JSA/Light and Shadows over the Santa Inés Dolmen (Bernardos – Segovia)

The so-called Dolmen de Santa Inés, more properly a passage tomb, is the first such tomb to have been excavated in the province of Segovia, Spain. There is evidence that the site underwent two construction phases, perhaps during different periods, and it is here argued that this provides the possible explanation for an unusual southeastward turn to its entrance passage that makes this a unique case. This modification had the effect of changing the structure’s orientation from towards sunrise in mid-autumn to sunrise at the winter solstice. In this paper we present the results of several years of excavation work, during which we employed an archaeoastronomical approach. We explain how our analysis confirms the winter solstice orientation, including an illumination effect resulting from the particular positioning of the structure’s slate and quartz slabs. We also speculate on the reason for the orientation change, which we hope to validate in future research.