Research

12 pages, 2104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Interdisciplinary Study of Early Mediaeval Churches in North-Western Spain (Galicia)

by Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez, Rebeca Blanco-Rotea and José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 599-610; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010039 - 12 Feb 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2408

Over the last five years, the EMCHAHE (Early Medieval Churches: History, Archaeology and Heritage) Project has analysed the architecture, archaeology and history of numerous rural churches of the High Middle Ages in Galicia (NW Spain), through its historical, stratigraphic and chronological study. As [...] Read more.

Over the last five years, the EMCHAHE (Early Medieval Churches: History, Archaeology and Heritage) Project has analysed the architecture, archaeology and history of numerous rural churches of the High Middle Ages in Galicia (NW Spain), through its historical, stratigraphic and chronological study. As a result, the knowledge of this historical period has been broadened and even changed, as well as an interdisciplinary methodology on how to approach this type of study. According to the results obtained, the project has allowed us to reflect on two issues, the potential of a relatively low-cost type of study to understand, assess and disseminate this type of heritage and the special appreciation and ownership that local communities have towards these churches as an engine of sustainable social development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 16165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structure of the Granitic Pegmatite Field of the Northern Coast of Portugal—Inner Pegmatite Structures and Mineralogical Fabrics

by Cristiana Faria and Carlos Leal Gomes

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 315-330; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010021 - 24 Jan 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3171

Abstract

On the coastline of Northern Portugal, metamorphic formations and pegmatites were the subject of structural analysis with the main goal of understanding Variscan kinematics and related pegmatite intrusion. This study also aims to discriminate, select and characterize relevant aspects of the structure and [...] Read more.

On the coastline of Northern Portugal, metamorphic formations and pegmatites were the subject of structural analysis with the main goal of understanding Variscan kinematics and related pegmatite intrusion. This study also aims to discriminate, select and characterize relevant aspects of the structure and the paragenesis of pegmatites, well exposed as a result of coastal erosion, justifying its inclusion in the geological heritage of the Northern coast of Portugal. The pegmatite bodies show distinctive internal and external structures that are attributable to different modes of emplacement and subsequent deformation. The pegmatitic implantation in the areas of Moledo and Afife occurs in an intragneissic and perigranitic environment, for the first area, and perigneissic and perigranitic environment, for the second. In Pedras Ruivas predominates the implantation into an exo-gneissic to exo-granitic domain. The Moledo veins show evidence of multiphase open/filling, revealing positions, shapes, attitudes, sizes and internal structures that change as a function of the host lithology and host structure, but mainly due to the dilation and the cycles number of local telescoping. The structural analysis of the pegmatite bodies allows the deduction of a local fulcrum of expansion that hypothetically overlaps a hidden stock of parental granite. In Afife and Pedras Ruivas, some pegmatitic lenses are specialized and mineralized in Li, Cs and Ta, with spodumene and tantalite ± cassiterite. Spodumene occurs as giant crystals, centimetric to pluri-decimetric in length, which mark very clearly the structures of in situ or in flow crystallization inside the pegmatites (primary structures) and also the secondary structures resulting from deformation. The geometric analysis of fabrics helps the individualization of well-defined stages of progressive evolution of the deformation of the pegmatites, allowing its correlation with major D2–D3 episodes of regional Variscan deformation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 8070 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Was There a Pre-Roman Occupation in Coimbra, Portugal? The Contribution of Rua Fernandes Thomaz, 72–74 for Understanding Occupation of the Territory of Aeminium during the Transition from the Iron Age to the Roman Era

by Jorge Pinho and Susana Henriques

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 184-206; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010014 - 14 Jan 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2718

Abstract

Iron Age studies are scarce for the city of Coimbra, besides the findings from the Machado Castro Museum, and therefore this intervention has revealed an important heritage collection. The recovered artefacts, which can be associated with the indigenous world, reveal regional parallels with [...] Read more.

Iron Age studies are scarce for the city of Coimbra, besides the findings from the Machado Castro Museum, and therefore this intervention has revealed an important heritage collection. The recovered artefacts, which can be associated with the indigenous world, reveal regional parallels with Conimbriga, the Aeminium Forum and Lomba do Canho. There is clear evidence of region-wide homogenisation of pottery morphologies, surface treatments and production processes. A structure dated from the period of the Roman emperor Augustus aligned with the steep natural geological profile, with unobstructed views over the Mondego river, was found in the interior of a medieval defensive wall, making it possible to deconstruct the chronological periods of the locale, which is consistent with an Iron Age occupation, since at least the second century B.C. More importantly, it is necessary to understand the spatial contextualisation of this archaeological site through morphological analysis of the pottery in a local and regional context and comprehend the chronological hiatus and settlement between the archaeological sites located in the estuary mouth, from other sites found upstream along the Mondego river. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 20140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Methodological Proposal to Study the Uses and Appropriations of Unfinished Estates: A View from Vizela, Portugal

by Rui Pereira and João Sarmento

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 169-183; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010013 - 10 Jan 2019

Viewed by 2381

Abstract

Contemporary urbanity is marked by the presence of abandonment, ruins, and voids. Over the last decades, the model of urban development in Portugal allowed a discontinuous city expansion that has left many plots and spaces empty. Due to interrupted urbanization processes, urban developments [...] Read more.

Contemporary urbanity is marked by the presence of abandonment, ruins, and voids. Over the last decades, the model of urban development in Portugal allowed a discontinuous city expansion that has left many plots and spaces empty. Due to interrupted urbanization processes, urban developments suspended in time and space have progressively degraded, constituting nowadays new forms of non-historical ruins and a significant part of the urban landscape. However, these semi constructed buildings, are not only structures made of brick and mortar, but commonly the object of several and distinct appropriations and social uses. In order to explore the socio-cultural meanings of these ruinous constructions, their social life and their material and symbolic transformation, this paper puts forward a methodology, based on systematic ethnographic observation and detailed field work. Furthermore, it applies this methodology to a case study—an unfinished project in the city of Vizela, Portugal, for which fieldwork was carried out during 2017 and 2018. The paper ends up highlighting a political challenge in planning the contemporary city, towards the need to overcome a conventional dichotomy between the usage rights of the public and private domain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 7414 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Douro Carboniferous System: Integration of the Built Environment Heritage Aspect within the Territorial Planning Framework

by Daniela Alves Ribeiro

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 104-120; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010008 - 05 Jan 2019

Viewed by 2097

Abstract

In society energy is the most evident representation of the relationship between technology, economics, and culture and, therefore, formalizes itself in territorial transformations subjugated to the logic of its production, transportation, and consumption. Energy production based on what was the only Portuguese fuel—mineral [...] Read more.

In society energy is the most evident representation of the relationship between technology, economics, and culture and, therefore, formalizes itself in territorial transformations subjugated to the logic of its production, transportation, and consumption. Energy production based on what was the only Portuguese fuel—mineral coal—gave rise to the Carboniferous System of the Douro (Sistema Carbonífero do Douro (SCD)), extending from the social support structures close to the places it was mined to the (infra)structure systems of, and in, Porto (Portugal). Given this system, the relationship of it within the territory takes on particular importance in its understanding as heritage. The system seeks to reach conclusions about the integration of its heritage condition within territorial transformation policies. To do so, it seeks to understand how “structural invariants” which determine nuclei of this system are understood within the scope of the planning instruments and territorial management in force and, therefore, making conclusions regarding the mismatch between the recognition of heritage and its valorization of such as well as the difficulty of creating a prospective heritage understanding. As an alternative, the promotion of inclusive territorial management planning processes, which go beyond municipal management, capable of (re)producing territorializing actions that enhance and support heritage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

14 pages, 6077 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Commerce and Protected Cultural Landscape

by María Griñán Montealegre and Mónica López Sánchez

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 72-85; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010006 - 04 Jan 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2518

Abstract

By analyzing the urban landscape, this investigation focuses on some commercial typologies that exist in historical urban areas and its relationship with the urban landscape and its heritage values. Trade plays an essential role in historical urban areas, both in the past and [...] Read more.

By analyzing the urban landscape, this investigation focuses on some commercial typologies that exist in historical urban areas and its relationship with the urban landscape and its heritage values. Trade plays an essential role in historical urban areas, both in the past and in the present, since it is part of the urban landscape—creating it and modifying it, but also preserving it. Historical protected urban areas contain diverse elements reflecting the impacts of commercial activities that have existed in cities throughout history. At present, the urban landscape of commercial activity is made up of a multiplicity of typologies and formats which interact with the historical landscape and its values, using them to strengthen its strategies of attraction, differentiation, and sales. Shop owners contribute to the preservation of historic urban areas by maintaining the commercial functions within them. Therefore, we affirm that the role of commercial activity in the preservation of urban protected areas is essential. However, further research is needed because this aspect has not been addressed in depth by the scientific community specializing in the management of cultural heritage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 10383 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Iron Age Settlement of Terronha (Viana do Castelo, Northwestern Portugal): Analysis of Ceramic and Lithic Materials in Context

by Nuno Oliveira

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 56-71; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010005 - 03 Jan 2019

Viewed by 2559

Abstract

This article’s main objective is to present some results of a study carried out in Castro de Terronha, located in the Union of Cardielos and Serreleis parishes, county and district of Viana do Castelo, North of Portugal. This settlement was discovered and excavated [...] Read more.

This article’s main objective is to present some results of a study carried out in Castro de Terronha, located in the Union of Cardielos and Serreleis parishes, county and district of Viana do Castelo, North of Portugal. This settlement was discovered and excavated in 2000 by the archeology company Perennia Monumenta under the scientific direction of Francisco Queiroga. The text focuses on the analysis of structures and indigenous ceramic and lithic remains discovered in sector A. The seven circular structures under study correspond to probable housing structures. Three of them have a vestibule attached. These would be about 5–6 m in diameter—a device of reasonable quality. Also found was a section of wall that ends abruptly, adjoining a great outcrop. Most of the ceramic specimens in articulation with the architectures revealed numerous similarities in morphological, technical and decorative terms with that of the Late Iron Age and the beginnings of Romanization in the Cávado Basin River. The set of remains suggests this settlement was involved in subsistence activities, metallurgy and trade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 35682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depictions of Shoeprints in Northwest Portugal

by José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

Heritage 2019, 2(1), 39-55; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2010004 - 24 Dec 2018

Viewed by 2637

Abstract

From the end of the 3rd millennium and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, new motifs appear in Northwest Portugal. This corresponds to what one of the authors has called Figurative Art. The engravings of human feet—barefoot or with shoes—fall within this [...] Read more.

From the end of the 3rd millennium and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, new motifs appear in Northwest Portugal. This corresponds to what one of the authors has called Figurative Art. The engravings of human feet—barefoot or with shoes—fall within this new “style”. This motif is not well known in Northern Portugal, although it has recently been the subject of a synthesis study on the Atlantic façade of this region. Starting from an inventory work, contextualising the several scales of analysis and the theoretical posture that knowledge is simultaneously cumulative and interpretative, this text reveals the shoeprints existing in Northwest Portugal and the interpretations that have been made about them. Currently there are 81 shoeprints in the region, distributed on 18 outcrops, in 17 different sites. This study has made it possible to create two typological subgroups, namely shoeprints with simple soles and with sole and heel. Within each group it was possible to perceive the existence of places with only one or few shoeprints, versus places with many shoeprints and that there are shoeprints of different dimensions and different orientations. The analysis of this data has made it possible to hypothesise that the engraving of these motifs may have arisen at the end of the Chalcolithic, beginning of the Bronze Age, reaching its peak during the latter period and ending at the beginning of the Iron Age. It is also hypothesised that they represent different age groups and that they may relate to pilgrimages or trips that formed part of rites of passage to adulthood, probably of individuals of higher status within a hierarchised society and which occurred at certain times of year, especially during the summer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biological Profile Estimation Based on Footprints and Shoeprints from Bracara Augusta Figlinae (Brick Workshops)

by Luís Miguel Marado and Jorge Ribeiro

Heritage 2018, 1(1), 33-44; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage1010003 - 14 May 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4198

Abstract

Biological profile estimation is an important task of biological and forensic anthropologists. This includes sex, age, ancestry, and body morphology. In bioarchaeology, the biological profile is useful to analyze paleodemography, secular trends, paleopathology, and genetic processes, for example. Foot dimensions, footprints, and shoeprints [...] Read more.

Biological profile estimation is an important task of biological and forensic anthropologists. This includes sex, age, ancestry, and body morphology. In bioarchaeology, the biological profile is useful to analyze paleodemography, secular trends, paleopathology, and genetic processes, for example. Foot dimensions, footprints, and shoeprints can vary according to stature, age, sex, and body weight. The objective is to estimate these parameters in possible laterarii (brickworkers) from five footprints and seven shoeprints found in Roman bricks from Bracara Augusta. Estimation methods were applied to footprint and shoeprint measurements concerning foot length, foot breath, heel breadth, and length from heel to each finger. Three non-adult individuals were aged 1 to 4/5 years and were between 79.7 and 112.5 cm (±7.7 cm) tall. Five adults were likely female individuals, with statures between 144.2 and 159.9 cm. Methods were selected from samples preferably biologically similar to Portuguese people. This pioneer analysis provides biological insight on the Bracara Augusta laterarii and the population inhabiting Northwestern Iberia during Roman times. As a result of taphonomic constraints (cremation, soil acidity, and humidity), coeval osteological materials are hardly recovered, which further increases the relevance of this approach. Future research on methods based on Portuguese foot dimensions is essential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heritage and Territory)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Heritage and Territory

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (9 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI