Another archaeological campaign has already begun at Cerro do Castelo de Alferce, in Monchique.
The initiative takes place within the scope of the Multiannual Research Project in Archeology entitled “From Recent Prehistory to Islamic Medieval: ancient human occupations in Cerro do Castelo de Alferce”.
The excavations will last until September 8th and, given the results of the three archaeological campaigns carried out, «it is intended to continue investigating the area located between the sections of the west wall of the two existing fortified enclosures at the top of the hill, as well as the area of the former entrance to the upper fortified enclosure (the commonly called castle of Alferce) and, also, the so-called “prehistoric platform”», says the Câmara de Monchique.
In addition to these three areas, it is planned to carry out more archaeological surveys, namely in the northwest corner of the castle of Alferce (interior and exterior of the northern section of the wall) and, also, next to the inner face of the northern section of the wall of the second fortified enclosure – defensive structure suitable for the XNUMXth century of our era, prior to the construction of the upper enclosure (XNUMXth century).
At the same time, “the focus will continue to be on cleaning the land in the area defined by the two fortified enclosures, by removing fallen stones that are scattered on the ground”.
This campaign will include students and researchers associated with different national higher education institutions, mainly related to the areas of archaeology, zooarchaeology and cultural heritage.
Near the end of the field work, another “open day” will be held for the population.
This research project has been running since 2020 and is promoted by the Municipality of Monchique, in partnership with the University of the Algarve, the University of Évora and the Mértola Archaeological Field, with the support of the Parish Council of Alferce and the Archaeological Association of the Algarve .
Research project involves several entities
The Multiannual Research Project in Archeology entitled “From Recent Prehistory to the Islamic Medieval: ancient human occupations on Cerro do Castelo de Alferce”, promoted by the Monchique Chamber, has been in force since 2020, in partnership with the Universities of the Algarve and Évora and the Mértola Archaeological Field, and the support of the Alferce Parish Council and the Algarve Archaeological Association.
The Cerro do Castelo de Alferce is a fortified village that occupies a rocky elevation with a maximum altitude of 487 meters, in the Monchique mountains. The archaeological site is composed of three non-concentric walled enclosures, and the one commonly called Castelo de Alferce corresponds to the upper fortified enclosure, where the investigations are taking place.
The fortification consisted of three orders of walls: an upper fort of the qasr type (alcácer), a belt of walls about 36 meters from the fort and a third fence surrounding the entire hill, with about 9 hectares of intramural area.
In addition to the Umayyad-Islamic occupation (XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries AD), the hill contains archaeological remains that can be traced back to Late Prehistory, namely the Bronze Age (XNUMXnd millennium BC).
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