Olival do Senhor dos Mártires
Coordinates: 38 ° 22 ′ 22 " N , 8 ° 31 ′ 16" W.
The Olival do Senhor dos Mártires necropolis is located near the church of the same name, outside the city of Alcácer do Sal , on a hill above the Sado River in Portugal .
The hill, which is located far inland today, has been inhabited since the Neolithic . The square, whose first ancient name may have been Keition , had been the most important Atlantic port of the Iberian Peninsula for imports from the eastern Mediterranean since at least Phoenician times (7th or 6th century BC) .
That changed in Roman times when the port silted up and Olisipo ( Lisbon ) overtook him. The Romans now called the city Salacia in view of the local salt production . Pliny mentions wool production as a further branch of income. In Visigoth times the city was a bishopric.
In the Olival do Senhor dos Mártires necropolis, which is now overbuilt, Iron Age graves with some very rich furnishings were excavated at the beginning of the 20th century . Among the finds are chariots , iron lances and swords , Greek ceramics , a bull sculpture and Egyptian scarabs . In addition, Phoenician ceramics have been found in the vicinity of the castle in recent decades. The ceramics show links to the eastern Mediterranean, the swords and lances point to continental Europe, where the Iron Age cultures are to be equated with the later Celts and the Celtiberians. A Roman layer with tombs was also found, confirming the settlement known from inscriptions and coins. From the second half of the 12th century there is an Islamic fence with cement cast masonry. The imposing castle was later converted into a monastery , now it is being converted into a hotel. Some towers have been rebuilt. The excavations carried out in the castle area were included in an archaeological park.
The local museum shows an overview of the finds in a baroque chapel (near the town hall). Among them is a portrait of the Emperor Claudius . The lower part of the statue of Togatus, a man in the usual costume of the Roman citizen, has been preserved. The statuary scheme of supporting leg and free leg, which was developed from Greek sculpture, is recognizable.
literature
- Wilhelm Schüle: The Meseta cultures of the Iberian Peninsula. Mediterranean and Eurasian elements in early Iron Age cultures of southwestern Europe . De Gruyter, Berlin 1969 ( Madrid Research 3, ISSN 0418-9736 ).