Valencia De Alcantara

The stone stairs cuddle the timeless traces of life that linger in the midday sun, espousing a kind of settled sensibility that only these ancient towns can hold on to. You sit on the steps, listening to the tweeting birds and far off action of townsfolk, assessing your life, deciding if the few extra dollars in your pocket that are found in he big city are worth the headaches, and the loss of finer fragrances and feelings you seem to find in abundance here. Valencia de Alcantara is a Spanish town near the Portuguese border. It is located in Caceres province. It is home to the Nuestra Senora de Rocamador church, and is a very important centre of dolmens in Europe. A dolmen, also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table). Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BCE). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the burial mound intact. The Battle of Valencia de Alcantara took place in 1762 as part of the Spanish invasion of Portugal. Portuguese-British troops under John Burgoyne attacked and captured the town, which was a Spanish supply base - setting back the invasion and contributing to the general British victory that year. It was the birthplace of Pedro Gomez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador, who represented Spain at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815).