0436 - The "idol" of Salvada

This is the small marble "idol" that was collected at the surface of the 3rd millennium BC large ditched enclosure of Salvada (Beja), that is over 18 ha. An exogenous material at the site. It was published here.

0368 - Salvada in the press

The impact in the large enclosure of Salvada, that was discussed here some posts ago, is in the front page of a national paper and has a significant report inside. As it happens in many other things in life, only when some bad happens things get to the front page. That is the criteria of the media, maybe because that is the criteria of the majority of the public.

Nevertheless, it is an important report for the Portuguese Prehistoric Enclosures, for they dramatically need this public exposure to be known, protected and start to be socially active as the important heritage and economic and cultural resource they are.

0298 - Salvada enclosure

Will be one of the ditched enclosures addressed in my next conference in May 20th at Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa.

0262 – Salvada measures

Salvada is one of the Portuguese big ditched enclosures. Well, by present standards of Iberian Enclosures, we should say it is a middle sized enclosure. It has about 500m diameter and about 17.5 ha.

I provide now some new measures, regarding the outside ditches. Based on aerial images, it is possible to say that the distance between the two outside ditches is around 10m (quite similar to Perdigões, where the outside ditches are 11m apart).

The inside ditch at Salvada is a sinuous one, with patterned semicircular lobules, measuring about 10m wide each one, amazingly similar to the general measures of the lobules at Xancra enclosure.

Naturally these measures have some incertitude due to the fact that they were taken in the blurred aerial images. But the proximity to the Pergigões distance of the outside ditches and the similarities with the measures of Xancra lobules are interesting. I will explore more this path.

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.

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.

0124 - Human remains at Salvada

In the recent international meeting (that took place in Lisbon last week) dedicated to enclosures and funerary practices, I made an inventory of the presence of human remains inside ditched enclosures. I noticed that all large ditched enclosures revealed that presence (Perdigões, Alcalar, Porto Torrão, Valencina, San Blás, Pijotilla, Marroquiés Bajos) and that, until now, human remains are almost absent from smaller ditched enclosures (although I underlined that many of those were not excavated or have just small areas surveyed). In fact, only in Bela Vista 5 we have documented a burial in pit, dated from the last quarter of the 3^rd millennium.
 

Well, the surface prospection of Salvada confirmed this situation, at least to large enclosures. Being a “big one” it provided a human phalange (hand), collected just outside of the double inner ditch, between the ditch and the stream that cuts the enclosure in two parts. As to be expected, associated to this enclosure there will be certainly several funerary contexts. Some will be inside, but probably other will be in the outside, surrounding the enclosed area. This large enclosures start to be predictable in some of their characteristics.

Ditched enclosures in South Portugal with human remains inside (yellow stars)

0123 - Salvada’s prospection

In the context of the work being developed for EDIA (by Omniknos company and ERA assistance), Salvada was prospected today. The enclosed topography is amazing: a deep small stream, with the outside ditches being in the flat lateral tops and then curving towards the stream at North and South. The site is, therefore, a basin (once again), cut almost at the middle by the water line.

At the centre, where some small enclosures seem to be detected in the aerial images, there is a lot of material at the surface and spreading, with lesser densities, all over the right side of the enclosure. Lots of stone tools, abundance of pottery (plates, carenated bowls, globular pots), loom waits, blades and arrow heads, several grinding stones, faunal remains (and possibly human) and a nice limestone idol. It has definatly a Chalcolithic occupation, but a possible Neolithic origin.

 

The material was so much that we have run out of bags and had to be creative.

An amazing site no doubts about it.

0121 - A first sketch of Salvada

A first sketch of Salvada based on Google images and aero photos.

0120 - With a gate open to the solstice?

 

In this older aerial picture of the new site we can see very well the eastern side of the enclosure, namely the sinuous lobules of the inner ditch. We can see a gate that, by its location, seems to be facing the winter solstice. By combining several different images from Goolge and aero photographs we can almost have the whole plan of the site.

0119 - And a new (BIG) one

Just discovered, while preparing a field prospection. The Impact Study refers prehistoric material at the surface. Google reveals the rest (or almost).

It is a big one (480 x 430 meters), more or less the size of Perdigões, and have two external ditches, one apparently linear and the other sinuous like Xancra, Santa Vitória or Outeiro Alto (but much bigger). Inside, we can almost see more two other smaller ditches.

Like Porto Torrão and Pijotilla, a stream cut the enclosure, with a North-South orientation.

It is, naturally, in Alentejo hinterland, in the Beja district.  A work of ERA in a project of water supply of EDIA S.A.