18 July 2025 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

Treasure Hunter Claims to Find First Council of Nicaea’s Location, Demands $50 Million for Discovery

26 April 2025

26 April 2025

In a startling revelation, Mustafa Uysal, a treasure hunter from Bursa, has claimed to have unearthed an underground city in...

Denisovans or Homo Sapiens: Who Were the First to Settle Permanently on the Tibetan Plateau?

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The Tibetan Plateau has long been considered one of the last places to be populated by people in their migration...

A 3,300-year-old tablet found at Büklükale from Hittite Empire describes catastrophic invasion of four cities

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,300-year-old clay tablet depicting a catastrophic foreign invasion of the Hittite Empire in Büklükale, about 100...

1,800 Years Old Woman Sculpture in the Ancient City of Metropolis

16 June 2021

16 June 2021

On 12 June, Turkish officials announced the discovery of an 1800-year-old statue of a woman in Izmir. An 1800-year-old statue...

Ancient Rome’s city borders were discovered in a rare stone

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Archaeologists unearthed a rare stone outlining ancient Rome’s city borders during excavations for a new sewage system. The stone comes...

A pre-Hispanic ceremonial center with unknown characteristics was discovered in the Andes

15 April 2023

15 April 2023

While investigating at Waskiri, near the Lauca River and the Bolivian-Chilean border, archaeologists found an impressive circular construction on a...

In the “Siberian Valley of the Kings”, archaeologists have discovered a burial mound containing ornate treasures dating back 2,500 years

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

A Polish-Russian team of archaeologists, excavating in the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” have announced the discovery of a burial...

Antikythera underwater excavation digs up new discoveries “huge marble head”

20 June 2022

20 June 2022

The second phase of underwater archaeological research (May 23 to June 15, 2022) on the Antikythera shipwreck resulted in the...

New Research Reveals Previously Unknown Aspects of the Construction, Use, and Ritual Significance of a Neolithic Rondel Found in Poland

12 December 2024

12 December 2024

An archaeological excavation at Nowe Objezierze in north-western Poland has uncovered a rondel dating to around 4800 BC, offering new...

A 2,000-year-old Roman sewage system has been discovered in western Turkey

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

The archaeological excavations carried out in the ancient city of Tripolis in the western province of Denizli’s Buldan district have...

1800-year-old marble inscription found in Turkey’s Aigai excavations deciphered

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

The 1800-year-old inscription, consisting of 3 pieces of marble, found in the excavations in the ancient city of Aigai in...

The DNA of 4000-years-old hazelnut shells found in Kültepe

11 November 2023

11 November 2023

Excavations conducted ten years ago at the archaeological site of Kültepe Kanesh Karum, which dates back 6,000 years and is...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Terracotta Commander and Warriors at the Mausoleum of China’s First Emperor

12 January 2025

12 January 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare 2,000-year-old statue depicting a high-ranking military commander at the famous Terracotta Army site in China:...

Largest Headhunting Massacre of Women and Children in Neolithic China

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

A new study discovers that ancient headless skeletons discovered in mass graves in China are the remains of victims who...

Archeologists discovered a treasure trove at the bottom of an ancient Roman bathhouse drain near Hadrian’s Wall

1 February 2023

1 February 2023

Archeologists in Carlisle, England, discovered a treasure trove at the bottom of the drain system of an ancient Roman bathhouse...