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The Castro of Sacóias (Portuguese: Povoado Fortificado de Sacóias/Castro de Sacóias) is a former fortified settlement and archeological site in the civil parish of Baçal, municipality of Bragança in the Alto Trás-os-Montes subregion of the Portuguese Norte Region.[1]

Castro of Sacóias Castro de Sacóias Fortified Settlement of Sacóias
Castro
Etymology: Sacóias
Coordinates: 41°51′47.26″N 6°41′24.84″W
Country	Portugal
Region	Norte
Subregion	Alto Trás-os-Montes
District	Bragança
Municipality	Bragança
Elevation	680 m (2,230 ft)
Management	Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico
Operator	Câmara Municipal de Torres Vedras
Status	National Monument Monumento Nacional
Listing	Decree 16 June 1910; DG136, 23 June 1910

History

It is likely that the site was constructed during the Iron Age, and restructured over time.[1] It was occupied by Roman settlers during the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula.[1]

During the second half of the 18th century, the then-existing religious temple was moved from the Castro to the main settlement, to substitute an older chapel, then housing a baptismal fountain and conserving the Blessed Sacrament.[1]

The Castro, and group of existing structures, are of individual importance that resulted in it being designated a National Monument in 1910, as well as a structure of municipal interest by the council of Bragança.[1]

Architecture

The site is located on an isolated, rural hilltop rising over the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Assunção.[1] It consists of a destroyed fortified settlement, with small walls constructed with small stones, in addition to remnants of tiles, bricks and millstones.[1] Most of the artefacts unearthed from the site was collected by the Sociedade Martins Sarmento, and presented at the Municipal Museum of Bragança and Archaeological Museum.[1]

References

Notes

Sources

• Fernandes, Armando; Rodrigues, Luís Alexandre (2004), Monografia das Freguesias do Concelho de Bragança (in Portuguese), Bragança, Portugal: Câmara Municipal de Bragança
• Lopo, Albino dos Santos Pereira (1987), Apontamentos Arqueológicos (in Portuguese), Braga, Portugal

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