Catarina Tente

Reúnem-se nesta publicação 28 artigos produzidos por 34 investigadores provenientes de Portugal, Espanha, França e Alemanha que cobrem uma ampla cronologia que se estende entre a Antiguidade tardia o dealbar do século XVI, compreendendo não só distintos espaços políticos cristãos mas também os de presença islâmica como o Al-Andalus e o reino nazari de Granada. Tal permite perspetivas diacrónicas e, a possibilidade de estabelecer frutuosas comparações. O âmbito da temática proposta para a segunda edição das Jornadas, a articulação entre os poderes presentes na cidade medieval e a sua relação com o espaço urbano como local de atuação e representação, foi extremamente propícia à interdisciplinaridade, manifestando-se em profícuos debates entre historiadores, arqueólogos, especialistas de arquivística, paleografia e heráldica e ainda historiadores de arte. Dai que as fontes de informação que sustentam os trabalhos que aqui se publicam sejam muito diversificadas – documentos escritos, heráldica, vestígios materiais, iconografia, iconologia, cartografia, entre outros – contribuindo não apenas para a riqueza das abordagens realizadas mas também proporcionando ao leitor a possibilidade de conhecer abundante material ilustrativo pouco conhecido ou, até mesmo, inédito.

This book presents an overview of the results of the research project DESPAMED funded by the Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness. The aim of the book is to discuss the theoretical challenges posed by the study of social inequality and social complexity in early medieval peasant communities in North-western Iberia. Traditional approaches have defined these communities as poor, simple and even nomadic, in the framework of a self-sufficient economy that prioritised animal husbandry over agriculture. This picture has radically changed over the last couple of decades as a result of important research on the archaeology of peasantry and the critical analysis of ninthand tenth-century documentary evidence that show the complexity of these rural societies. These new records are discussed in the light of a new research agenda centred on the analysis of the emergence of villages, the formation of local elites, the creation of socio-political networks and the role of identities in the legitimation of local inequalities. The nine chapters of this book explore the potential and the limits of the archaeological record to tackle social inequality in rural communities. Those considerations have a wider theoretical and methodological potential and are applicable to other regions and chronologies. The different chapters explore local societies through different methodologies and approaches such as food, settlement patterns, social exclusion, consumption patterns and social practices.

Located in the foothills of the north-western sector of the Estrela Mountain (Beira Alta province in central-north Portugal), Penedo dos Mouros Rock-shelter revealed a succession of three distinct archaeological horizons datable to the evolved Early Neolithic and initial Middle Neolithic, thus partially coinciding with the onset of the regional Megalithism. The find of a few caprine remains at least one possible sheep, among a large spectrum of species –swine, rabbit, hare, Iberian lynx and toad–, makes this site the oldest in the region
to provide direct evidence for herding practices. Small-sized pots, expedient use of local lithic raw materials together with curated use of exogenous flint, and low density of artefacts indicate a strategy of residential mobility in line with similar evidence observed elsewhere in Beira Alta. Given previous claims of Neolithic vertical
transhumance between montane plateaux –in the summer– and lowland plains –in the winter–, this hypothesis is here discussed –and refuted– based on spatial analysis of Neolithic sites, economic characterization of the period and local orographic and bioclimatic constraints.

RESUMO
O sítio de São Pedro de Matos, que foi primeiramente dado a conhecer por José Coelho, é constituído por diversos vestígios arqueológicos: um recinto fortificado medieval, um abrigo natural sob rocha, as ruínas de uma aldeia hoje abandonada, um lagar rupestre e fragmentos de vários sarcófagos que estariam associados à igreja dedicada a S. Pedro. Esta igreja e a respetiva necrópole localizavam-se entre o recinto fortificado e as ruínas da aldeia, mas foram totalmente destruídas nos finais do século XX. Em 2013 realizaram-se sondagens arqueológicas no recinto fortificado e na área junto ao abrigo, e efetuou-se o levantamento topográfico do complexo. Os resultados são reduzidos e apontam
para um uso esporádico do recinto, muito provavelmente nos séculos X e/ou XI, já que as escassas cerâmicas ali recolhidas apontam para esta cronologia.

ABSTRACT
The site of São Pedro de Matos, firstly published by José Coelho, is constituted by diverse archaeological remains: a Medieval fortified enclosure, a natural rock-shelter, the ruins of an abandoned village, a rupestrial mill and several fragments of sarcophagi originally associated to the church, which was dedicated to Saint Peter (“São Pedro”, hence the place name). This church and its cemetery were located between the fortified enclosure and the village ruins but were completely destroyed by the end of the 20th century. In 2013 archaeological tests were made in the fortified enclosure and in the area next to the shelter.
A topographic survey of the entire complex was also carried out. Results are scant and point to an occasional use of the enclosure only, likely in the 10th and/or 11th centuries, a chronology suggested by the typology of the potsherds that were found.

RESUMO
A primeira ocupação do Penedo dos Mouros, datável do Neolítico, está preservada num pequeno abrigo sob rocha aberto no tor granítico que coroa a plataforma onde o sítio se localiza. A sua reocupação ocorre na Alta Idade Média, quando se construiu um povoado cercado. No tor central foram escavadas escadarias e entalhes que suportariam uma estrutura em madeira e que teria pelo menos dois pisos. Para além de sementes e madeiras carbonizadas e cerâmicas e foi possível também recuperar restos faunísticos. O presente artigo é assim uma abordagem sintética aos resultados obtidos nas cinco campanhas de escavações
realizadas no sítio.

ABSTRACT
The first occupation of Penedo dos Mouros, datable to the Neolithic, is preserved in a small rock-shelter under the granitic tor that is the summit of the platform where the site is located.Its re-occupation takes place in the Early Middle Ages, when a walled settlement was built. In the central tor steps and notches were carved to support a wooden structure with, at least, two stores. Besides burnt seeds and wood and pottery it was also possible to recover faunal remains.
This article is a brief approach to the results that were obtained during the five excavation seasons that took place at the site

Catarina Tente,  Hugo Baptista, João Pedro Tereso, Margarida Cércio, João Luís Veloso, Cláudia Oliveira, Luís Seabra, Catarina Meira, Gabriel de Souza,
Tomás Cordero Ruiz, Manuel Luís Real

RESUMO
O sítio arqueológico da Senhora do Barrocal localiza-se no concelho de
Sátão, ocupando um dos rebordos da ribeira da Coja, afluente do Dão. Este é um território montanhoso cuja paisagem está dominada pelas formações rochosas graníticas. O povoado é de pequena dimensão e implanta-se numa elevação de tors graníticos. Foram aqui realizadas três campanhas de escavação arqueológica (2014 a 2016), cujos dados estão ainda em fase de estudo. Todavia, alguns dos resultados podem já ser abordados e os mesmos revelam a importância que este sítio
tem para a compreensão dos séculos X e XI na região beirã.
As escavações arqueológicas realizadas permitiram identificar espaços habitacionais e de armazenagem, uma estrutura defensiva em pedra e abundantes coleções de artefactos e de ecofactos. A mais impressionante (pela quantidade e variedade) é a carpológica. As sementes encontravam-se armazenadas num compartimento de uso doméstico, tendo-se conservado devido à sua carbonização ocorrida na sequência de um incêndio que afetou a totalidade do sítio. Estes
vestígios constituem uma das maiores coleções de sementes alto medievais portuguesas, o que permitirá avançar no conhecimento sobre as formas de exploração dos recursos por parte das comunidades rurais desta época. Também entre os vestígios arqueológicos se registaram a ocorrências de cerâmicas exógenas à região, o que é uma novidade neste tipo de povoados e cronologia. Há ainda elementos arquitectónicos que possibilitam a associação do povoado a um templo religioso, que terá sido erguido ou rededicado em 971.
O presente artigo é assim uma abordagem aos primeiros dados arqueológicos deste sítio de excepcional importância científica.

ABSTRACT
The archaeological site of Senhora do Barrocal (municipality of Sátão) is
located on the right bank of the Coja stream, a tributary of the River Dão, in a mountainous landscape characterized by granitic outcrops. This is a small settlement built on top of massive granitic tors. Three excavation seasons took place between 2014 and 2016. These are presently under study but already available results reveal the importance of this site
to the study of the 10th and 11th centuries in the Beira Alta region.
Indeed, the archaeological excavations allowed the identification of habitation and storage areas, a defensive structure built in stone, and abundant assemblages of artefacts and ecofacts. A large quantity and variety of seeds stand out among the latter. These were stored in a domestic facility and were preserved due to its carbonization during a fire that affected the whole site. This is one of the largest Early Medieval botanic assemblages in Portugal, thus providing crucial insights on the resource exploitation strategies undertaken by these rural communities.
Also, some imported pottery productions were found among the artefactual remains, which is an unexpected find in this type of settlements and time period. There are also architectonic remains showing a relation between Senhora do Barrocal and a nearby religious temple that may have been built in AD 971.
This contribution is therefore a first approach to the ongoing research on this scientifically exceptional archaeological site.

RESUMO
São Gens é um dos sítios emblemáticos da arqueologia medieval da região centro de Portugal. O mesmo congrega um povoado e a maior necrópole desordenada  de sepulturas escavadas na rocha conhecida nesta região, que agregaria mais de 54 sepulturas. O povoado, de planta ovalada, tinha apenas uma entrada e era rodeado por uma cerca em pedra e madeira. Quatro campanhas de escavações foram levadas a cabo no povoado entre 2008 e 2013. Os trabalhos ofereceram uma coleção de espólio arqueológico muito significativo e que engloba cerâmicas, objetos em osso, peças em metal e peças líticas utilizadas quer na moagem, quer como afiadores. Estes materiais atestam as diversas atividades económicas que ocupavam os habitantes do povoado.
As escavações permitiram ainda identificar locais de habitação e recuperar macrorrestos carbonizados de árvores, arbustos e sementes, bem como restos de fauna. Os dados obtidos evidenciam uma comunidade de pequena dimensão constituída por quatro a seis famílias, que se fizeram enterrar na necrópole rupestre anexa. O sítio foi abandonado na segunda metade do século X, após ser sujeito a um incêndio destrutivo.
O presente artigo é assim uma síntese dos diversos estudos específicos realizados sobre este sítio: espólio cerâmico e metálico; macrorrestos faunísticos e vegetais.

ABSTRACT
The complex of São Gens is one of the most distinctive archaeological sites in central Portugal. The site comprises the region’s largest rock-cut grave necropolis, consisting of over 54 dispersed graves, and an early medieval settlement within an oval enclosure defined by a stone wall and surmounted by a timber palisade. Four archaeological campaigns were carried out on the settlement between 2008 and 2013. These brought to light a large number of artefacts relating to the economic activities performed within the settlement, including pottery fragments, faunal remains, iron objects, slags, and stone tools, such as whetstones
and grinding stones. It was also possible to identify evidence of  domestic units (huts), and to recover the burnt remains of wood, bushes, seeds, and faunal remains. These findings suggest that the settlement was occupied by a small community of four to six families, who used the nearby necropolis to bury their dead. They also show that São Gens was abandoned after a destructive fire in the second half of the 10th century.
In this paper, we describe the archaeological evidence from São Gens and the preliminary results of ongoing specialist analysis examining the pottery and metal artefacts, faunal and botanical remains.

RESUMO
A Cava de Viriato é um dos mais emblemáticos sítios arqueológicos do nosso país, mas também um dos mais enigmáticos. Trata-se de um recinto de planta octogonal com cerca de 38 ha interiores, e em que cada lado do octógono tem em média, pelo lado exterior, 270 m, perfazendo o perímetro de cerca de 2160 m. Esta estrutura foi construída utilizando unicamente os recursos locais, escavando-
se um fosso até aos níveis freáticos e usando-se a terra removida na
construção da muralha que atingiria cerca de 7m. Esta foi perfeitamente compactada e provavelmente terá sido encimada por uma paliçada.
Conhecido e estudado desde o século XVII por diversos e reputados autores, este sítio arqueológico continua a esconder a sua fundação e função original. Neste artigo apresenta-se alguns dados dos últimos trabalhos realizados sobre a Cava e pistas para uma nova interpretação deste monumento classificado desde 1901 como Monumento Nacional.
Trata-se de uma proposta que pretende lançar mais dados para a interpretação e datação deste imponente monumento, cujos elementos indiciam uma construção durante a Alta Idade Média.

ABSTRACT
Cava de Viriato is one of the most emblematic archaeological sites in Portugal, but it is also one of its more enigmatic. It is an octagonal enclosure with ca. 38 ha in area, ca. 270 m long in each side of the octagon, thus making a total 2160 m in perimeter. This structure was built exclusively with local materials through the digging of a ditch that crossed the water table and using the removed earth to build a wall that reached around 7 m height. The latter was well compacted and may have been topped with a palisade.
Known and studied since the seventeenth century by diverse and reputed authors, this archaeological site’s date of foundation and original function is still unknown. Some recently-obtained data and new research topics are presented in this contribution aiming at a renewed interpretation of this site, which is classified as National Monument since 1901.
This proposal intends to provide new insights to the interpretation and dating of this imposing monument, whose available data suggests its building during the Early Middle Ages.

RESUMO
O presente artigo pretende apresentar os trabalhos arqueológicos e antropológicos
realizados entre 2013 e 2014 no adro da igreja de São Miguel de Fetal, em
Viseu. Aborda-se as opções metodológicas que nortearam o trabalho e apresentam-
se as conclusões dos vários estudos levados a cabo.
O trabalho iniciou-se com a prospeção geofísica dos terrenos envolventes à
atual igreja, que orientaram o trabalho de escavação arqueológica. Foi possível
identificar a antiga igreja que antecedeu à construção do século XVIII ali existente
e que tem origem na Alta Idade Média. Corresponderá este antigo templo
ao que aparece referido nas fontes asturianas como sendo o local onde teria sido
inumado Rodrigo, o último rei dos visigodos. A menção ilustra bem a importância
dada a este local como meio de legitimação da integração de Viseu na orla
dos interesses dos reis asturianos.
Infelizmente, as escavações mostraram a profunda destruição ocorrida ao
longo do tempo e em particular a que foi motivada pela construção do atual edifício
em meados do século XVIII. A documentação dessa época permitiu ainda
perceber porque se abandona o antigo edifício medieval e como se processou
toda a obra, explicando, parcialmente, o estado de conservação das ruínas ali
identificadas.

ABSTRACT
This paper aims to present the result of archaeological and anthropological
study of São Miguel de Fetal Church (Viseu). Between 2013 and 2014 we carried
out geophysics survey and archaeological excavations in the churchyard. We
also present the methodology used, which guide the work.
The work began with the geophysical survey of the surrounding area of the
church. The results obtained allowed to select areas with more archaeological
potentiality. The excavations carried out allowed to identify the old medieval
church, that preceded the modern church that is built there. This ancient temple
probably corresponds to the one mentioned in the Asturian Cornices as being
the place where Rodrigo, the last king of the Visigoths, was buried. This passage
of the Asturian Cornices illustrates the legitimacy instruments used by the king
to legitimize the integration of Viseu in the sphere of Asturian kingdom.
Unfortunately, the archaeological record is profoundly disturbed, mostly
as a result of the construction of the 18th century church. The written sources
also allowed us to understand why the old medieval building was abandoned,
and give us clues about the construction strategies used in the modern church.
Simultaneously explained the archaeological record identified.

Medieval Archaeology has grown significantly in Portugal since 1987. This results mainly from a twofold fact: the increasing number of archaeological excavations in the framework of salvage projects and the development of systematic research projects.
Despite the recent appearance of Medieval Archaeology in Portuguese archaeological research, the present synthesis is however preceded by a few others that have been published in the last few years (CATARINO, 1995/97, 2002; FONTES, 2002; GOMES, 2002; FERNANDES, 2005a; FERNANDES, MACIAS, 2011). None of these was— or aimed to be —an exhaustive overview. And, once again, this contribution will not, nor could, approach all the works and publications made in the last 30 years. It is interesting to notice that somehow these syntheses reflect the bifocal tendency that can be observed on the subject. As in Spain, Medieval Archaeology in Portugal emerged and developed within two perspectives: the archaeology of Islamic spaces, where the topics of ceramic studies, urbanism and fortifications were the most relevant; and the archaeology of the Christian communities, that focused on the first built manifestations of Christianity (necropolises and temples) and settlement systems, whose approach is closely connected to the study of rock-cut graves, fortifications, and monasteries and churches dated to the beginnings of Portuguese nationality. In the latter, the research is still marked by studies within the History of Art.
In my opinion, 1992 indelibly marks the destiny of Medieval Archaeology in the country. Several scientific and social events took place in that year, a fact that enhanced a greater investment in this domain and encouraged researchers. This year also featured the publication of the first volume of the Portuguese journal Arqueologia Medieval (“Medieval Archaeology”) by Mértola’s Archaeological Field. Again in 1992, the “Fourth Meeting of Peninsular Christian Archaeology” took place in Portugal, with the proceedings being published in 1995. Most of the contributions focused on excavation results from Portuguese sites, including an important collection of data on Paleo-Christian contexts.
Indeed, the 1990’s marked an important turning point in Medieval Archaeology in the country. A number of factors can be put forward. One was the increasing number of archaeological fieldworks, mainly salvage excavations in urban contexts but also in the framework of the Alqueva Dam megaproject of salvage archaeology. The creation of the Portuguese Institute for Archaeology in 1997 pushed this tendency even further and allowed the funding of multiannual research projects aiming at the study of diverse topics, such as churches and monasteries, regional settlement systems, necropolises, cities and castles.
The topic of Medieval fortifications resulted in many publications and archaeological excavations. Already focused by C. A. Ferreira de Almeida (1979), it was followed by M. J. Barroca, who published several relevant papers on the subject (1990/91, 1996/1997, 2003, 2004, 2008/2009). The increase in number of excavation works in Early Medieval churches and monasteries allowed new insights and interpretations on their architectonic and decorative evolutions, which in turn provided new bases for the enrichment of these monuments’ museological discourse.
This growing trend in Medieval Archaeology can also be observed in projects focusing settlement systems of given geographical areas or centred in single archaeological sites. Systematic studies of necropolises and rock-cut graves were also carried out. Despite the fact that many researchers attempted to go further than record field data, the most recent theoretical leap is due to I. Martín Viso, who developed new perspectives on the analysis and interpretation of these Early Medieval funerary structures, that are very abundant in the Portuguese territory (MARTÍN VISO, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2017; TENTE, 2015, 2017a).
Regarding material culture studies, a substantial development also took place with the increase of publications and thematic meetings, in particular those focusing pottery collections. Unfortunately, the latter are not always accompanied by complete studies of their assemblages—relevance is often paid to exceptional pieces or partial assemblages, thus preventing systematic, comparative studies. Islamic productions have been retaining most of the researchers’ attention.
Another topic with a remarkable growth in the last years has been the archaeology of architectures, mostly of religious buildings and castles.
According to official regulations, the participation of bio-anthropologists in the excavation of funerary contexts is mandatory in Portugal since 1999. This legal obligation, which runs in parallel with the increasing number of excavations, decisively boosted bio-anthropological and mortuary studies from archaeological contexts.
An important development is also noticeable in the study of subsistence strategies, namely based on palaeobotanic and zooarchaeological data. These, however, are still far from systematic. To a great extent, these studies have been limited by the employed field methodologies that often ignore the scientific value of such type of evidence. More than in the case of macrofaunal remains, the (almost) invisibility of botanic and microfaunal remains lies at the core of their (almost) absence in current research. Studies have been more abundant in the domain of zooarchaeology. Here too a stronger focus on Islamic contexts is noticeable, to some extent related to contrasting taphonomic conditions, that are more favourable to organic preservation in the southern half of the country where the presence of Muslim communities was longer and research has been more intensive.
Despite the growing number of publications and scientific meetings in the last 30 years, the countless number of field works was not always accompanied by the respective publications. Some of the main published studies can be found in the Bibliography, where the main references are cited. It is also worth mentioning that syntheses, either general or regional, are still lacking. This fact converges into another limitation, which is the scarcity of theoretical reflection that would allow interpretative models to be put forward and the building of a problematizing historical knowledge.
However, the future seems promising and it is hoped that the above limitations may be surpassed in the next decades as, in Portugal, we are presently witnessing an increase of academic training in this specific research area.

Transhumance is a form of pastoralism that has been practised around the world since animals were first domesticated. Such seasonal movements have formed an important aspect of many European farming systems for several thousand years, although they have declined markedly since the nineteenth century. Ethnographers and geographers have long been involved in recording transhumant practices, and in the last two decades archaeologists have started to add a new material dimension to the subject.

This volume brings together recent advances in the study of European transhumance during historical times, from Sweden to Spain, Romania to Ireland, and beyond that even Newfoundland. While the focus is on the archaeology of seasonal sites used by shepherds and cowherds, the contributions exhibit a high degree of interdisciplinarity. Documentary, cartographic, ethnographic and palaeoecological evidence all play a part in the examination of seasonal movement and settlement in medieval and post-medieval landscapes. Notwithstanding the obvious diversity across Europe in terms of livestock, distances travelled and socio-economic context, an extended introduction to the volume shows that cross-cutting themes are now emerging, including mobility, gendered herding, collective land-use, the agency of non-elite people and competition for grazing and markets.

The book will appeal not only to archaeologists, but to historians, geographers, ethnographers, palaeoecologists and anyone interested in rural lifeways across Europe.

https://www.routledge.com/Historical-Archaeologies-of-Transhumance-across-Europe/Costello-Svensson/p/book/9780815380320

The following article intends to trace the history of one of the most emblematic and enigmatic monuments in the city of Viseu: the church of S. Miguel do Fetal. Recente archeological excavations conduced in the church's forecourt allowed us to unveil several facts about the origin of the temple, which dates to a period of time when Viseu was decisive in the founding of the nation. Documentary sources enable us to determine when the decision was taken to abandon the original church and build the temple that stands today, and to track the process of construction that took place in the second half of the 18th century. The archaeological and documentary data are extraordinarily coincidente, making this case interesting from both a scientific and a methodological point of view.

EXCAVATION AT SÃO GENS (Guarda district) in central Portugal has revealed an early medieval rock-cut grave cemetery and settlement, along with Roman and prehistoric evidence. The site presents an exceptionally rich palimpsest of archaeological monuments. This paper reviews the findings and seeks to address the problem of interpreting rock-cut grave cemeteries, by describing a spatial analytical methodology that draws on comparisons with early medieval cemeteries in England, as a means of enhancing the information deficit of such necropolises. In the light of these analyses, an interpretation of the São Gens site is offered in conclusion.

O sítio arqueológico da Senhora do Barrocal localiza-se no concelho de Sátão, ocupando um dos rebordos rochosos da ribeira da Coja, afluente norte do rio Dão. Este é um território montanhoso, no qual as formações rochosas graníticas dominam a paisagem. O sítio arqueológico é de pequena dimensão e implanta-se numa elevação de tors graníticos. As primeiras escavações realizadas em 2014 evidenciaram uma abundante coleção de sementes que, se encontravam armazenadas num compartimento de uso doméstico. As mesmas conservaram-se devido a terem sido carbonizadas na sequência de um incêndio ocorrido no final do século X ou inícios do século XI. As sementes evidenciam o cultivo de leguminosas e cereais, que certamente cresceriam nos terrenos de vale situados a cerca de 1 km de distância do povoado. Aparentemente, apenas aí haveria condições para a prática agrícola, já que os terrenos mais próximos do povoado são esqueléticos ou inexistentes. Estes vestígios constituem uma das maiores coleções de sementes alto medievais o que vem permitir conhecer um pouco mais sobre as soluções económicas e as formas de exploração dos recursos das comunidades rurais desta época. Apresentam-se aqui os resultados do estudo das sementes recolhidas na campanha arqueológica realizada em 2014, esperando-se assim contribuir para caraterizar as práticas agrárias destas comunidades. _____________________________________________________________________________

The goal of these Meetings is to create a gathering place for the lead researchers on rural archaeology; an opportunity to debate the state of the research, incorporate and discuss new data and to reflect on future common strategies.



Although we wish to accommodate a broad range of topics, and be fluid in terms of geographical, chronological and methodological approaches, it is also our goal to actively bring peninsular contexts and territories into the debate.



We believe that Portuguese Early Medieval Archaeology is at a turning point. With these Meetings we hope to consolidate our standing in the international dialogue and shape the future of countryside archaeological research.



The EMCAM Meetings will be held periodically in selected locations of the Portuguese inland. This will bring the academic debate closer to rural areas and seek to engage local communities with outreach activities.



The Meetings will be open to students, researchers, professional archaeologists and anyone who is interested in subjects concerning the early medieval countryside.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Mário Barroca (Universidade do Porto)

Stuart Brookes (University College London)

Margarita Fernández Mier (Universidad de Oviedo)

Iñaki Martín Viso (Universidad de Salamanca)

Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo (UPV / EHU)

Catarina Tente (NOVA – FCSH)

Alfonso Vigil-Escalera (Universidad de Salamanca)

"L’étude des objets manufacturés en Archéologie médiévale
et l'étude des manuscrits enluminés: méthodologies comparées"

"O estudo dos manuscritos iluminados e dos artefactos na
Arqueologia da Idade Média: metodologias em comparação"

Organisation:
IEM (Instituto de Estudos Medievais | FCSH/UNL)
LAMOP (Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris/ UMR 8589)

Comité scientifique:
Catarina Tente (IEM-FCSH-UNL)
Maria Alessandra Bilotta (IEM-FCSH-UNL/LAMOP)

"L’objectif de ce Workshop est celui de comparer, par l’analyse de quelques cas spécifiques, les méthodes scientifiques utilisées pour l ‘étude des manuscrits enluminés (histoire de l’art médiéval) et pour l’étude des objets manufacturés (archéologie médiévale). Dans les deux disciplines, histoire de l’enluminure médiévale et archéologie médiévale, les contextes de production et d’usage des objets sont fondamentaux pour leur compréhension.
A partir de l’analyse de cas spécifiques on tentera de montrer les analogies et les différences entre les deux méthodologies d’analyse, l’archéologique et celle de l’histoire de l’art avec la finalité de mieux comprendre dans quelle mesure c’est possible d’adapter et appliquer méthodologies différentes pour arriver à une connaissance plus profonde de l’objet et de son contexte."

With very few exceptions, the use of ethnographic data as framework for archaeological research in Portugal has been largely ignored. One of the reasons may lie in the relatively limited chronological significance of the available ethnographic records, which can hardly be applied to historical periods prior to the Middle Ages. However, the systematic work on the traditional forms of transhumant pastoralism in the northern-central mountains of Portugal by Orlando Ribeiro (1911–1997) provides an incomparable ethno-historical account of those practices before their collapse by the end of the 20th century.
The abundant collection of field observations and documental research published by this geographer, either in broad-scale syntheses (Ribeiro, 1945, 1968) or in specific studies (Daveau and Ribeiro, 1978; Ribeiro, 1939, 1941, 1948; Ribeiro and Santos, 1949), merged with ongoing archaeological and zooarchaeological research on the mountain ranges of central Portugal—the Montejunto–Estrela mountain chain—, may shed far-reaching light on the long history of stock-keeping in this vast region of South-West Europe. Indeed, just to mention the most well-studied ethno-historical case, the Estrela Mountain, recently-acquired zooarchaeological data seems to suggest that transhumance was of Post-Neolithic age (Carvalho et al., in press) and may have assumed a bipolar, seasonally-based practice in the Early Middle Ages (Fernández-Mier and Tente, in press). Clearly, further fieldwork is needed to develop these first insights and to investigate periods (Protohistory, Roman) for which zooarchaeological data completely lacks.
Some of the variables studied by Orlando Ribeiro, serving as research guide-lines for future projects, will be crucial for such purposes. Those are the cases, among others, of settlement sizes and duration (permanent, annual or seasonal), the communities’ social organization (nuclear or extensive families, individual or group mobility), the transhumant itineraries and ranges, and particular stock-keeping practices.

This year, from October the 11th to the 13th, the Institute for Medieval Studies (IEM | NOVA-FCSH) and the municipality of Castelo de Vide are organizing the III International Conference on the Middle Ages, under the theme: Inclusion and Exclusion in Medieval Urban Europe.