Name in Portuguese: Museu Arqueológico de São Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO) A beautiful museum, built around the ruins of a Roman villa, which houses a vast collection of artefacts. There are inscriptions and relics from the Roman period, as well as relics from more recent eras and others dating back through the prehistoric eras to …
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Also known as: Anta do Senhor da Serra This dolmen is located on private property. I requested permission from the property owner to visit the anta, but never heard back. Therefore I can’t present a personal site visit. This anta is one of the three Antas de Belas, which were declared National Monuments as a …
The rush of traffic on the nearby motorway is noticeable but not overwhelming. The buzz of the electricity wires overhead is a gentle background noise. Occasionally you can hear a distant shout of a person in the apartment buildings at the edge of the field. Mostly, you’re aware of the warmth of the sun and …
Standing at the top of one of the highest peaks in the Sintra Mountains, you can see all around: Guincho Beach, the Atlantic Ocean, the Setúbal peninsula and the Arrabida Coast. Look down at your feet, and amidst the jumble of stones a circular structure stands out. This massive chamber is part of the Tholos …
Portuguese: Monumento pré-histórico da Praia das Maçãs Also known as: Tholos do Outeiro das Mós, or Tholos da Praia das Maçãs In the Neolithic era, about 4,000BC, an artificial cave was dug on this site. It had a corridor and central burial chamber with side niches. Later, a large tholos was built. The site was …
Looking up at the cliff face, you might think that the footprints were made by lizards climbing up a wall. However, the prints were laid down on a flat muddy lake bed over 100 million years ago. Two-legged dinosaurs left their prints in the mud, which then fossilized and the ground folded by tectonic movement, …
Portuguese name: Conjunto Megalítico de Barreira, or Menires de Barreira Standing on the hilltop, surrounded by tall trees and lush undergrowth, you are surrounded by a tumbled abundance of giant stones, some standing brightly in the sunshine, with others covered in moss and/or ivy. To the east, you can see the Sintra hills, topped with …