Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Aveiro > Águeda > Águeda > Lamas do Vouga
Situated in the locality of Lamas do Vouga, in the municipality of Águeda, the Cabeço do Vouga Archaeological Station occupies an elevated and strategic position in the landscape. The site rises prominently, at an altitude of approximately 90 meters, between the Vouga River to the north and the Marnel River to the south. This privileged location offers a wide perspective over the surrounding valley and the lowlands characteristic of the "lamas do Vouga". The site encompasses two distinct elevations, Cabeço Redondo and Cabeço da Mina, integrating into a rural environment covered by forest and natural vegetation.
This remarkable archaeological site serves as a true window into history, revealing traces of human occupation spanning millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. However, it was during the Iron Age and, more strikingly, in the Roman Era, that human presence became more intense and organized. Some studies suggest that Cabeço do Vouga may correspond to the ancient city of Talabriga, an important urban center of Roman Lusitania. Over the centuries, this fortified settlement was also known by other names, such as Castelium Marnelis, hillfort, castle, or Cividade Marnel, highlighting its defensive and strategic importance in different historical periods.
The various archaeological interventions have uncovered the foundations of a series of constructions that document the evolution of building techniques and the way of life of the communities that inhabited this site. In the Bronze Age, dwellings were simple huts, round or oval in plan, with wooden structures and roofs of clay or thatch. With the Iron Age, circular-plan buildings appeared, which, over time, evolved into oblong or rectangular shapes, with double-faced walls, sometimes carved directly into the local rock outcrop.
The arrival of the Romans brought profound architectural transformations. Constructions began to feature rectangular foundations with well-worked stones, and the use of roof tiles (tegulae and imbrices) and brick for roofs and pavements became widespread. One of the most striking aspects of the Roman occupation is the existence of a political-military building, possibly a large castellum. This rectangular structure, built of red sandstone, underwent several modifications over time, including the addition of ingenious buttresses, such as semicircular structures and reinforced walls, which attest to the robustness of the Roman defensive system.
The vast and diverse archaeological collection recovered at Cabeço do Vouga is fundamental for understanding the daily life and complex contact networks of the societies that settled here. Among the findings, numerous ceramic fragments stand out, both for domestic use (such as vessels, pots, and bowls) and for construction (such as tiles and brickwork). The presence of amphorae intended for transporting products such as wine and olive oil, as well as fine tableware ceramics, the sigillatas, evidences the integration of this settlement into long-distance Roman trade routes, highlighting its connection to other regions of the empire.
Various metal objects were also discovered, such as nails, fibulae, and ornamental elements in bronze and other noble metals, including the characteristic omega-shaped fibulae. Alongside these, colorful glass beads and other glass artifacts contribute to a more complete picture of material and cultural life. The richness and variety of these objects reflect not only daily activities but also the cultural and economic influences that shaped this site throughout successive civilizations.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 40.6365936,-8.4640819
Coordinates DMS: 40°38'11.7"N 08°27'50.7"W
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