For a property to be recognized as World Heritage, it must demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value, which implies extraordinary significance that transcends borders and is relevant for all generations. UNESCO requires that at least one of the six criteria established in the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) be justified in order to accredit this value. In the case of the Antequera Dolmens Site, the proposal is based on the criterion that establishes the need to represent a masterpiece of human ingenuity, while ICOMOS, in its final report, adds two other criteria related to the provision of a unique testimony of cultural traditions and the representation of significant periods of history.

The first criterion is based on the fact that the property must be a masterpiece of creative genius. Thus, the Menga dolmen stands out for being an exceptional realization of megalithic lintel architecture, belonging to the Atlantic tradition, characterized by the use of orthostats and coverings, and for reaching dimensions that push to the limit the typology of the corridor tomb through the innovative use of intermediate pillars. Similarly, the tholos of El Romeral expands the constructive repertoire with a vaulted solution made from courses of masonry, typical of the Mediterranean tradition.

Another criterion is that the property should provide a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization, whether current or extinct. Both the Menga dolmen and the El Romeral tholos have unusual orientations. While the vast majority of dolmens in the Mediterranean arc are oriented celestially, linked to the rising of the sun at the equinoxes, as in the dolmen of Viera, Menga is directed towards the anthropomorphic silhouette of La Peña de los Enamorados, specifically towards the Matacabras shelter where cave paintings have been found. For its part, El Romeral is oriented towards the Sierra de El Torcal, home of the Cueva de El Toro, showing a double orientation, terrestrial and celestial, which is aligned with noon at the winter solstice. Thus, the group of dolmens forms a unique megalithic landscape, characterized by an intimate relationship between cultural and natural elements.

The third relevant criterion establishes that the property must be a representative example of a type of construction, architectural ensemble or landscape that illustrates significant stages of history. The three megalithic monuments reflect a period in which the first ceremonial monuments were erected in Western Europe, following two major building traditions: the lintel and the tiered vault. This proposal is original in the World Heritage List, since it is not a mixed property in which cultural and natural values are added separately, but a conscious integration and close dialogue between the megalithic architecture and the landscape. This phenomenon of "landscape monumentalization" allows the natural elements to acquire the value of monuments, while the buildings are harmoniously integrated into the environment.

Finally, the authenticity of these megaliths is supported by studies that place the Menga dolmen in the Neolithic and the tholos of El Romeral in the Chalcolithic, evidencing their respective linteled and vaulted architecture by approximation of rows. In addition, the integrity of the complex is confirmed by the excellent state of preservation of all its components.