Castro of Zambujal
| Castro of Zambujal (Castro de Zambujal) | |
| Prehistoric Monument of Zambujal | |
| Castro | |
 The excavations on the Zambujal promontory in 2007, showing in front the 4th fortification line
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| Official name: Monumento pré-histórico no Casal do Zambujal/Castro do Zambujal | |
| Named for: Zambujal | |
| Country |  Portugal |
|---|---|
| Region | Centro |
| Subregion | Oeste |
| District | Lisbon |
| Municipality | Torres Vedras |
| Location | Santa Maria do Castelo e São Miguel |
| - elevation | 86 m (282 ft) |
| - coordinates | 39°4′27.78″N 9°17′8.20″W / 39.0743833°N 9.2856111°WCoordinates: 39°4′27.78″N 9°17′8.20″W / 39.0743833°N 9.2856111°W |
| Length | 123.25 m (404 ft), Northwest-Southeast |
| Width | 188.45 m (618 ft), Southwest-Northeast |
| Architects | unknown |
| Style | Calcolithic |
| Material | Limestone |
| Origin | c. 2500 BCE |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| For public | Public |
| Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |
| Operator | Câmara Municipal de Torres Vedras |
| Status |
National Monument Monumento Nacional |
| Listing | Decree 35/817; Diário do Governo, 187 (20 August 1946) |
The Castro of Zambujal (Portuguese: Castro do Zambujal) is a Neolithic age archeological site in the civil parish of Santa Maria do Castelo e São Miguel, municipality of Torres Vedras in the western littoral area of the Portuguese Centro Region. The Zambujal Castro is one of the most important Copper Age settlements in the peninsula of Lisbon, and whose culture lasted until the beginning of the agrarian periods of Iberian history. Apart from being the most northerly discovered Copper Age site in Portugal, it went through two main building phases: an import-oriented phase and the second associated with the Beaker culture.
The site was discovered and interpreted in 1932 by the Portuguese archaeologist Leonel Trindade, who, made the first investigation in 1944, and together with Aurélio Racardo Belo in 1959-1961. From 1964 to 1973 the excavations were directed by Hermanfrid Schubart.(German Archaeological Institute) and Edward Sangmeister (University of Freiburg).
New excavations were started in 1994 and 1995 by Michael Kunst (German Archaeological Institute) and Hans-Peter Uerpmann (University of Tübingen), the work was continued by Michael Kunst (German Archaeological Institute) with the support of the Municipal Council of Torres Vedras. From 1964 until nowadays the project is manely financed by the German Archaeological Institute of Madrid.
Occupation of the site was initiated in the Chalcolithic period, in the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Research of the last 30 years suggest that the region of the actual Portuguese Estremadura in Central Portugal was the region where the so-called Bell Beaker phenomenon started around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, and from there spread to other European regions during the later Chalcolithic or early Bronze Age. In this context Zambujal is with its relative good conservation (some walls existing still up to a height of 4 meters) and large stratigraphies one of the most important sites. The site and surrounding land was specifically tied to a Chalcolithic settlement that constructed a wall around itself to protect its community from attack. The settlers, who may have been from the peninsula but perhaps with Eastern Mediterranean contacts, based their economy on intensive farming. They were also part of an economic network importing minerals like copper and amphibolit stone, also ivory and gold, between 3000 and 1700 BC.
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