Terroso: Archaeology and Sacred Architecture

Terroso combines a long archaeological history with sacred architecture. The Cividade de Terroso, with its period of habitation and concentric walls, is at the heart of the area; churches and chapels add architectural forms and works of art to the picture. A historic aqueduct also points to a specific connection beyond the town.

The Cividade de Terroso

The Cividade de Terroso was inhabited from the 9th century BC to the 4th century AD and is classified as an “Imóvel de Interesse Público” (Property of Public Interest). Its architectural features include three concentric walls. “Concentric” describes lines arranged around a common center; here, the site can therefore be understood as a series of interrelated rings of walls. The period of habitation and the form of the walls answer different questions: one places the Cividade in time, while the other describes its spatial layout.

The Núcleo Arqueológico da Cividade de Terroso was inaugurated on June 28, 2004. The Núcleo Interpretativo da Cividade de Terroso displays some of the archaeological finds. The Cividade’s long history of habitation and the specific inauguration date of the Núcleo Arqueológico represent two different time frames.

Elevation and views of the landscape

The Cividade stands at an elevation of 153 meters and offers a panoramic view of the coastal strip and the surrounding inland area. This view adds a landscape perspective to the archaeological one, encompassing both the coast and the inland area.

Religious buildings and their works of art

The current building of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Candeias ou da Purificação de Terroso is believed to have been built from the 16th century onward. The church was probably restored in 1718; the Baroque relief of the Souls in Purgatory is also thought to date from this period. The construction and restoration thus point to different periods in its history.

The Capela do Divino Salvador is a Mannerist religious building and was probably built around 1670. Its altarpiece includes a painting depicting D. Afonso Henriques and the Miracle of Ourique. Here, the architectural style described and a specifically named subject in the painting stand side by side.

The rural Capela de S. Lourenço was built in the late 17th century. Before it was moved in 1940, it stood beside the Cruzeiro de S. Lourenço on the Caminho de Santiago. Its construction date and former location provide two distinct points of reference for placing the chapel in its historical context.

A historic water connection

The aqueduct also tells of a historic relationship between Terroso and Vila do Conde. It carried water from a spring in Terroso near the Santo António wayside shrine to the Santa Clara convent in Vila do Conde. The source, location, and destination are thus specifically identified. Unlike the churches and chapels, the focus here is not a single religious building, but a water channel with two named endpoints.

Different historical layers

The dates distinguish the historical layers of Terroso: habitation of the Cividade spans from the 9th century BC to the 4th century AD; the religious buildings described date from the 16th century onward to the late 17th century. The presumed restoration in 1718 belongs to a later period in the church’s history. In this way, the long archaeological time span, individual building phases, and works of art can be seen as different ways of exploring the history of the area.

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