The History of Chaves, Portugal
Religion
A dolmen at the entrance to
Vila Pouca de Aguiar
The Romans | The Middle Ages | 17th and 18th Century Wars | The Napoleonic Invasions | The Monarchist Incursions | From Salazar to the Present
Pre-History
The
settlement of the region of Chaves is very remote.
In the Brunheiro Mountains a stone tool, perhaps of the
Paleolithic period has been discovered.
But safer and more accurate is the documentation showing
settlement in the Neolithic period and at the dawn of the age of metals.
There are remnants of dolmens
(called antas) in the region in addition to strange rock
drawings, for example those of Outeiro Machado, near Valdanta.
There are many vestiges of pre-historic life in the region. There are remnants of fortifications, usually very rudimentary, which were the primitive strongholds of the mountain people who lived nearby. Others were more elaborate. A good example is the castro of Curalha, near Chaves, where we can still see walls and some foundations of cylindrical houses. An even better preserved castro is that of Carvalhelhos near Boticas. Before the arrival of the Romans these people, divided into clans, often waged war against each other, but at moments of great collective danger would join together to fight against any enemy who had come from outside. The hardness of the winters and the contact with the rugged mountains gave them a strong force of character. The basis of their diet was meat taken in the hunt, milk, dark rye bread, chestnuts and strong broth, made thick with chunks of ham or bacon. The pig was the most cherished animal of these people and was even the object of a totemic cult. In several areas of Tras-os-Montes there are sculptures of pigs, which are believed to have belonged to remote funeral rites.
A monument to the sow of Murça (some say it could have been a she-bear)