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Crastoeiro
"Castro do Castroeiro, in Mondim de Basto, was classified as a site of public interest, according to an ordinance published today in Diário da República, which considers it an “important testimony to the forms of occupation of the territory”.
Located on a small elevation a short distance from the top of Nossa Senhora da Graça, that Iron Age settlement is integrated in a large granite spot, in the parish of São Cristóvão de Mondim de Basto, and holds a strategic domain over the Tâmega river valley.
“The size and long chronology of the site, which was used in Roman times, as well as the integrity of the structures, give Castro do Castroeiro a high historical and scientific value, constituting an important testimony of the forms of occupation of the territory and cultures. proto-historical”, says the document signed by the Assistant Secretary of State and Cultural Heritage, Ângela Carvalho Ferreira.
The vice-mayor of Mondim de Basto, Paulo Mota, told the Lusa agency that this classification meets an old claim of this municipality in the district of Vila Real and that the process began in the 90s of the last century.
The ordinance explains that the Iron Age settlement comprises “a complex defensive system consisting of two robust belts of oval-shaped walls, adapted to the local topography, reinforced by a ditch dug in the granite outcrop on the most vulnerable side”.
He adds that on the central platform and on a lateral platform, housing cores composed of structures of different shapes were excavated, which, together with the ceramic collection collected, allow the identification of two occupations of the site.
A “significant complex of granite outcrops, chronologically attributable to the Late Bronze Age, was also identified on the surface, a period presumably prior to that considered for the construction of the village, where geometric motifs predominate”.
Bearing in mind the need to protect the site, a Special Protection Zone (ZEP) was established, which takes into account the privileged relationship of the castro with the surroundings and with the neighboring Campelo Rock Station, located to the north.
An area of ??archaeological sensitivity was also created in the ZEP.
Paulo Mota pointed out that the ZEP is an area of ??“immense rock figures” and considered that it is a “heritage value that is a little raw, to be explored, disseminated and promoted” and considered that, “there is a huge potential here to Mondim de Basto.
“This classification comes to protect this heritage and is, without a doubt, great news”, he stressed.
Paulo Mota recalled that previous municipal executives managed to protect this heritage from the “threat of the quarries” and also said that the castro has been the target of several excavation campaigns, the last of which ended in 2019.
The vice-president stressed that the municipality wants to move forward with a project, which resulted from a master's thesis and aims to “provide this entire area with infrastructure and conditions to enhance visitation” of the castro and the rock station."
News article Retrieved and translated from the website:https://www.diariodetrasosmontes.com