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Origin and history

The Mehatseko-Bizkarra cromlech is a megalithic complex located in the town of Itxassou, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Dating from the Iron Age and Protohistory, he is part of a group of cromlechs including Meatse, Meatseko-Biskarra, Iuskadi, Zelaïou and Mendittipia. These structures, typical of prehistoric societies, probably marked places of assembly, worship or burial, although their exact function remains debated by archaeologists.

Ranked a Historical Monument by order of 25 January 1957, the site is now owned by the municipality of Itxassou. The accuracy of its location is estimated as "passible" (note 5/10), reflecting the limitations of the available geographic data. Although little documented in the general public sources, this cromlech testifies to the ancient occupation of the Basque Country and its megalithic heritage, often linked to funeral or ritual practices of protohistoric communities.

The region, then populated by groups organized into tribes or clans, lived mainly in agriculture, livestock and handicrafts. Cromlechs, arranged in stone circles, could be used as territorial landmarks or as places of collective memory. Their preservation until today underlines their symbolic importance, although their interpretation remains partially hypothetical in the absence of detailed archaeological excavations on this specific site.

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