Grutas da Quinta do Anjo/ Grutas do Casal do Pardo/ Covas da Moura

Artificial Cave/ Rock Cut Tomb - Neolithic, Chalcolithic (Copper Age) e Bronze Age (860)
The artificial cave necropolis of Casal do Pardo or Quinta do Anjo is located southeast of the Quinta do Anjo village, on Casal do Pardo place, in a small elongated slope of a plateaued elevation, facing the northeast, running parallel to the Serra do Louro and Serra das Torres Altas ranges. This monument is integrated in the Parque Natural da Arrábida. This necropolis is composed by four caves excavated on the soft limestone outcrops from the Tertiary. These caves have a circular shaped chamber, with around 4m to 5m in diameter, a domed ceiling with a small skylight at the top, an oval shaped antechamber, a straight and narrow corridor with variable length, and an access door. The artefact collection associated to these monuments is vast and diversified, composed by osteological human remains, silex lithic-flaked artefacts (geometrics, blades and arrowheads, some with clear signs of use), polished stone artefacts (adzes and amphibolite axes), votive limestone artefacts (plain and decorated baetylus, mortar, adzes and some other phallic representations), engraved shale plaques and plain sandstone plaques, personal adornment artefacts such as collar beads, pendants (made of shells, variscite, calcite, muscovite, quartz, talc, shale, amongst others), hairpins and buttons made of bone, elements in gold (spiralled ring, tubular components and plaques), copper artefacts namely the "Palmela-type" point (leaf like morphology and a somewhat shorter stalk), a set of plain and decorated ceramic vessels (ripples, reticular¿), which special emphasis on the bell shape decorated vessels (Maritime style and with incised and impressed decoration) and the "Palmela-type" bowls, exhibiting geometric decoration and sometimes, zoomorphic motifs (deer and doe) and shell debris (clams, escallops) and blue shark teeth. The architectonic characteristics of this funerary structure, combined with the exhumed artefacts and absolute dating allow to frame its construction during the Late Neolithic (3200 - 2900 BC) and a more intense use during the Chalcolithic (2900 - 2000 BC), with some reusing during the Bronze Age. Due to its architectonic characteristics and artefact collection of the Quinta do Anjo or Casal do Pardo artificial caves have become a site that cannot be avoided if looking to study of funerary practices during the Late Neolithic / Chalcolithic in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

Overview

Free access monument. Guide book available in digital format.

Visit conditions

Free entrance

Timetables

Documents

    How to get there? Best practices

    Best practices

    Good practices when visiting archaeological sites

    To visit an archaeological site is to connect with our origins, to understand our path and evolution as a species integrated in the environment, and to respect and safeguard our heritage so that future generations can also visit and enjoy it.

    Walking the paths and enjoying the structures and archaeological pieces that survived over time, fosters the understanding of what is different, but also of what is common among different populations: basically, what identifies us as Homo Sapiens.

    More than just vestiges and ruins of the past, archaeological sites showcase our capacity for creative thought, adaptation, interconnection, comprehension and resilience. Without these traits we would not have been successful as cultural beings participating in an ongoing evolutionary process. These sites also allow to consider choices made in the past thus contributing for decisions in the present to be made with greater awareness and knowledge.

    Archaeological sites are unique and irreplaceable. These sites are fragile resources vulnerable to changes driven by human development. The information they keep, if destroyed, can never be recovered again.

    As such, the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) invites all visitors to enjoy the beauty and authenticity of these sites, while helping to preserve them for future generations by adopting the following set of good practices:

    • Respect all signs; 
    • Do not try to access fenced areas; 
    • Do not climb, sit or walk on archaeological structures and remains; 
    • Respect areas where archaeological excavations are being carried out, not disturbing them; 
    • Do not collect materials or sediments;
    • Do not write or make graffiti on archaeological structures; 
    • Put the garbage in appropriate containers. If none exist, take the garbage with you until you find a suitable container; 
    • Leave the archaeological site as you found it; 
    • Do not drive bicycles or motor vehicles over archaeological sites; 
    • Respect and protect the plants and animals that live in the areas surrounding archaeological sites;
    • Report signs of vandalism or destruction to DGPC or Regional Directorates of Culture (DRC);
    • Share the visiting experience and the archaeological sites, as a way of raising awareness to their preservation and making them better known;
    • Do not buy archaeological materials and report to public security authorities, DGPC or DRC, if you suspect that archaeological materials may be for sale.

    Further information:

    AIA / ATTA (2013) – Guide to best practices for archaeological tourism. 

    Raposo, J. (2016) – Código de conduta para uma visita responsável a sítios arqueológicos. In Sítios arqueológicos portugueses revisitados: 500 arqueossítios ou conjuntos em condições de fruição pública responsável. Al-madan, 2ª série, p. 20 – 77. 

    DGPC contacts

    Phone: +351213614200 | Email: informacaoarqueologica@dgpc.pt

     


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