August 2022 : Visit to Alferce Castle
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On the last day of August a group of members and guests were welcomed by Fabio Capela who is investigating the castle of Alferce. We visited the site last year and this time we were able to see the results of this year’s campaign. Fabio and his team have revealed more of one of the entrances into the castle and this has shown that during its active life certain alterations were made to the structures - presumably to make it more defensively secure. |
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They have also found evidence of habitation from the Islamic period with ceramic metal work and faunal remains being discovered close by. The castle and it’s defensive walls extend beyond the present excavations and Fabio is hoping that this will be investigated at some point in the future.
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The castle sits on a large hill overlooking the Oudelouca river valley and the views from there are very extensive, in fact on a clear day it is possible to see towards the Alentejo to the north east right round to the coast in the south! See picture in the header. This was important during the occupation of the castle as it allowed the inhabitants to observe and note possible threats.
Fabio also explained that plans are in place to build a wooden walkway from a future interpretation centre in Alferce and across the valley with an access pathway up to the castle. A viewing platform will be built so that visitors can appreciate the beautiful and extensive scenery. The land on which the castle sits has now been purchased by the CM Monchique and during our visit we met the mayor who had arranged this. He had arrived with his daughter to volunteer on the site and expressed his thanks to the AAA for the support we have given.
Fabio also explained that plans are in place to build a wooden walkway from a future interpretation centre in Alferce and across the valley with an access pathway up to the castle. A viewing platform will be built so that visitors can appreciate the beautiful and extensive scenery. The land on which the castle sits has now been purchased by the CM Monchique and during our visit we met the mayor who had arranged this. He had arrived with his daughter to volunteer on the site and expressed his thanks to the AAA for the support we have given.
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After the visit, Humberto Verissimo, who is part of the team working at the site (and also makes the lecture posters for us) showed us some of the specimens found during the excavation. |
In the small medronha distillery just across the road Humberto explained the process of the distillation of the medronho and some of the group had a small taste of the end product. It seems there’s a lot of competitive, friendly jealousy amongst the distillers of medronha in the Monchique region…each insisting that theirs is the best!
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We then travelled to the Casa Cinza restaurant near Caldas where everyone enjoyed a convivial lunch of local pork dishes and bacalhao. It was great to meet some of the new members of the AAA as well as the guests who had joined the party. Our thanks go to Fabio and Humberto for their time and enthusiasm. Also to João Gonçalves for organizing another great visit for us.
Please look at the link below for a comprehensive report on the castle site by Elisabete Rodrigues :
https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2022/09/castelo-de-alferce-revela-os-seus-segredos-em-mais-uma-campanha-arqueologica/
