10 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Ribat Mosque shares space with the Roman sanctuary dedicated to Sun and Ocean was discovered in Portugal

The ruins of a second Islamic ‘ribat’ mosque dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries have been discovered at the Alto da Vigia archaeological site next to the town of Praia das Maçãs, located on one of the most beautiful beaches of Portugal’s Sintra coastline.

A ribāṭ is an Arabic termThe word ribat in its abstract refers to the voluntary defense of Islam, which is why ribats were originally used to house those who fought to defend Islam.

In a statement, the Sintra municipality revealed that “research work continues at the Alto da Vigia archaeological site, next to Praia das Maçãs, having now identified and excavated the ruins of a second Islamic ‘ribat’ mosque dating from the 11th and 12th centuries”.

“This place would be both a place of prayer and surveillance of the coast against the risk of attack, particularly by Christian forces”, the statement reads.

According to information provided by Lusa News Agency, “this find reinforces the importance of this sacred space for Islam, documenting a type of architectural reality for which only two other examples are known in the entire Iberian Peninsula: one in Aljezur and another near Alicante, in Spain”.

Alto da Vigia - Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Son, Moon, and Ocean. Detail of Roman altar reused to build the Medieval Islamic mosque. Photo: © CMS | MASMO
Alto da Vigia – Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Son, Moon, and Ocean. Detail of Roman altar reused to build the Medieval Islamic mosque. Photo: © CMS | MASMO

A first mosque had already been identified at the site, also with its characteristic niche facing the holy city of Mecca (mihrab), as well as a building without this oratory.

The city council information also highlights “the presence of a cemetery with burials carried out according to the dictates of the Islamic faith, in addition to around a dozen cavities excavated in the rock intended for storing food (silos)”.

“By comparing these sites leads us to believe that the remains now uncovered in Sintra will include numerous mosques in a large area yet to be excavated”, highlights the municipal information.

The experts from the municipal archaeology services emphasize that, in the case of Alto da Vigia, the unique particularity of this ‘ribat’ is that it shares space with the Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Sun and the Ocean, from whose ruins “he reused multiple epigraphic and architectural elements such as construction material”.

Alto da Vigia - Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Sun, Moon, and Ocean. Detail of Roman stones reused to build the Medieval Islamic mosque. Photo: © CMS | MASMO
Alto da Vigia – Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Sun, Moon, and Ocean. Detail of Roman stones reused to build the Medieval Islamic mosque. Photo: © CMS | MASMO

“This new discovery not only enriches our understanding of Sintra but also strengthens our commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the municipality’s cultural heritage”, said the mayor of Sintra, Basílio Horta.

The Archaeological Museum of So Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO) services team worked with volunteers and students from archaeology courses at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Arts and the Universidade Nova de Lisbon’s Faculty of Social and Human Sciences.

Related Articles

Arkeologists decipher hieroglyphics of a vessel found in the archaeological rescue of the Mayan Train

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Based on the analysis of eleven glyphic cartouches inscribed into a ceramic pot, discovered in October 2021 during archaeological rescue...

A new study says genes and languages aren’t always together

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. This linguistic diversity, like biological traits, is passed down from generation to...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

Ancient Synagogue found in Turkey’s popular tourist center Side

27 December 2021

27 December 2021

A 7th-century ancient synagogue has been found in Side, a resort town on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The synagogue found was...

A Neolithic Ornate Necklace with Over 2,500 Stones found in a Child’s Grave

3 August 2023

3 August 2023

An ornate necklace found in a child’s grave in ancient Jordan about 9,000 years ago provides new insights into the...

Archaeologists unearth 3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewelry in Egypt

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Archaeologists discovered a collection of ornate jewelry at the Tell El-Amarna necropolis on the Nile River’s eastern bank in modern-day...

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Archaeologists uncover Europe’s oldest lakeside stilt village behind a fortress of defensive spikes

11 August 2023

11 August 2023

Under the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the “Pearl of the Balkans” Scientists have uncovered what may be one of...

Byzantine monk chained with iron rings unearthed near Jerusalem

4 January 2023

4 January 2023

A skeleton chained with iron rings was discovered at Khirbat el-Masani, about four kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, along the ancient...

Two monumental sculpted Roman heads unearthed in Carlisle, northern England

25 May 2023

25 May 2023

Two monumental statue heads believed to be dated to the early 3rd century have been unearthed during excavations at a...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

5,000 years old Mother Goddess statuette unearthed in Yeşilova Mound

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

A Mother Goddess statuette, determined to be 5 thousand years old, was found during the excavations carried out in the...

Drone photos reveal Venice of the Fertile Crescent

16 October 2022

16 October 2022

A drone survey of Lagash, a site located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, revealed that the 4,900-year-old settlement was...

Bidnija olive trees have seen medieval, not the Roman period

13 July 2021

13 July 2021

The olive trees in the Bidnija grove on the island of Malta are believed to be 2000 years old. But...

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of...