Hamlet 1B

Category: Archaeology > Farmstead

District: Beja > Ourique > Alcaria de Fernão Vaz > Marchique Nova

Location

Alcaria 1B is located in Marchique Nova, part of the village of Alcaria de Fernão Vaz, in the municipality of Ourique. This area is situated at a point of landscape transition in the Alentejo, between the plains and the gentle schist elevations, giving the site a serene atmosphere connected to the surrounding nature. Its position, approximately one thousand meters east of the Fernão Vaz site, contributes to the experience of discovering an ancestral heritage in the heart of the region.

The geographical coordinates of the site are 37º34'23.10"N and 8º16'46.43"W, facilitating its identification on the map and navigation to this point of archaeological interest.

Testimony of the Bronze Age

This site is an important testimony to the Bronze Age, a period that profoundly marked the history of the Iberian Peninsula, extending throughout the second millennium BC. Alcaria 1B offers direct contact with the civilizations that inhabited southern Portugal thousands of years ago, revealing aspects of their life and social structures. It is a place that allows for an immersion in antiquity, inviting reflection on human evolution in the Alentejo territory.

The Structure and Its Enigmas

Alcaria 1B is characterized by a rectangular-plan schist structure. Its conservation presents challenges, which makes its functional interpretation an open field for archaeological speculation. Current studies point to two main hypotheses regarding its original use. It could have been part of a settlement, as habitation areas and necropolises often coexisted in close proximity during the Bronze Age.

An alternative suggests that the structure could have played a ritual or cultic role, intimately linked to the funerary practices observed in the adjacent necropolis, Alcaria 1A. This ambiguity adds a layer of mystery to the site, encouraging visitors to imagine the lives and beliefs of the communities that settled here in such a remote past.

An Introspective Visit

Visiting Alcaria 1B transcends the mere observation of ruins; it is an opportunity for an introspective journey into the past. The simplicity of the structure, framed by the Alentejo landscape, invites a moment of contemplation on how ancient communities related to their environment and to death. The site provides a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural roots of Ourique and the Alentejo, in an environment that inspires tranquility and reverence for those who preceded us.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt