Archaeological Site of Colaride

The archaeological site of Colaride, is a Roman necropolis in a natural cave, located in the Portuguese civil parish of Agualva e Mira-Sintra, municipality of Sintra.[1]

Archaeological Site of Colaride
Alternative nameEstação Romana de Colaride
LocationLisbon, Greater Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Coordinates38.765289°N 9.289453°W / 38.765289; -9.289453
TypeNecropolis
Site notes
Archaeologistsunknown
OwnershipPortuguese Republic
Public accessPrivate Alto de Colaride
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The site was first occupied during pre-history and continued occupied until the Roman era, from ceramics discovered and dated from the site.[1]

Around the 1880s, the archaeological site was discovered by military engineer and geologist Carlos Ribeiro (then in service to the Commissão Geológica de Portugal, under the Ministerio das Obras Publicas, Commercio e Industria),[2] but in 1898 the Roman necropolis was unearthed by agricultural workers.[1][3] Located at the entrance to a natural grotto, the site was prospected by British naturalists and by the director of the Portuguese ethnographic museum, José Leite de Vasconcellos (1858-1941).[2][4] At the time of its discovery the Sintra Gazette referred to the discovery of various human remains and a gold ring.[5] A session of the Real Associação dos Architectos Civis e Archeologos Portugueses (Portuguese Royal Association of Civil Architecture and Archaeologists), realized in the same year, announced the discovery of Roman tombs, noted by the discovery of bones, an inscribed bronze ring and fragments of opus signinum.[5][6] These new discoveries piqued the interest of the Portuguese scientific community.

In 1915, Paul Choffat moved to the location, where he collected various artefacts, which were later sent to the National Archaeology Museum (Museu Nacional de Arqueologia).[1][4] Among these objects was a rare mould used for a scythe, which was used as an example of Bronze Age construction into the first quarter of the 20th century.[2][4]

The site was regularly visited by specialists and the curious during the 19th century, although a full examination of the zone was undertaken in the 1970s, unearthing fragments of ceramics (terra sigillata) and Roman construction materials, such as tegula and imbrices.[2][4][5] These fragments suggested the existence of an inhabited centre, supported by the necropolis.[2] The excavation of the area for the installation of a natural gas pipeline in the region, during the 1990s, also identified a rock quarry used by Roman inhabitants during the same period.[2] Similar fragments were later discovered in the late 1970s, and forwarded to the Museum of Odrinhas (Museu de Odrinhas).[1][2][5]

The first suggestion to classify the site was made by the Associação de Património Olho Vivo on 30 January 1995, which was supported by the municipal council of Sintra on 10 July 1997.[1] The process to classify the site was initiated by the Vice-President of the IPPAR on 7 June 1999. On 28 May 2007, a proposal by the DRLisboa suggested that the site by classified a Property of Public Interest, setting a special protection zone for the site.[1] By 32 October there was support by the consultative council of IGESPAR to the sites protection. On 20 September 2011, the decision to classify the property as a Monument of Public Interest (Monumento de Interesse Público) was established (Announcement 13106/2011; Diário da República, Série, 181).[1]

Architecture
The deplorable state of the Roman quarry of Colaride, near the city of Agualva-Cacém, in Sintra

The Archaeological Site of Colaride occupies a considerable area along a platform located on a spur overlooking the Ribeira de Ossos, from where you can enjoy excellent visibility over the surrounding landscape. It is located 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) west of the geodesic marker of Monte Abraão, and circled to the northeast by the Colaride grotto and southwest by old mill of Rocanes.[5] Surface finds (terra sigillata, tegula and imbrices) indicate a possible villa but only a Roman quarry dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD is confirmed.

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See also

References

Notes
  1. Figueiredo, Paula (2011), SIPA (ed.), Sítio Arqueológico de Colaride (IPA.00032191/v.PT031111180302) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 13 August 2018
  2. Martins, A. (2011). "Sítio Arqueológico de Colaride" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: IGESPAR - Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. Catarina Coelho (2002), p.278
  4. Catarina Coelho (2002), p.279
  5. Catarina Coelho (2002), p.281
  6. Vasconcellos (1898), p.36-37

Sources
  • Coelho, Catarina (2002), "Estudo preliminar da pedreira romana e outros vestígios identificados no sítio arqueológico de Colaride", Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • "Sítio Arqueológico de Colaride", O Arqueólogo Português (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal, 1968
  • Coffyn, André (1983), "La fin de l'Age du Bronze dans le Centre-Portugal", O Arqueólogo Português (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Fontes, Joaquim (1916), "Sur un moule pour faucilles de bronze provenant du Casal de Rocannes", O Arqueólogo Português (in French), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Ribeiro, Carlos (1980), Estudos pré-históricos em Portugal. Notícia de algumas estações e monumentos pré-históricos (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Vasconcellos, J.L. (1898), "Novidades arqueológicas", Boletim da Real Associação dos Architectos Civis e Archeologos Portugueses, Série II, 8:3-4, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 36–37
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