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WALLS
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As you are approaching Observation Point 2, look out for this imposing
vertical rock. This is a quartz schist escarpment, marking the southernmost
boundary of Crasto de Palheiros or Fragada do Crasto. Because of its size,
this site has only been partially excavated. The information presented in the
guide is based upon documentation from all excavations carried out up until
the most recent in 2003.
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You are now at the southeast edge of Crasto de Palheiros. Although the Southern
Embankment is already visible, continue on to Observation Point 3 where you will find
more precise information. Here, over the course of various millennia, human
constructions entered into dialogue with the topographical and rocky features of this
place in a very particular way.
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The Crasto had two broad periods of occupation: the oldest dates from around 3000 to 1800 BC (Chalcolithic), when this promontory was transformed into a great monument; while the more recent is from between approximately
900/800 BC and the 2nd century AD (Late Bronze and Iron Age), when a settlement was raised. This is the best observation point in the series because, from here, we can see vestiges of all the architectural and spatial changes that have
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taken place at Fragada do Crasto since the 3 Millennium BC. The sketch shows how the architecture and its spaces would have appeared at the terminal moment (1 century AD), when the site was abandoned. We can observe the
following: 1- An Upper Enclosure or 'acropolis' surrounded by a dry stone wall placed upon an enormous embankment that had already been built in the Chalcothic; 2 – a Lower Enclosure (Enclosure L), surrounded by a narrow wall built
around 330/200 BC. This wall is also placed upon an enormous Chalcolithic Embankment. In both enclosures, there were residential units which served a number of different purposes during the Iron Age.
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Ao subir as escadas repare nesta grande construção de pedra e terra que é o Talude Interno (construído entre 2850 e 2700 AC).
Nessa altura teria, no seu topo, uma Muralha com embasamento em pedra e o corpo em terra/argila (taipa). Este Recinto Superior é o
espaço criado mais precocemente neste Monumento do Calcolítico, ou seja, é o espaço demarcado mais antigo desta estação
arqueológica. Estas arquitecturas (Taludes e Muralhas) regularizam os rebordos da plataforma e criam, pela primeira vez na Fragada do
Crasto, um espaço fisicamente marcado de modo assertivo. Este espaço, ou plataforma, vai-se manter como eixo arquitectónico e
simbólico até ao final da ocupação Calcolítica (cerca de 1800 AC). Deste modo, no Recinto Superior encontrará os Pontos de
Observação privilegiada sobre a paisagem circundante e sobre o próprio sítio (Colocámos aí os Pontos de Observação 5, 6, 7 e 8.)
Nota: Tenha cuidado pois o terreno é irregular; não se aproxime demasiado dos rebordos da plataforma ou dos rochedos!
As you climb the steps, notice this great construction of stone and earth that is the Inner Embankment (built between 2850 and 2700 BC). At
that time, it would have had a wall at the top, constructed in earth/clay (taipa) but with stone foundations. This Upper Enclosure was the first
space to have been created in this Chalcolithic monument, and is therefore the most ancient demarcated space in this archaeological site. These
constructions (the Embankments and Walls) regularized the edges of the plateau and, for the first time at Fragada do Crasto, created a space that
was physically marked out from the rest in an assertive way. This space, or platform, continued to function as an architectural and symbolic axis
until the end of the Chalcolithic occupation (around 1800 BC). Thus, the best places from which to observe the surrounding countryside and the
site itself are found in the Upper Enclosure (Observation Points 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been placed here).
Note: Take care because the terrain is uneven; don't get too close to the edges of the plateau or the rocks!
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Olhe em direcção a nascente e em direcção a poente. Verificará que o Crasto ocupa o ponto mais
alto duma crista de rochas quartzíticas que constitui uma pequena porção de uma gigantesca dobra
geológica. Os quartzitos como que afloram, descarnados, pelas linha de cume. São rochas
compostas quase exclusivamente por pequenos grãos de quartzo, inicialmente depositados como
uma areia numa zona litoral de um antigo mar. Depois de consolidarem e serem metamorfizados
transformam-se em rochas muito duras que resistem ao intemperismo da superfície do planeta e
formam relevos elevados, muitas vezes imponentes, que se destacam na paisagem, parecendo
emergir das rochas que os envolvem.
Look towards the east and west. You will see that the Crasto occupies the highest point of a quartzite
ridge, which is in turn part of a gigantic geological fold. The bare quartzite outcrops along the summit are
composed exclusively of small grains of quartz, initially deposited as sand in a coastal region of an ancient
sea. After consolidation and metamorphism, they transformed into very hard rocks that have resisted the
weathering at the surface of the planet, forming high imposing mountains that stand out from the surrounding
countryside, seeming to emerge from the rocks around them.
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Imagine that you are now in the Chalcolithic period (between 2850 and
2500 BC) and walking through the Upper Enclosure. The wall represented
in the sketch was built of earth/clay, with stone foundations. This space would
have been used for various different activities, which would have been carried
out both inside and outside “huts” made of perishable materials. In around
2700 BC, the wall was deliberately destroyed and the space was symbolically
and ritually “closed”. The stones on the ground represent the terminal
moment of this "closure".
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Note: The restored wall is from the 1 century AD, although it makes use
of the foundations of the earlier Chalcolithic wall.
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This shows part of the Iron Age settlement (6th/5th BC - 2nd century AD). In the
foreground, you can see the Inner Embankment (which is still being excavated). In the
middle distance, there is a platform, which was transformed by a robust stone wall into a
walled residential enclosure in the period around the turn of the Era. In the background,
you can see the Outer Embankment in stone (partially restored) and the Visitors' Centre.
The thick stone wall is the most recent architectural feature on this platform. In an
earlier period, between around 550 BC and the turn of the Era, the residential units would
have been scattered over the whole slope, occupying both the large platform and smaller
ones created upon the pre-existing embankment.
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This architectural cluster is similar to that of Panel 6 and was created between around
2850 and 2500 BC. This is the northern zone of the Upper Enclosure of the
Chalcolithic Monument. The sketch shows the moment when the wall crowned the top
of the Inner Embankment in this area. This place was also later ritually/symbolically
closed by the destruction of the wall, the raising of the embankment and the creation of
areas for the deposit of artifacts and cereal seeds. These areas, which certainly had a
structuring role to play in the life and functions of the site at the time, were later overlaid by
successive deposits. In its terminal phase, it would have appeared as a platform with
stoney areas and clay soil areas, which would have sealed off everything that had been
found there previously.
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Por volta de 300-200 AC foi criado este recinto (Recinto L) nesta área
do povoado da Idade do Ferro. A muralha, de pequeno porte, segue
aproximadamente o traçado da anterior muralha calcolítica (à época
totalmente destruída). Ainda durante este período existem unidades
habitacionais tanto no interior do Recinto L como sobre o Talude
Calcolítico. No terreno observa-se o piso (restaurado) duma unidade
habitacional circular, bem como duma estrutura de planta em hélice
cujas funções precisas se desconhecem.
A muralha do recinto superior (em último plano) será provavelmente
mais recente, datando por certo da viragem, da Era.
Around 300-200 BC, this enclosure (Enclosure L) was created in this area
of the Iron Age settlement. The wall, which is small in size, follows the line of
the former Chalcolithic wall (which would have been completely destroyed by
that time). During this period, there were residential units inside Enclosure L
and on the Chalcolithic embankment. On the ground, we can see the
(restored) floor of a circular residential unit, and also a spiral-shaped
structure, whose precise function is unknown.
The wall of the upper enclosure (in the background) is probably more
recent, dating from around the turn of the Era.
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