The Dolmen de Viera stands a few hundred metres from the Dolmen of Menga in the same archaeological park and is a different construction altogether — a long, narrow corridor tomb rather than a wider chamber tomb, with a small square burial chamber at the end. It dates from around 2500 BCE, somewhat later than Menga, and is aligned to face the rising sun at the equinoxes. A shaft of sunlight enters the corridor and reaches the back chamber at spring and autumn equinox.
It was rediscovered and excavated by the Viera brothers in the late 19th century, who gave it their name. The contrast with Menga is instructive: both monuments required enormous collective effort, but they represent quite different approaches to the problem of building a permanent monument for the dead.