Tailor's Mill

Category: Civil Architecture > Mill

District: Santarém > Tomar > Casais Novos > Além da Ribeira e Pedreira

Location

Moinho do Alfaiate is located in the area of Além da Ribeira e Pedreira, part of the locality of Casais Novos, in the municipality of Tomar. Access to this site is from Estrada de Casais Novos, following a path that crosses areas of natural vegetation.

Prehistoric Remains

This site, although known as Moinho do Alfaiate, has proven to be a site of notable archaeological importance. Identified as a natural cave, it functioned as a necropolis during the Late Neolithic, evidencing the funerary practices of the communities that inhabited the region. The discoveries point to a particular funerary ritual, involving the collection of bones and their subsequent organized deposition in ossuaries, which represents one of the first examples of collective burials in the area.

Findings and Cultural Context

Archaeological investigations allowed for the collection of a diverse set of materials. Among the findings are hemispherical bowls, adzes, flint blades, and hammerstones, offering a window into the tools and material culture of the era. The presence of cervid bones, alongside a large quantity of human bones, contributes significantly to the understanding of funerary practices and the daily life of the prehistoric populations that settled here.

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