Atribución mágica de los dólmenes vascos y su posible explicación

Abstract

In the Basque Country, from the 350 dolmens catalogued by J.M. Apellaniz in 1973, very few have got their own name. Most of them are identified by the toponym of the place where they are located. Some of them have got names identified with beings of the Basque mythology or related to sorcery. For this work, we have taken as a reference the dolmens of Sorginetxe (Arrizala), and Choza de la Hechicera (Elvillar) in the Basque province of Alava. We analyze the possible origin of this designation and establish the reasons motivating and explaining the relation. FANTASTIC CONSTRUCCION=MAGIC BEING and we conclude that, considering the historical circumstances of every moment, the great evidences of past times have been explained in a different way and, most probably, during the 15th and 16th centuries, the visible dolmens, whose construction could not be explained in a way understandable for everybody, are attributed lo wizards/witches.