* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
In Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia we have made a visit to the restored dolmen of the Mother of God of the Miracle, next to the church of Sant Gabriel in Riner, in Solsonès.
In this area of Catalonia there are traces that it was inhabited in prehistoric times. In the Riner Valley, caves and megaliths have been found with abundant prehistoric material, which is preserved in the Museu Diocesà de Solsona, such as copper molds for the manufacture of axes and other objects.
Very close to the Miracle sanctuary we find this interesting dolmen, known as the Bressol de la Mare de Déu (the Cradle of the Virgin).
In Solsonès you can take a route through a dozen dolmens and necropolises. In the case of Riner it is a Neolithic menhir-statue currently in a horizontal position and supported by two pillars.
These statues-menhirs served to mark spaces and usually represent human figures. In this case, it could have been decorated on all its sides except the lower one. Currently, on its underside we can still see zigzag-shaped engravings.
A legend suggests that the Virgin would stand under the dolmen to spin, protecting herself from the sun. Another story claims that, if someone stands under the stone and, placing his head in a cavity there, manages to lift it, he will never have a headache again.
