Roman villa of Santo André de Almoçageme
Roman ruins of Santo André de Almoçageme (Ruinas romanas de Santo André de Almoçageme) | |
Ruins (Ruinas) | |
Official name: Villa romana de Santo André de Almoçageme | |
Country | Portugal |
---|---|
Region | Lisbon |
Subregion | Greater Lisbon |
District | Lisbon |
Municipality | Sintra |
Location | Colares |
Architects | unknown |
Style | Roman |
Material | Limestone masonry |
Origin | 3rd Century |
Owner | Portuguese Republic |
For public | Public |
Easiest access | Roadway to Rodízio, Santo André de Almoçageme |
Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |
Status | Property of Public Interest |
Listing | Decree 67/97; Diário da República, Série-1B, 301 (31 December 1997); included in the Protected Area of Sintra-Cascais (v. PT031111050264) |
The Roman ruins of Santo Andre de Almoçageme (Portuguese: Ruinas romanas de Santo Andre de Almoçageme) is a Portuguese archaeological site located in the rural civil parish of Colares, in the municipality of Sintra. It includes a group of structures with typological, stylistic or historic value, whose structural elements are worthy of preservation.
History
The settlement was constructed between the 3rd and 5th centuries.[1]
In the 17th century a funerary inscription, unrelated to the physical structures was discovered, implying a more intricate history.[1]
In 1905, a polychromatic mosaic was discovered, in addition to artefacts linked to its Roman history.[1] The first official archaeological excavations began between 1980 and 1990: these excavations exposed a large area of the main house (pars urbana) that included several rooms with mosaic pavements to the north (that included peristyle).[1] In the excavated pars rustica a brick oven was discovered, used for producing ceramics.[1] Later, the structures became derelict and in the adjoining spaces a grave was discovered, where two newborn children were buried.
Architecture
Inscriptions along the perimeter of the triangular plan is delimited by metallic fence, defining the structures of the town.[1] The settlement includes walls composed of an irregular masonry 30–40 centimetres (12–16 in) in height.[1] Its plan is essentially comprises various rectangular spaces, many corresponding to halls and paved with mosaics (in the north and west).[1]
In the excavated areas, there are two rectangular, plaster tanks: one situated at the end of the wall and the other irregular, located near a bunk of tiles.[1] Also located near the excavated zone is a brick oven and child's burial grave, both near to each other.[1]
See also
References
- Notes
- Sources
- O Archeologo Portuguez (in Portuguese), X/XI, Lisbon, Portugal, 1905
- Silva, José Cornélio da; Luckhurst, Gerald (1989), Sintra. A Paisagem e Suas Quintas (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal