Portugal
Pegarinhos – 2025

The Trás do Castelo site in Vale de Mir, Pegarinhos, Portugal, is located in the Douro Valley on the edge of a granite plateau. Since 2012, numerous excavation campaigns have revealed the remains of an agricultural settlement established at the end of the 1st century AD and abandoned in the second half of the 3rd century. The remains uncovered relate to a rural farm that combined different activities, such as livestock breeding, grain processing, textile production (probably linen), and wine production. The latter is unique in this region, which straddles the provinces of Tarraconensis and Lusitania, as it is the oldest proven evidence of wine production in the Douro Valley. It was probably the economic centre of a villa-type settlement. The site was reoccupied during the 4th century, either through the reuse of certain areas of the old farm or the construction of new, rather crude buildings. The 2022 and 2023 campaigns documented this second occupation, revealing three small contiguous spaces on a granite slope. These spaces are notable for yielding an abundance of different artefacts, including ceramics, metal objects, glass, jewellery and, most notably, coins. Evidence of a second sequence was found, with the discovery of two complete terracotta oil lamps. The idea of a cultic function is currently under review. Consequently, the previously unexplained discovery of five small coin deposits may be interpreted as offerings. The investigation is ongoing.

The main objective of the 2025 campaign was to supervise the mechanical cleaning of the edges of the site as part of the museum project. In this context, a series of walls were initially cleared in the north of the site, enabling data on certain areas to be collected. Additionally, cleaning the western sector revealed the complete layout of a metalworking workshop dating from the High Empire period.

Rodolphe Nicot was able to make further progress in his study of the significant coin hoard that was unearthed in 2022 and 2023 thanks to this campaign. The numismatic collection was also completed by this short field session. Thirteen new specimens were unearthed this year; some were found in piles of rubble washed away by rain and wind, and these are linked to the large batch found in 2022/23. The other finds were made in newly excavated areas. Their precise dating and contextualisation will be carried out quickly so they can be included in the report, after which we can focus on the large 2022/23 batch again.