans have crafted fundamental observance rules for harmonious living, rooted in a structured array of ideological systems through which each social group, at a given historical moment, seeks to comprehend the universe. This collective worldview often designates specific places as either origins or significant cultural landmarks, integral to group identity, known as sacred sites.

Communities, like all human groups, possess sacred sites essential to their identity, constituting their cultural heritage. These spaces serve as conduits for indigenous peoples to communicate with deities and ancestors, seeking material and/or spiritual benefits. Sacred sites are crucial elements of cultural heritage, encompassing all expressions of a community's relationship with its land, living beings, and intangible concepts, all within a shared space.

Intangible heritage comprises knowledge and techniques passed down through generations, encompassing oral traditions, performing arts, social customs, rituals, festivities, and nature-related knowledge. Intangible heritage is simultaneously traditional, contemporary, and living, inclusive, representative, and community-based.

Moreover, tangible cultural heritage manifests in places of worship and natural sites bestowed historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological, or anthropological value, such as the Dolmen-Chapel of Sao Brissos in the neighboring Alentejo region of Portugal.

This chapel stands as a photographic testament to the survival of belief over millennia, originally erected as a dolmen for burials, adapted to various rites across the Iberian Peninsula, and subsequently converted into a Christian temple—a phenomenon common in triumphant religions, repurposing structures from ancient faiths, sometimes retaining their original decoration.

As with a person afflicted by Alzheimer's, who recognizes their surroundings but forgets their origins, the contemporary users of this temple are unaware of its original rituals, yet continue to attend and pay homage.

Popular beliefs have, since time immemorial, fostered superstitions and sacralized certain megalithic sites, explaining the discovery of Roman elements, medieval coins, and other modern objects within these dolmens. The region encompassing western Andalusia, Extremadura, Alentejo, and Algarve has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic, boasting numerous megalithic monuments.

Considering all this, we envision a splendid project integrating these regions—a perfect opportunity to admire the earliest forms of monumental architecture in the Iberian Peninsula's prehistory. Engaging youth collectives in such a project would foster an appreciation for the monumental scale of stone block construction. Furthermore, activities could be designed for older individuals, offering them a journey through time and a connection to our historical roots.

For the involved populations, it would be a unique and enriching experience, a transformative journey leading to cultural activities that alter perspectives, facilitate digital detoxification, foster self-connection, appreciation of nature, and deepen knowledge of European communities through shared ancient places of worship.

Contemporary Europe stands upon a bedrock of cultures, beliefs, and religions that have contributed to the breadth of our openness and diversity.

The ancient megalithic culture, with its plethora of megalithic monuments scattered across the southwestern Iberian Peninsula encompassing Western Andalusia, Extremadura, Alentejo, and Algarve, symbolizes the genesis of complex thought, prompting reverence for our ancestors.

Initially involved in this project are the Municipalities of Berrocal, Valverde del Camino, Trigueros, and Valencina de la Concepcion in Spain, alongside the Municipalities of Évora and Portimao in Portugal, engaging youth collectives from both locales. Additionally, the project involves the Núcleo Interpretativo do Megalitismo de Évora, the Centro de Acolhimento e Interpretação dos Monumentos Megalíticos de Alcalar, the Archaeological Site of Dolmen de Soto, and the Dolmenic Ensemble of Los Gabrieles.

For these communities, the project signifies a uniform approach to tourism development within the megalithic sphere, often challenging to navigate, driving economic revitalization, and establishing a conduit for scientific exchange facilitated by new technologies.

This integrative endeavor aims to unite these cross-border regions, offering an ideal opportunity for youth collectives to engage with their community while marveling at the earliest forms of monumental architecture in our continent's prehistory. They will gain an understanding of the monumental task these constructions posed due to the immense scale of their stone blocks. Furthermore, activities will be tailored to provide older individuals with a journey through time, connecting them with our historical roots within a unique environment: ancient places of worship that continue to hold significance.