Leceia, Moita da Ladra e Outeiro Redondo: aspectos arquitectónicos, construtivos e espólios arqueológicos tendo em vista a interpretação funcional no contexto demográfico da época

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19820970

Résumé

The three major fortified sites where the author conducted archaeological excavations - Leceia (Oeiras), between 1983 and 2002; Moita da Ladra (Vila Franca de Xira), between 2003 and 2006; and Outeiro Redondo (Sesimbra), between 2005 and 2016 - yielded a body of information of inquestionable relevance to our knowledge of architectures, stratigraphies and absolute datings. This data became essential for understanding the economy and social organisation of the populations that occupied this vast region, with its own cultural significance: the so-called "Chalcolithic of Estremadura". In addition to this remarkable wealth of information, the exhumed archaeological remains have been thoroughly studied and published in detail. This paper will describe the main architectural features, both defensive and residential, of each site including construction technologies and the use of different geological materials taking into account locally available resources. Such conclusions, combined with the geographical location and size of each site, along with the main economic activities provided by the typology of artifacts found, led, for the first time, to conclusions on their functional nature and how they fitted into the demographic and economic fabric of the densely populated Lower Estremadura region during the 3rd millennium BC.