Complexo Arqueológico dos Perdigões

Ditched Enclosure - Neolithic e Chalcolithic (Copper Age) (597)
The Perdigões site is located roughly 2km north east of Reguengos de Monsaraz, at the western end of the Álamo Brook, on the slope of an open elevation over the megalithic plains of Reguengos, and having the elevation of Monsaraz as a visual horizon, to the east. This site covers an area of about 16 hectares, most of which are part of the Perdigões estate. The various geophysical surveys and archaeological excavations allowed the documentation of a set of ditch type structures dug in to the geological substrate, with diversified blueprints (three sinuous, seven linear and one palisade), which delimit large areas, presenting a long diachrony. In addition to this large ditch system, several silo/pit structures were identified, along with residential areas, combustion structures and various subterranean or semi-subterranean funerary monuments, with a chamber and orthostatic corridor, as well as multiple areas containing human burials. The archaeological objects (artefacts made of polished and flaked stone, bone artefacts, ceramic vessels, fauna remains) allow the documentation of community settlement in this site during a wide diachronic occupation, ranging between the middle of the 4th and during the 3rd millennium BC (3500 - 2000 BC). The Perdigões site corresponds to a prominent social, cultural, and symbolic habitation centre of central Alentejo, articulating a wide network of housing and funerary/ritual spaces, of different dimensions and characteristics. The various architectural elements and the presence of multiple symbolic and prestigious materials, some of which having exogenous origins (marble and limestone artefacts, decorative elements made of different types of green stone, amber and gold, silex, ivory, some ceramic productions and estuarine and maritime seashell elements, among others), is evidence to a growing complexity of the local Perdigões communities and their interaction with different peninsular, Mediterranean and Atlantic European territories.

Overview

The research team (NIA, Era-Archeology) organizes various activities throughout the year. On the ground floor of the Herdade do Esporão Medieval Tower there is a small interpretive centre with information about the site and archaeological materials on display.

Visit conditions

By booking

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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