Castro de Sacóias explained

Castro of Sacóias
Native Name:Castro de Sacóias
Other Name:Fortified Settlement of Sacóias
Settlement Type:Castro
Etymology:Sacóias
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Portugal
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Norte
Subdivision Type2:Subregion
Subdivision Name2:Alto Trás-os-Montes
Subdivision Type3:District
Subdivision Name3:Bragança
Subdivision Type4:Municipality
Subdivision Name4:Bragança
Coordinates:41.8631°N -6.6902°W
Elevation M:680
Population Density Km2:auto
Blank Name:Management
Blank Info:Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico
Blank1 Name:Operator
Blank1 Info:Câmara Municipal de Torres Vedras
Blank2 Name:Status
Blank2 Info:National Monument
Monumento Nacional
Blank3 Name:Listing
Blank3 Info:Decree 16 June 1910; DG136, 23 June 1910

The Castro of Sacóias (Portuguese: Povoado Fortificado de Sacóias/Castro de Sacóias) is a former fortified settlement and archeological site in the civil parish of Baçal, municipality of Bragança in the Alto Trás-os-Montes subregion of the Portuguese Norte Region.

History

It is likely that the site was constructed during the Iron Age, and restructured over time. It was occupied by Roman settlers during the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula.

During the second half of the 18th century, the then-existing religious temple was moved from the Castro to the main settlement, to substitute an older chapel, then housing a baptismal fountain and conserving the Blessed Sacrament.

The Castro, and group of existing structures, are of individual importance that resulted in it being designated a National Monument in 1910, as well as a structure of municipal interest by the council of Bragança.

Architecture

The site is located on an isolated, rural hilltop rising over the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Assunção. It consists of a destroyed fortified settlement, with small walls constructed with small stones, in addition to remnants of tiles, bricks and millstones. Most of the artefacts unearthed from the site was collected by the Sociedade Martins Sarmento, and presented at the Municipal Museum of Bragança and Archaeological Museum.