Portugal has hundreds, if not thousands, of prehistoric sites. These are broken down into the following categories:
- Dinosaur fossil sites: visitable sites of trace fossils – fossilized footprints
- Caves: both natural caves used by ancient humans, as well as artificial caves created by them
- Settlements: sites where prehistoric humans created places to live, with traces that remain today
- Megaliths: human constructions made of large stone slabs
- Art: locations where humans painted or engraved symbols or images
- Museums: which provide information and display movable artefacts found in prehistoric sites
Many of these sites are visitable, but some are on private land. (Some private sites may allow visitors to enter.) In all cases, visitors to prehistoric sites should treat the sites and the property on which they are located with great care. There are many lists of “do”s and “don’t”s, but these can be summed up by one simple idea:
Take away only memories and photographs, leave nothing behind but your footprints.
Use the map in the sidebar to browse or search among the various prehistoric sites. (Clicking on a cluster will zoom in and disperse the cluster.) Highlighted map markers indicate sites that are described on this website.
More posts are added as sites get visited.