0242 – New paper in press

A - Salvada; B- Monte das Cabeceiras 2.

A paper presented at the VII Meeting of Southwest Iberian Archaeology on the ditched enclosures of Salvada and Monte das Cabeceiras 2 is just been sent for publication in the proceedings.

Abstract:

“The sites of Salvada and Monte das Cabeceiras 2, recently discovered, assume particular importance in the context of the proliferation of Neolithic and Chalcolithic ditched enclosures in South Portugal, due to their dimensions, characteristics, proximity of location and architectonic complexity. The present paper presents the available data for these two sites and discusses some problems raised by their architectonic layout and spatial location, in the context of the ditched enclosures and settlement networks of South Alentejo.” (A. Valera & T. Pereiro).

0223 – Ditched enclosures at the VII EASP

At the VII Meeting of Iberian Southwest Archaeology, that will take place next week in Aroche (Spain) and Serpa (Portugal), I (together with Tiago do Pereiro) will be presenting a paper on two ditched enclosures: Monte das Cabeceiras 2 and Salvada.

The paper will be focus on the fact that these two quite similar enclosures are relatively big (Salvada with 17,4 ha and Monte das Cabeceiras with 8,2 ha), probably contemporaneous for a large period of time and surprisingly near to each other (just 3,5 km apart).

We will be stressing the similarity of layouts and the proximity in time and space, in order to question some axiomatic ideas about size and social roles of large enclosures in South Iberia.

0154 – Confirming the ditches at Mte. das Cabeceiras 2

We have identified several tens of new ditched enclosures through Google Earth in the last few months. Last Monday more three were recorded in Beja area. Of course, now conformation on the ground is needed. But one of the major discoveries of a couple of weeks ago, Monte das Cabeceiras 2, is crossed by a water supply system and preliminary survey is being done. There, it was possible to confirm the presence of the ditches, showing that the areal image interpretation was correct, even in an area where the ditches lines here faint. They were where they supposed to be. These are important results to “develop the “eye” for this kind of prospection.    

0151 – Excavations at Monte das Cabeceiras 2

They started last Wednesday. The site is going to be crossed by a water supply infrastructure and a survey of the affected area is being undertaken (by Omniknos Company). After some previous diagnosis surveys, the top ploughed soil is being removed and the surface of the preserved contexts is being cleaned. Lots of negative structure started to appear, namely what seems to be a sinuous ditch. But based um the aerial image, several more are expected to appear next week.

0145 - Monte das Cabeceiras 2...

... is the name of the new big ditched enclosure, discovered just 3,5 km from Salvada. A water supply infrastructure of EDIA is planned across the site and some previous surveys were done by Omniknos company.

            To evaluate the implications of the discovery of the enclosures to the project we visited the site yesterday, a day of huge storms in Portugal. The rain and strong wind were annoying, but we could conclude that the site is big and the surface material clearly shows an occupation from Chalcolithic period, as this limestone pot corroborates. 

This kind of artefacts usually appear associated to funerary structures, like in Perdigões for instance. Their presence in Monte das Cabeceiras could indicate that the site also has funerary contexts. That wouldn´t be a surprise, since all large ditched enclosures known in Iberia have funerary contexts directly associated.

0144 – An amazing “twin” in Alentejo

A new large ditched enclosure was discovered through Google Earth in Alentejo. That is not particularly amazing if we consider the last few months. What is amazing is that this new enclosure seems like a “twin brother” of Salvada enclosure.

It is more or less the same size, is crossed by a stream (not exactly in the meddle like Salvada), has several ditches (at least seven), has linear and sinuous ditches in double lines (again as Salvada), like the former is located in valley depression, seems to have an important Chalcolithic occupation (like Salvada) and, most interesting, is just 3,5 km away from Salvada. It is the first time that middle sized enclosures (more than 10 ha) are so close to each other. Food for thought regarding spatial analysis and theories of site dependence based on size.

 Topographical profiles of the two sites.