Castro of Monte Castelo
| Castro of Monte Castelo (Castro de Monte Castelo) | |
| Castro | |
| Official name: Povoado fortificado do Monte Castelo de Guifões/Monte Castelo | |
| Named for: Monte Castelo | |
| Country |  Portugal |
|---|---|
| Region | Norte |
| Subregion | Greater Porto |
| District | Porto |
| Municipality | Matosinhos |
| Location | Custóias, Leça do Balio e Guifões |
| Style | Calcolithic |
| Materials | Granite, Imbrex and tegula, Clay, Tile |
| Origin | 900 BCE |
| - Initiated | 5 BCE |
| - Completion | 5th century |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| For public | Public |
| Easiest access | Guifões; pedestrian trail at the end of the Rua do Monte do Castelo |
| Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |
| Status |
Property of Public Interest Imóvel de Interesse Público |
| Listing | Decree 516/71, Diário do Governo, Série 1, 274, 22 November 1971 |
The Castro of Monte Castelo (Portuguese: Povoado fortificado do Monte Castelo de Guifões/Monte Castelo) is a Calcolithic fortified settlement, situated in the civil parish of Custóias, Leça do Balio e Guifões, in the municipality of Matosinhos in the northern Portuguese district of Porto.
The oldest archeological artefacts were encountered from 900 B.C.
Evidence suggests that the Castro was inhabited between 5 B.C. and the 5th century.
During the late Middle Age, the locale was re-occupied with the construction of a small castle.
Between the 10th and 11th century, the local was referenced in the documentation as castrum quiffiones.
In 1878, there were archaeological excavations under the direction of Francisco Martins Sarmento.
At the beginning of the 20th century, new archaeological excavations were undertaken, this time under the direction of Rocha Peixoto. These were followed in the first quarter of the century by surveys by Rui de Serpa Pinto and Mendes Corrêa. These were followed between 1950 and 1960 by excavations by Joaquim Neves dos Santos; and between 1993 and 1994, by Joel Cleto.
In 2016, a campaign of archeological excavations at the Castro, in the course of a protocol established between the Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos and the Department of Sciences and Technical Patrimony by the Faculty of Letters, from the University of Porto, who discovered the ruins of a 1st-century house, a few walls and artefacts from southern Spain, Italy and north Africa.
The site is situated on the periphery of Guifões, on the eastern flank of a hilltop overlooking the town, surrounded by pine forests, overlooking the Leça River.
The fortified settlement is defended by three lines of walls. The upper platform is actually used by a shooting range, with constructions and storage rooms. One of the detectable buildings, with a rectangular plan, has a floor of clay and masonry fireplace, whose sill still conserves a decorative twin serpents, which has been interpreted by archaeologist Neves dos Santos as being a sanctuary linked to a funerary cult. The same archaeologist detected another edifice that conserved the base column and respective shaft that suggest a Roman temple.
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Wikipedia