The Monte de São Martinho, located in the parish of Castelo Branco, is an imposing hill of quartezítica formation, with dense endogenous vegetation of pleasant natural beauty.
From the top, you can see all around the plain of the Tagus Valley, and on the west side stands the town of Castelo Branco.
Everywhere, at the base and on the hill of St. Martin, traces of not only the Roman presence in the region, but also marks of a prehistoric past, submerge from a distant past. The earliest remains trace back to a fortified settlement of the Bronze Age (castro), the walls and fragments of pottery and lithic material (polished stone instruments) found there.
In the autumn of 1903, a series of excavations at the site, they discovered three epigraphs of the Bronze Age. The trail of thin-grained granite engraving, measuring 2.22 meters high and 40 centimeters wide. By its structure, this may resemble a menir, however, should not be confused with megalithic monuments. The engraving engraved on the stele represents a human figure, perhaps of a warrior, from which appear four short horns, or perhaps a helmet adorned with four feathers. The figure holds a bow and arrow over his head. On the left side of the warrior we have a sword and on the right side, a belt and a mirror.
The Monte de S. Martinho and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mcoles constitute a rich space in archaeological, religious, ecological, rural, geomorphological and visual resources.
The Monte de S. Martinho is inserted in the so-called "Archaeological Triangle of Castelo Branco" that includes the area between the chapels of Nossa Senhora de Mércoles, Santa Ana and the mountain.
The archaeological interest of the place was reinforced by the discovery of a Roman dam next to the Chapel of Our Lady of Mércoles, by the existence of a Roman / medieval way and by the abundance of ceramic fragments and architectural structures of the Roman Period.
From the top, you can see all around the plain of the Tagus Valley, and on the west side stands the town of Castelo Branco.
Everywhere, at the base and on the hill of St. Martin, traces of not only the Roman presence in the region, but also marks of a prehistoric past, submerge from a distant past. The earliest remains trace back to a fortified settlement of the Bronze Age (castro), the walls and fragments of pottery and lithic material (polished stone instruments) found there.
In the autumn of 1903, a series of excavations at the site, they discovered three epigraphs of the Bronze Age. The trail of thin-grained granite engraving, measuring 2.22 meters high and 40 centimeters wide. By its structure, this may resemble a menir, however, should not be confused with megalithic monuments. The engraving engraved on the stele represents a human figure, perhaps of a warrior, from which appear four short horns, or perhaps a helmet adorned with four feathers. The figure holds a bow and arrow over his head. On the left side of the warrior we have a sword and on the right side, a belt and a mirror.
The Monte de S. Martinho and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mcoles constitute a rich space in archaeological, religious, ecological, rural, geomorphological and visual resources.
The Monte de S. Martinho is inserted in the so-called "Archaeological Triangle of Castelo Branco" that includes the area between the chapels of Nossa Senhora de Mércoles, Santa Ana and the mountain.
The archaeological interest of the place was reinforced by the discovery of a Roman dam next to the Chapel of Our Lady of Mércoles, by the existence of a Roman / medieval way and by the abundance of ceramic fragments and architectural structures of the Roman Period.
