Castro de Leceia
The Castro de Leceia or Leceia Eneolithic Station (Estação eneolítica de Leceia) is an archeological site of the Castro culture located in the Portuguese civil parish of Barcarena in the municipality of Oeiras. The area was first occupied during the end of the Neolithic (4th millennium BCE) and throughout the Chalcolithic, being abandoned somewhere between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE. The Castro was first dug and reported in 1878 by Carlos Ribeiro, who presented his results to the Lisbon Academy of Sciences in what may be considered the first monograph dedicated to a pre-historical Portuguese settlement. The last interventions date to 2003. The site is classified as a public interest monument (Imóvel de Interesse Público) since 1963. History The area experienced four main occupation phases: First phase (upper Neolithic) During the first phase (upper Neolithic) more specifically between the end of 4th millennium BCE and beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE, circular houses were built without any extra defensive constructions. Since the beginning of its occupation, the inhabitants of the Castro are thought to have been strongly sedentary. Of all the ungulate remains found, swine (used for meat) were the most frequent,