The archaeological station of Ferragial d'El Rei / Alter do Chão, also known as Medusa's House, corresponds to vestiges of the pars urban of a Roman villa, located on a small platform, with good visibility over the landscape (263m altitude), flanked by two water lines, in the vicinity of the Roman city of Abelterium (Alter do Chão). The various archaeological works carried out from the 1950s to the beginning of the 21st century allowed the identification of structural and artefactual traces of an imposing Roman villa, with several stages of construction and occupation, chronologically framed between the 1st-century and the 7th century AD (Roman period/Late Antiquity). The residential area (pars urbana) of this villa is organized around a rectangular shaped peristilum of (352m2), with mosaic pavement possessing geometric motifs, walls decorated with paintings, a central tank and a garden. The northeast wing compartments, which are better preserved, had rectangular/square blueprints (areas between 10 - 19m2) and pavement with geometric mosaics. The triclinium (large living room, used for banquets) was located at the southeast end of the peristilum, presenting a rectangular blueprint (53m2 of internal area), with the floor covered by a mosaic of great artistic quality. This mosaic represents the penultimate scene of chapter XII of Virgil's Aeneid, having Aeneas as central figure, holding a shield with the face of Medusa. Behind Aeneas are three Trojan soldiers armed with spears and shield, and on the opposite side, three Rutuli armed combatants. At the base are also representations of the river Tiber Genius and the god Vulcano. In the northeast wing of the domus, and as a result of this space's restructuring, a representation room can be identified, squared in shape (with 77m2) and horseshoe apse, with walls and pavement profusely ornamented. The thermal bathhouse was located to the south west, where preserved traces of its various compartments are found, which underwent alterations and remodelling, increasing its size and complexity over time. This thermal building could have a private use, especially in its first stages of construction, gaining a public dimension with the subsequent enlargement works. Several construction projects that occurred in the villa of Alter do Chão between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, display the economic growth and a greater architectural and artistic monumentality, evidence of the high social status of their owners. During the 6th and 7th centuries, one of the frigidarium tanks of the thermal bathhouse was reused as a necropolis, with three rectangular shaped burial graves found inside, constructed with reused materials and covered by shale slabs. The burials were individual, without votive spoil, and only with clothing elements and personal bronze adornment (earrings, rings, buckles). The simplicity of these funerary structures, their close relationship with water and proximity to residential areas may indicate the possible Christianization of these individuals, which requires a more in-depth analysis.

Ferragial d'El-Rei has an interpretive center on site, although booking is required. Tickets can be purchased on site.

By booking

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