2017 - March : Day trip to Alcoutim
The castle grounds
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On 30 March a group of members and friends travelled by coach up to Alcoutim. At the castle we were welcomed by Alexandra Gradin (the regional archaeologist) who gave a guided tour of the museum situated inside the castle itself and contains the remains of a number of buildings covering at least 4 different phases of the castle's history. By the entrance to the museum Alexandra showed us a number of artefacts that had been donated by local people and she stressed how important this relationship is to her. Panels described some of the important Archaeological sites in the region including the Vila Romana do Montinho das Larangeiras which we visited later in the morning. Finds from these sites were also on display together with a Roman altar dedicated to the god Mars which was discovered in the 19th C by Estacio da Viega, who in 1877, started his famous plan of archaeological sites in the Algarve.
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The walls are accessible and it was plain to see how strategically important was the castle in more turbulent times. A large collection of 'board' games is on display in the castle grounds. During our tour Alexandra explained that despite it's size Alcoutim's administrative area is relatively under populated , the majority of the population is elderly and the municipal income is low. Unfortunately this has affected the amount of archaeological work that she is able to carry out and the development of the museum has been slow, especially as she is the only archaeologist permanently employed.
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On the castle walls
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Alcoutim seen from the castle walls
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We then went on to see the site of the Villa Romana do Montinho das Larangeiras, the occupation of which covered over 1000 years - the Roman villa, a Paleo-Christian temple and evidence of later Islamic occupa-tion. The site is close to the Guardiana river which has always been important in the lives of the people being the only means of transport from the countryside to Alcoutim itself. |
Lunch was taken at a restaurant in the town and then the party drove on to Cachopo...A quiet, typi-cal little town with an interesting ethnographic museum.
Our drive back passed through the beautiful countryside which at this time of year is verdant with rolling hills and wild flowers.
Our thanks go to Alexandra, to Ruth for organising our day and also to Manuel our driver.
Our drive back passed through the beautiful countryside which at this time of year is verdant with rolling hills and wild flowers.
Our thanks go to Alexandra, to Ruth for organising our day and also to Manuel our driver.
