Oldest Winery in Portugal?, a photo from Portalegre, South

Photographer's Note

I am not sure if my sources are trustful, but when I was a teenager, the more seniors members of the 'amateur archaeology club' to which I belonged said that it was believed that this dug rocks were used to make wine by pressing the grapes against the rock. The people of the area called them lagariças, an uncommon word derived from lagar, which translates to place where wine or olive oil is produced. The time when they were dug and used was even more uncertain.

The area has many traces of very ancient human occupation, although the only ones with any interest for someone who isn't an archaeologist are menhirs and dolmens (megalithic monuments probably older than 5000 years). In a radius of about 4 Km / 2.5 mi there are at least one menhir and ten dolmens. I have a recent post of one of them. On top of the hill on the right of the photo once stood a castro (fortified village of the Iron Age) that is probably more than 2500 years old. I think that the newest vestiges found there are from the early Middle Age, just after the fall of the Roman Empire. On the top of the hill more to the right there is a cave that was occupied even earlier, maybe as early as the Neolithic (I guess they are contemporary of the construction of the dolmens). Just a few hundred meters behind the POV existed a Roman villa. Close to it there was (I use the past tense, because now it is completely covered with bushes and grass) a cobbled circle that was used to separate straw from the grains of cereals (I don't know the English word for it, in Portuguese is eira) until some tens of years. While it isn't that different from the others eiras found everywhere in Portugal at first sight, it features geometric patterns made by the stones and has bigger rocks around it that almost remind a cromlech [te, wikipedia], a bit like an original miniature Stonehenge or a big sun dial. The place puzzled the archaeologists that visited the place some 35 years ago, I don't know if anyone did any serious research and/or concluded anything; maybe it was just the oeuvre of an inspired peasant not much older than 100 years.

On the WS: Another dug rock, apparently unfinished.

Location (latitude, longitude): 39.4557,-7.309

robertosalguero, mesquens, lucasgalodoido, ribeiroantonio, paura, Benedict, feather, Jardim, xuaxo, COSTANTINO, Didi, Bluejeans, Docarmo heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

danicaneto (47) 2008-04-22 18:15

Very nice picture.... i like the nature... kisses

Bye!!

robertosalguero (292) 2008-04-22 18:26

Olá José,

This is very interesting because of its archaelogical value. I just wonder if they are right by making the claim of an ancient winery. The image is well composed with the the rock structure properly placed in the image. The surroundings look pretty as well. Thanks José.

Roberto

mesquens (2401) 2008-04-22 18:42

Olá José,
Grande tomada, com a pedra escura, onde se pisava o mosto, em primeiro plano e dando uma bela profundidade à cena belamente capturada.
Ótima nota, bem no espírito do TE.
Parabéns
Raimundo

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2008-04-22 18:57

Olá José,
bem interessante essa imagem, Portugal é cheio disso, pelo menos em fotos. Muito bom você mostrar essa pedra aqui.
Parabéns e Abraço!

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2008-04-22 19:07

A pergunta que se pode fazer diz reapeito à existência de vinhas na região. Será que era ou ainda é uma cultura da terra? Se fosse um lagar de azeite, não me admiraria pois a região é the azeite/oliveiras. De qualquer modo, acho a tua nota muito interessante.
Ambas as fotos estão boas, tanto em PDV como em cor e definição.

batalay (41261) 2008-04-22 19:44

Olá José,

A fabulous narrative accompanying this photograph. The colors of the lichen on the stone, the slender blades of grass — it is an excellent shot, moreover, it was shot on June 10, my birthday.

Um abraço, José

Bulent

UnTrained (0) 2008-04-22 22:15

Olá José,
it looks usable in that way for sure and gaining the liquid of grapes or others seems not to be so far from a close idea.
I like the good focus here on the rock together with that nice clarity of the background part even in that different light and low aperture. The grey and green play nice before the background landscape.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

paura (25802) 2008-04-23 4:06

José,
Muito interessante a rocha. E sua fotografia está muito bem apanhada para mostrá-la. Outro aspecto interessante é que ela é completamente diferente das outras rochas que estão atrás, no morrote.

Abraço

Paulo

Benedict (7076) 2008-04-23 5:49

i like the rural feel of this image.
i guess the folks are right by claiming that this huge mortar-looking boulder was once used as an equipment for wine-making centuries prior. technology was sure not fancy that time, ah.
glad to see that this is all intact, devoid of graffitis and stuff. is the government planning to dig up this and house it in a meseumm or somewhere?..just curious. your notes are very informative, as usual.
Benedict

feather (51130) 2008-04-23 6:13

Very intersting Jose; its amazing how little we know about early history, and at best, "knowledge" is just intelligent speculation. The photo is excellent with incredible detail and texture captured. The lack of bright sun worked in your favour for this image. The framing is good with the use of the over-hanging tree and the rest of the surrounding vegetation enhancing the image. In particular the tuft of scrub-like grass is perfectly placed by your choice of viewpoint. Well done
Kath

zeynepe (0) 2008-04-23 8:00

Olá José,
Very impressive, I am learning a lot of things from your photos, not only technical but also historical.
Parabéns :)
Zeynep

Jardim (3243) 2008-04-23 14:10

Olá José,

A foto está muito equilibrada com boa definição e cores.
Sem dúvida um bom registo e com uma boa nota a acompanhar.É como um bom vinho a acompanhar o prato principal;)
Júlio Jardim

xuaxo (6854) 2008-04-23 15:02

Olá José,
Foto simples (com bonita vegetação envolvente), num tema bem interessante. Eu desconhecia a existência destas lagariças. Se esse nome chegou até nós, toda essa história faz sentido.
Um abraço,
F

zeca (19762) 2008-04-23 20:49

Não há muito o que dizer, José. A Qualidade da foto é muito boa e embora a composição não diga muito, a nota a explica.
Abraço,
Zeca

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-24 7:05

Jose,
a very nice archeological excursion being represented in your note and post. I had my own archeological phase as a teenager and can imagine the enthusiasm that you created back than and even nowadays having this palce haunting you now witt your next hobby - photography. The composition including quite well the suroundings is a very good one. The yellow strip od dry grass gives a wonderful contrast to the dark stone and the green framing the whole image.
Peter

Romatou (0) 2008-04-24 8:20

Très intéressant ! Voici les vrais fondements de notre civilisation : le pinard néolithique ;-D ! Très bien fait , y compris le Workshop , pour une publication d'un très
grand intérêt ( et , celle fois , je suis sérieux ! )

Amitiés ,

François.

COSTANTINO (116490) 2008-04-26 1:30

Hello my friend,
Greetings from GREECE and thanks a lot for your photo and yours useful notes.
I like this landscape because it evokes
a sense of peacefulness.
Good shot and nice composition,very interesting in my opinion
Costantino

Didi (61589) 2008-04-26 1:41

Bonsoir José
Un sujet archéologique très intéressant.
Je suppose que les grappes étaient pressées avec les pieds et on remarque bien la partie inférieure qui recueuille le jus de raisin.
Je me demande si des amphores ont été découvertes avec du vin bien sûr :)
Amitiés.

Bluejeans (64251) 2008-04-26 2:22

Oi José ,
Muito interessante esta tua foto desconhecia esta técnica antiga ou nunca tinha pensado nisso como eles faziam o vinho antigamente , é uma boa foto para um livro educativo ,gostei das cores e do enquadramento com vegetação a toda a volta , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

mark_mk (266) 2008-05-02 15:37

Hi Jose,
where I live we have plenty of these old archeologic hangovers because of the Romans that founded our city.
This one is very good because it contains two things:
1. Very good photo work
2. An archeologic background.

Colors and sharpness are nice, the rocks look wonderful and the different color tones are fantastic.

Thanks for posting these shots from Portugal and keep them coming!

Best regards
Mark

Docarmo (9767) 2008-08-31 19:12

Olá José,
Muito interessantes as fotos e a nota. A profundidade está ótima e a composição muito bem escolhida.
Obrigada por partilhar,
MCV