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of Environment and Conservation in Kununurra, Dr David Welch, BobJones, Cecilia Myers, Kevin Waina, the late Laurie Waina OAM, PaulineUnhango, Prof. M. Diaz-Andreu and Prof. R. Layton.

Aboriginal Corporation, Dpt. de lEnvironnement et de la Conservation Kununurra, Dr. David Welch, Bob Jones, Cecilia Myers, Kevin Waina,la regrette Laurie Waina OAM, Pauline Unhango, Pr. M. Diaz-Andreuet Pr. R. Layton.

Michael P. RAINSBURY* and Joc SCHMIECHEN* SCR, Ustinov College, Howlands Farm, South Road, Durham DH1 3DE, UK [email protected]

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

CHALOUPKA G., 1993. Journey in time: the worlds longest continuing art tradition.Chatsworth NSW : Reed.

DONALDSON M., 2012. Kimberley rock art. Volume Two: North Kimberley. Mount Lawley, Western Australia :Wildrocks Publications.

LEWIS D., 1997. Bradshaws: the view from Arnhem Land. Australian Archaeology,44, p. 1-16.

SCHMIECHEN H.J., 1986. Survey of Aboriginal rock art and cultural sites. Drysdale River, East Kimberley, WesternAustralia. Report of findings, Drysdale River Expedition 1986, Operation Raleigh. Adelaide : Unpublished Report.

SCHMIECHEN H.J., 1993. Shadows in Stone. A report on Aboriginal rock art survey expeditions 1988 and 1991.Drysdale River National Park, Kimberley, Western Australia.Adelaide : Unpublished Report.

SCHMIECHEN H.J., 1995. Drysdale River National Park, Western Australia: Aboriginal cultural heritage, manage-ment problems and potential. In :WARD G.K. & WARD L.A. (eds.), Management of rock art imagery. Preservation of rockart, p. 71-81. Melbourne : Australian Rock Art Association. (Occasional AURA publication ; 9).

TAON P.S.C. & BROCKWELL S., 1995. Arnhem Land prehistory in landscape, stone and paint. Antiquity, 69,

p. 676-695.WALSH G.L., 1994. Bradshaws: ancient rock paintings of North-West Australia.Carouge-Geneva : dition Limite.

WALSH G.L., 2000. Bradshaw art of the Kimberley. Toowong, Queensland : Takarakka Nowan Kas Publications.

WELCH D., 1990. The bichrome art period in the Kimberley, Australia. Rock Art Research,7 (2), p. 110-124.

WELCH D., 1993. The early rock art of the Kimberley, Australia: developing a chronology. In : STEINBRING J.,WATCHMAN A., FAULSTICH P., TAON P.S.C. (eds.), Time and space. Dating and spatial considerations in rock artresearch, p. 13-21. Melbourne : Australian Rock Art Research Association. (Occasional AURA Publication ; 8).

TERRASSE DE FOZ DO METAL, HABITAT DE PLEINAIR PALOLITHIQUE AVEC ART MOBILIER

La construction dun grand barrage hydrolectriquedans lextrme nord-est du Portugal a donn lieu uneprospection archologique sur plus de 60 km2. Diffrentesquipes travaillent depuis 2008 sur cette vaste zone quisera bientt submerge. Au dbut, les rfrences archo-logiques tant trs rares, la rgion tait cense manquerde vestiges anciens et, lexception de la recherchemene depuis 1996 dans la valle de la Ca (Aubry 2009),le nord du Portugal connaissait un vide pour tout ce quiconcernait les contextes du Palolithique suprieur.

La valle de la Sabor, cependant, se rvla richeen vestiges archologiques, du Palolithique infrieurjusqu nos jours. En 2010, cela conduisit restructurerentirement les quipes de recherche, que lon redfiniten fonction des diverses priodes chronologiques. Cestdans ce cadre renouvel que les recherches portrent surla terrasse de Foz do Medal.

La valle de la Sabor se trouve dans la rgion deTrs-os-Montes, et, comme celle de la Ca au sud, cestlun des affluents les plus importants du Douro (fig. 1).La valle de la Sabor est un lit de rivire troit au profilen V, surtout orient du nord-est au sud-est, jusquatteindre la valle de la Vilaria et la rive droite du Douro.La rgion tout entire, localise dans une zone marginaledes hautes plaines de lEspagne centrale, fut intensmentdraine avec pour consquence la cration de vallesprofondes la topographie trs irrgulire. De fait, lontrouve frquemment des dnivellations de 700 800 mentre le fond et les hauteurs de la valle de la Sabor (Silvaet al. 1989). Nanmoins, en certains points de la valle, ilexiste des exceptions cette gomorphologie, dues aux

FOZ DO MEDAL TERRACE AN OPEN-AIRSETTLEMENT WITH PALEOLITHIC PORTABLE ART

The construction of a major hydroelectric dam in theextreme north-east of Portugal led to an archaeologicalsurvey in a territory covering more than 60km2. In thislarge area, soon to be submerged, different archaeologi-cal teams have been working since 2008. Initially, as therewere very few archaeological references the region wasthought to be very poor in ancient human vestiges, andwith the exception of the research undertaken since 1996in the Ca valley (Aubry 2009)there was an archaeologicalgap for Upper Paleolithic contexts in Northern Portugal.

The Sabor valley, however, turned out to be rich inarchaeological remains from the Lower Paleolithic untilpresent days. In 2010 this led to a complete restructur-ing of the archaeological teams, which became mostlydefined according to different chronological periods. Itwas within this new framework that the Foz do Medalterrace began to be investigated.

The Sabor River is located in the region of Trs-os-Montes, and, as the Ca River situated to the south, it isone of the most important tributaries of the Douro River(Fig. 1). The Sabor valley is a narrow bed river with Vshaped slopes. It develops mainly from the north-east tothe south-east, until it reaches the Vilaria valley and theright bank of the Douro. The entire region, located in amarginal area of the high plains of central Spain, has suf-fered an intense drainage that led to the creation of deepvalleys with a very irregular topography. In fact, it is quitecommon to find differences of 700 and 800m betweenthe bottom and the top of the Sabor valley (Silva et al.1989). Nevertheless, exceptions to this geomorphologyexist in some specific points of the valley, due to different


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diffrentes formations lithologiques (ibid.), de mme qulaction notectonique locale (Pereira & Azevedo 1995).Dans ces zones, la valle slargit et prsente plusieursniveaux de terrasses fluviatiles avec des conditionsidales pour limplantation humaine. La terrasse de Fozdo Metal est prcisment localise dans lune de cesrgions (fig. 2).

Bien quil sagisse dune terrasse fluviatile basse(seulement 9 m au-dessus du niveau de la rivire), le siteprsente une paisse squence sdimentaire de dpts

alluviaux fins et grossiers avec, et l, des dptsde pente (fig. 3). Il sy trouve de longues occupationshumaines dges divers, du Palolithique moyen lgedu Bronze moyen, les plus importantes appartenant auPalolithique suprieur. Dans lun de ces sites, plus de125 000 lments lithiques et plus de 1 400 fragments deplaquettes graves ont t trouvs.

propos du contexte

La premire intervention archologique sur la ter-rasse de Foz do Metal eut lieu lors de lt 2011. Depetits sondages furent effectus et lon trouva dix petitesplaquettes graves. Ce nest qu la fin de 2011 quun

intense travail archologique de terrain commena etnous permit une caractrisation initiale du site. Lesfouilles durrent jusquau dbut de 2013. Elles portrentsur une tendue denviron 900 m2, ce qui en fait la plusvaste et plus importante opration de ce genre jamaisconduite au Portugal.

lithological formations (ibid.) as well as to local neotec-tonic action (Pereira & Azevedo 1995). In those areasthe valley becomes broader, presenting several levels offluvial terraces and ideal conditions for human settlement.The Foz do Medal terrace is located precisely in one ofthose areas (Fig. 2).

Although it is a low fluvial terrace (only 9m above thelevel of the river), the site contains a thick sedimentarysequence of fine and coarse alluvial deposits, inter-

spersed with some slope contributions (Fig. 3). Thissequence contains a long diachronic human occupation,from the Middle Paleolithic to the Middle Bronze Age, themost important levels being those corresponding to theUpper Paleolithic occupation. In one of the deposits morethan 125,000 knapped stone pieces and over 1,400 frag-ments of engraved plaquettes were recovered.

About the context

The first archaeological intervention at the Foz doMedal terrace took place in the summer of 2011. Smalltest pits were then opened and 10 small engravedplaquettes were found. It was only by the end of 2011that intense archaeological fieldwork began, allowing usto have a primary characterization of the site. The exca-vations lasted until the beginning of 2013. Approximately900m2of the platform were excavated which makes it thelargest Upper Paleolithic archaeological intervention everconducted in Portugal.

Fig. 3. Vue gnrale de la couche 1055 dans la coupe sud de Foz do Medal.

Fig. 3. General view of Layer 1055 in the Southern section of Foz do Medal.

Fig. 2. Terrasse fluviatile de Foz do Medal. Vue depuis le nord-ouest.Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 2. Foz do Medal fluvial terrace. View from the NW.Photo by Adriano Borges.

Fig. 1. Localisation de Foz do Medal : a) Pninsule ibrique ;b) Bassin du Douro ; c) Valle de Sabor. Carte Joo Monteiro.

Fig. 1. Location of Foz do Medal in: a) Iberia; b) the Douro basin;c) the Sabor valley. Map by Joo Monteiro.


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The excavation lasted for over one year and we arecurrently processing the data collected. Thus, the resultspresented here should be considered preliminary.

As stated, we will focus on the Upper Paleolithic occu-pation, corresponding to layer 1055, which contained theengraved plaquettes (Fig. 3). We excavated about 190m2of an estimated total area of 520m2, the remainder ofwhich remained unexcavated and preserved for futurearchaeological work. Unfortunately, no structures norany spatial organization were identified. The sedimentary

characteristics of the deposit and its position in the strati-graphic sequence indicate post-depositional shifting.

The lithic assemblage of this level consists of a large anddiverse number of elements, more than 125,000 pieces.In some excavated areas, the density of material bysquare meter can be as high as 2,600 pieces. The pres-ence of smaller elements of the knapping sequence, suchas chunks and chips, as well as the overall freshness ofthe edges, assure us that although the level moved fromits original place, the integrity of the artifact collection isstill assured.

The assemblage present in this layer mainly consistsof elements associated to stone tool production. There

Ces fouilles du site durrent plus dune anne et lesdonnes recueillies sont en cours dtude. Les rsultatsici prsents sont donc encore prliminaires.

Comme indiqu, nous nous focaliserons sur loccu-pation du Palolithique suprieur, celle du niveau 1055, plaquettes graves (fig. 3). Nous avons fouill environ190 m2sur un total estim 520 m2. Le reste, non fouill,a t conserv pour de futures recherches archolo-giques. Nous navons malheureusement pas dcouvertde structures ou dorganisation spatiale particulires. Les

caractristiques sdimentaires des dpts et leur positionstratigraphique indiquent des dplacements postrieurs.

Lensemble lithique du niveau comprend des l-ments nombreux et divers, plus de 125 000 en tout.Dans certaines zones de la partie fouille, leur densitau mtre carr pouvait atteindre 2 600 objets. La pr-sence des lments les plus petits du dbitage, clats etfragments, tout comme la fracheur gnrale des bords,confirme lintgrit de lensemble archologique, malgrle dplacement constat de la couche depuis son dptdorigine.

Ce niveau comprend surtout des lments provenant

de la production doutils lithiques. Sy trouvent gale-

Fig. 5. Petite plaquette grave n 5172. Aprs fracture, seuls les sabotssont visibles. Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli

Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 5. Small engraved plaquette no. 5172. Due to fracture, only thehooves are perceptible. Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus

Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais.Photo by AdrianoBorges.

Fig. 4. Deux morceaux dune plaquette remonts, n 5007 et 4074.Lon y voit des motifs non figuratifs, de mme que la superpositionde gravures plus grossires sur dautres plus fines et superficielles.

Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero

et Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.Fig. 4. Two plaquettes reassembled, nos 5007 and 4074. Non figurativemotifs are visible as well as the overlap of thicker engravings over fineand superficial initial engravings. Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figuei-redo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais.Photo by

Adriano Borges.


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also are thermally altered blocks, engraved plaquettefragments and pigments. Bone industry is absent andfaunal remains are poorly preserved (no specific specieswas identified).

About the plaquettes

After the results obtained in the first small test pits(10 engraved plaquettes), further excavation of the sitewas monitored by an archaeologist with a specialization inrock art. As a result of close observation of all rock frag-ments, 1,493 engraved plaquettes were detected.

We will now describe the collection at this stage inthe investigation, stressing its main features and leavingstylistic interpretations to the future.

The raw material used was mostly greywacke andschist, with a varying range of qualities. There does notseem to have been a careful selection since the slabsare very heterogeneous. Their surface was nearly alwaysmarked without any previous preparation, although insome cases it was polished before being engraved.

The plaquettes recovered are small since more than97% of them are broken (Fig. 4-5). As we did with thelithic assemblage, we can observe fresh fractures, mostlystraight and angular. This makes us think that, despitebeing in a secondary context, their displacement wassmall and not enough to cause wear on the edges of

ment des blocs altration thermique, des fragments deplaquettes graves et des pigments. Lindustrie osseusefait dfaut et les os sont mal conservs (aucune espceparticulire na pu tre identifie).

Au sujet des plaquettes

Aprs les rsultats des premiers petits sondages(10 plaquettes graves), la direction des nouvelles fouillesfut assure par un archologue spcialiste de lartrupestre. Tous les fragments rocheux furent soigneuse-ment examins et 1 493 plaquettes graves furent en

consquence repres.Nous allons les dcrire ce stade de la recherche, en

insistant sur leurs caractres principaux et laissant lesinterprtations stylistiques pour lavenir.

Les matires premires utilises, de qualitsdiverses, furent surtout des schistes et une sorte degrs (greywacke). Les plaquettes, trs htrognes, netmoignent pas de choix particuliers. Les surfaces ontt presque toujours utilises sans prparation pralable, part quelques cas o elles furent polies avant dtregraves.

Les plaquettes mises au jour sont petites, puisque97 % dentre elles sont casses (fig. 4-5). Comme surle matriel lithique, nous avons observ des fracturesfraches, surtout droites et angulaires. Cela nous donne penser que, malgr leur contexte secondaire, elles nefurent que peu dplaces, pas suffisamment pour que

Fig. 6. Plaquette grave n 5179, avec reprsentation dun cheval.Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero et Renata Morais.Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 6. Engraved plaquette no. 5179, with the representation of a horse.Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais. Photo by Adriano Borges .


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the schist. This hypothesis has still to be sustained byfuture studies when reassembling both the mobile art andthe associated lithic industry. The fractured state of theplaquettes is visible in their morphological diversity, aswell as in their small sizes. Almost 80% of the analyzedslabs are less than 10cm in length and 75% have a thick-ness equal to or less than 1cm.

In some cases the fractures may have been due to

their exposure to high temperatures, judging from thecolour alterations of the surfaces. Some were reused.In those cases, after being broken the fragments werereshaped around the edges (Fig. 10). At this stage of ourwork, we can identify fragments of the same plaquette,with different degrees of coloration, as a result of thermalchanges. In some cases, fragments of the same piece canshow different exposure to high temperatures while theothers do not. Both the reuse of fragments as well as thedifferent degrees of thermal exposure identified duringreassembly make it appear that, in addition to fragmen-tations of natural origin, in some cases, the plaquettessuffered an intentional fracturing. About 170 plaquettes

had both surfaces engraved.Three main techniques were used to engrave the

slabs: fine and superficial engraving, deep engraving, andpecking. The first technique is found in 79% of the totalassemblage while deep engravings were recognized in

les bords du schiste soient rods. Il faudra confirmercette hypothse lors des tudes venir loccasiondes remontages de lart mobilier et de lindustrie lithiqueassocie. Le morcellement des plaquettes est percep-tible dans leur diversit morphologique et leur petite taille.Prs de 80 % de celles analyses ont moins de 10 cm delong et 75 % ont 1 cm ou moins dpaisseur.

Dans certains cas, daprs laltration des couleurs

de surface, il se pourrait que les fractures aient eu pourcause lexposition de hautes tempratures. Certainesplaquettes furent rutilises. Aprs cassure, les fragmentsfurent alors retouchs sur les bords (fig. 10). cette tapede notre travail, nous pouvons reprer les morceauxdune mme plaquette prsentant diffrents niveaux decoloration dus des changements thermiques. Parfois,les fragments du mme objet trahissent lexposition dehautes tempratures et dautres non. La rutilisation desmorceaux, tout comme ces diffrences de modificationsthermiques, nous font percevoir, lorsquon les remonte,que les plaquettes, outre des fragmentations naturelles,ont parfois subi des fractures intentionnelles. Environ

170 dentre elles furent graves sur les deux faces.Trois techniques principales de gravure furent utili-

ses : fine et superficielle, profonde, par piquetage. Lapremire est prsente sur 79 % de lensemble, tandisque les gravures profondes le sont sur seulement 6 %. La

Fig. 8. Plaquette grave n 5031, avec reprsentation dun bouque-tin, simple ou schmatique. Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus

Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero et Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 8. Engraved plaquette no. 5031, with the schematic or simple de-piction of an ibex. Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre,Araceli Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais. Photo by Adriano Borges.

Fig. 7. Plaquette grave n 5166, avec reprsentation dun cheval.Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero

et Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 7. Engraved plaquette no. 5166, with the depiction of a horse.Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero and Renata Morais. Photo by Adriano Borges.


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6%. A combination of the two is present in 13% of thecollection. A residual number of 2% is represented by thepecking technique.

The profile of fine and superficial engravings is difficultto identify. Among deep engravings, V profiles are mostcommon, resulting from a continuous gesture. In somecases, when the deep engravings extend, their profileopens to a U shape, with also solid lines.

A number of overlaps on the Medal plaquette collec-tion are generally associated to a sequence of differenttechniques. Typically, in the first stages, we find fine andsuperficial engravings that are then overlapped by thickerengravings (Fig. 4). This explains the association betweenthe two techniques mentioned above.

In some cases, between the different moments of theengravings, the surface was polished, perhaps to prepareit for new designs. On the other hand, it could also havebeen intended to conceal previous figures and bring outthe new ones.

The analyzed plaquettes present a variety of themeswhich include signs and zoomorphic figures. The only

plaquettes traced on plastic film are the ones presented inthis article, so the following data is provisional. The results

combinaison des deux affecte 13 % des pices. Enfin, lepiquetage ne se trouve que sur 2 % des plaquettes.

Les gravures fines et superficielles ont un profil difficile dterminer. Sur les gravures profondes, le trait en V estle plus commun. Il rsulte dun geste continu. Dans cer-tains cas, lorsque les gravures profondes se poursuivent,leur profil souvre et prend une forme en U, avec aussides traits continus.

Les superpositions, sur les plaquettes de Medal, vontgnralement de pair avec une squence de techniquesdiffrentes. Il est typique de trouver, dans les premirestapes, des gravures fines et superficielles, surchargesensuite par de plus paisses (fig. 4). Cela explique lasso-ciation des deux techniques ci-dessus mentionnes.

Parfois, entre les diffrentes tapes de la gravure,la surface a t polie, peut-tre pour la prparer denouveaux dessins. Il se peut aussi que cela ait eu pourbut de cacher des reprsentations antrieures et de faireressortir les nouvelles.

Les plaquettes tudies prsentent des thmes varis,des signes et des reprsentations zoomorphes. Les pla-

quettes de notre article sont les seules releves cejour sur film plastique. Les donnes ci-aprs sont donc

Fig. 10. Plaquette grave n 5167, avec un aurochs et des groupes delignes sur la face oppose. Cette plaquette a t retravaille sur les

bords. Relevs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero et Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.

Fig. 10. Engraved plaquette no. 5167, with an aurochs and sets of lineson the opposite face. This plaquette was reshaped around the edges.

Drawings by Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cris-to-Ropero and Renata Morais. Photo by Adriano Borges.

Fig. 9. Plaquette grave n 5168, avec un bouquetin naturaliste. Rele-vs Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero et

Renata Morais. Clich Adriano Borges.Fig. 9. Engraved plaquette no. 5168, with a naturalistic ibex.Drawingsby Sofia Soares de Figueiredo, Lus Nobre, Araceli Cristo-Ropero and

Renata Morais. Photo by Adriano Borges.


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no doubt will change after our ongoing reassembly workas well as our tracings of each one.

Signs are the most represented motifs in the Medalcollection. They include geometric figures as well as sin-gle lines or sets of lines which, as far as we can tell, donot suggest any connection (Fig. 4).

Among the zoomorphs we can recognize horses(Fig. 6-7), ibex (Fig. 8-9) and aurochs (Fig. 10). So far, twodifferent styles of representation have been distinguished.One is simple or schematic, with the the basic anatomyof the animals depicted allowing their identification, suchas the outlines of the head, horns and cervical line. In thesecond case, anatomical details are carefully depicted(eyes, hooves, nostrils and ears).

Among the latter more naturalistic representations, weidentified some features unique to the Foz do Medal site.The eye has a circular or oval shape, often embedded inan eyebrow arch on the forehead of the animal. In somecases, the eye is placed in a higher position on the head,contrasting with its naturalistic symmetry. The ears areoften engraved with open edges at the bottom and closedand pointed ends at the top.

The most interesting feature is the representation ofa line that starts in the mouth of the depicted animal,marks its jaw, rises to the skull and bottom of the ears,continues down to the chest, and following its contourdraws the front leg in a foreground perspective, andcontinues parallel to the belly ending in the delimitationof the hindquarter and its articulation with the belly. Thisline can represent a three dimensional approach or themovement of the animals, or an attempt to give it a senseof depth. We can see this line in plaquette 5168 (Fig. 9),where it has the same thickness as the contour line, andin plaquettes 5167 (Fig. 10) and 5166 (Fig. 7), where it isthinner.

Another characteristic is the infilling of certain anatom-ical parts of the animal, particularly on slab 5168 (Fig. 9),where we interpret the infilling of the hindquarters as therepresentation of the coat.

In the other group mentioned, more schematic orsimple, we dont find detailed anatomical representa-tions. The figures were made with a single drawing of thecontour line in a single stroke. The main characteristics ofthis group are shown in an ibex on plaquette 5031 (Fig. 8),where the lines are just enough to identify the animal.

To finish our brief exposure of the Foz do Medal art, wewould like to stress that during the excavation, 1,493 frag-

ments of engraved plaquettes were identified, from which1,259 were found in a Paleolithic context, proving this siteto be one of the richest open air settlements with portableart in Europe.

Some remarks

In the studies of Paleolithic art a hierarchy betweendifferent forms, styles and supports has emerged.Traditionally, the parietal art in caves has been consideredas the main line of research, while portable art, mostlyfound inside caves and related to the Magdalenian, hasbeen generally seen as complementary to the cave art(Baptista 2009).

In 1994, one of the most important discoveries ofPaleolithic art occurred in Portugal with the astonishingrevelation of the Ca Valley complex, the highest con-centration of open air Paleolithic art in Europe, put onUNESCOs World Heritage List in 1998.

provisoires et des changements interviendront aprs lesremontages et les relevs venir.

Les signes constituent le motif principal de la srie deMedal. Ils comprennent des compositions gomtriquestout comme des lignes isoles ou en groupe, qui restentpour nous ininterprtables (fig. 4).

Parmi les zoomorphes, se trouvent des chevaux(fig. 6-7), des bouquetins (fig. 8-9) et des aurochs (fig. 10).Jusqu prsent, nous avons pu distinguer deux styles :lun, simple et schmatique, o lanatomie de basedes animaux permet de les identifier, par exemple lescontours de la tte, la tte et la ligne cervico-dorsale ; lesecond, o les dtails anatomiques sont figurs avec soin(yeux, sabots, naseaux et oreilles).

Parmi ces dernires reprsentations, les plus natura-listes, nous avons remarqu des originalits propres ausite de Foz do Medal. Lil de lanimal est circulaire ouovale, souvent surmont de sourcils en arc sur le front.Dans certains cas, il se trouve plus haut sur la tte, encontraste avec la symtrie naturelle de cette dernire.Les oreilles sont souvent ouvertes sur le bas, pointues etfermes sur le haut.

Le caractre le plus intressant est une ligne qui partde la bouche de lanimal, dessine sa mchoire, montevers le crne et le bas des oreilles, se poursuit sur lapoitrine et, dans le prolongement du trait, dlimite lapatte avant en perspective frontale, puis continue paral-llement au ventre et se termine avec la reprsentationde larrire-train et de son articulation avec le ventre.Cette ligne peut vouloir traduire la troisime dimensionou le mouvement des animaux, ou tenter de leur donnerune certaine profondeur. Nous en avons un exemplesur la plaquette n 5168 (fig. 9), o son paisseur est lamme que celle du contour, et sur les plaquettes n 5167(fig. 10) et 5166 (fig. 7), o elle est plus mince.

Autre caractristique : le remplissage de certainesparties du corps de lanimal, surtout sur la plaquetten 5168 (fig. 9), o celui de larrire-train pourrait repr-senter le pelage.

Dans lautre groupe mentionn, plus simple et schma-tique, nous ne trouvons pas de dtails anatomiques. Lessujets sont faits au trait simple, par une ligne de contourunique. Les principales caractristiques du groupe sevoient sur un bouquetin de la plaquette n 5031 (fig. 8), oles traits suffisent tout juste lidentification.

Pour terminer ce bref expos sur lart de Foz doMedal, nous souhaiterions insister sur le fait que, la

fouille, nous avons trouv 1 493 fragments de plaquettesgraves, dont 1 259 en contexte palolithique, ce qui faitde ce site lun des habitats de surface europens les plusriches en art mobilier.

Quelques remarques

Dans ltude de lart palolithique, a merg unehirarchisation des diffrents styles, formes et supports.Traditionnellement, lart parital des cavernes est consi-dr comme la recherche majeure, lart mobilier, surtoutmis au jour dans les grottes et attribu au Magdalnien,jouant un rle qui lui serait complmentaire (Baptista2009).

En 1994, lune des dcouvertes les plus importantesdart palolithique eut lieu au Portugal, avec la rvlationdu complexe extraordinaire de Foz Ca, lart paloli-thique de plein air le plus important dEurope, plac surla Liste du Patrimoine mondial de lUNESCO en 1998.


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After its discovery in the mid-nineties, fieldwork furtherto the north was conducted, including in the Sabor basin,where four open air sites with Paleolithic engravings werefound. They belong to the oldest phase of the Ca Valley,the Gravettian-Solutrean (ibid.). The paucity of Paleolithicparietal rock art in the Sabor valley was then confirmed.Only one of these rocks will be affected by the dam as theother three are located further to the north.

However, in the Ca valley, especially with the

excavations made at Fariseu, more evidence came tolight. Archaeological excavations in front of Rock no1revealed a rich stratigraphy where, among other materi-als, 96 engraved plaquettes (whole and fragments) werefound and ascribed to a final phase of the Magdalenian(ibid.). Until the discovery of the Foz do Medal terrace,this was the largest collection of portable art found inPortugal. Other Portuguese sites containing Paleolithicengraved plaquettes are known at Quinta da Braca Sul,Gruta do Caldeiro, Buraca Grande, Chancudo 3, ValeBoi and, less certain, at Setbal and Montemor-o-Novo(Simn Vallejjo et al.2012: 8).

To sum up, the Foz do Medal terrace is, up to now,

the richest site with this kind of artifact known in Portugal.Regarding zoomorphic motifs, the themes representedfollow the main trend observed in the Ca valley (horses,aurochs and ibex) with the exception of deer, as yet notdetected in the Medal collection. Their style follows twodistinct trends, a more schematic and a more naturalisticone, which we think contemporary. Regarding the latter,we find parallels in open air sites at Ca, such as theMagdalenian ibex represented in Rock 24 of Foz de Piscos(Baptista 2009). Concerning Fariseus portable art, theascribed chronology is the Final Magdalenian. Althoughwe do not possess enough data yet, as the analysis is stillin an initial stage, we believe that the engraved plaquettesfrom Medal correspond to an earlier stage. It should alsobe noticed that some figures present archaic stylisticcharacteristics that could have remained in the artisticrepertoire of the inhabitants of Foz do Medal.

This coincides with the characteristics of the lithicassemblage as until now observed. Certain specific typesof tools point to an occupation within the Magdalenian.The density of remains and their diversity might be relatedto a long term occupation during the Late Glacial period.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the people involved in the archaeological

survey of the Medal terrace, as well as the coordinator structure ofthe Baixo Sabor archaeological project. During this period we had theopportunity to receive the visit of some colleagues whom we wouldalso like to thank, such as Antnio Martinho Baptista, Gerhard Bosinski,George Nash, Hiplito Collado Giraldo, Esteban lvarez Fernndez andJos Julio Garca Arranz.

It should also be stressed that this work was made in the frameworkof EDP Promoting entity of the Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric, as well asBaixo Sabor ACE construction consortium: Odebrecht, Bento PedrosoConstrues S.A. & Lena Construes

Aprs sa dcouverte au milieu des annes 90, desrecherches de terrain furent menes plus au nord, y com-pris dans le bassin de la Sabor, o quatre sites de plein air gravures palolithiques furent trouvs. Ils appartiennent la phase ancienne de Ca, au Gravettien-Solutren(ibid.). La raret de lart rupestre palolithique dans lavalle de la Sabor fut alors confirme. Une seule de cesroches sera affecte par le barrage, les trois autres tantsitues plus au nord.

Cependant, dans la valle du Ca, dautres donnes

apparurent, surtout avec les fouilles de Fariseu. Lestravaux en face de la Roche n 1 ont rvl une richestratigraphie avec, entre autres, 96 plaquettes graves(entires ou fragments), attribues une phase finale duMagdalnien (ibid.). Jusqu la dcouverte de la terrassede Foz do Metal, ctait l le plus grand ensemble dartmobilier jamais trouv au Portugal. Dautres sites por-tugais ont livr des plaquettes graves palolithiques Quinta da Braca Sul, Gruta do Caldeiro, Buraca Grande,Chancudo 3, Vale Boi et, avec une moindre certitude, Setbal et Montemor-o-Novo (Simn Vallejjo et al. 2012,p. 8).

En rsum, la terrasse de Foz do Medal est le site le

plus riche en plaquettes graves connu jusqu prsentau Portugal. Quant aux motifs zoomorphes reprsen-ts, ils suivent les mmes tendances que dans la vallede Ca (chevaux, aurochs, bouquetins), lexceptiondes cervids, encore absents Medal. Leur style pr-sente deux tendances, lune plus schmatique et lautreplus naturaliste, que nous estimons contemporaines. Laseconde prsente des parallles sur des sites de plein air Ca, comme le bouquetin magdalnien de la Roche 24 Foz de Piscos (Baptista 2009). Quant lart mobilierde Fariseu, il est attribu un Magdalnien final. Bienque nous nayons pas encore assez de donnes, lana-lyse nen tant qu ses dbuts, nous pensons que lesplaquettes graves de Medal correspondent un stadeantrieur. Il faut galement noter que certaines figuresprsentent des caractres stylistiques archaques qui ontpu persister dans le rpertoire artistique des habitants deFoz do Medal.

Cela saccorde bien avec les caractristiques delensemble lithique tel que nous le connaissons. Certainstypes doutils spcifiques dnotent une occupation mag-dalnienne. La densit des vestiges et leur diversitsexpliquent peut-tre par une occupation long termeau cours de la dernire glaciation.

Remerciements

Nous voudrions remercier tous les participants la prospection

archologique de la terrasse de Medal, de mme que les coordon-nateurs du projet archologique de Baixo Sabor. Au cours de cettepriode, nous avons eu loccasion de recevoir la visite de certainscollgues, que nous voudrions aussi remercier, en particulier AntnioMartinho Baptista, Gerhard Bosinski, George Nash, Hiplito ColladoGiraldo, Esteban lvarez Fernndez et Jos Julio Garca Arranz.

Soulignons que ce travail a t effectu dans le cadre dEDP entitde promotion de Baixo Sabor Hydroelectric et de Baixo Sabor ACE , leconsortium de construction : Odebrecht, Bento Pedroso ConstruesS.A. & Lena Construes.

S.S. FIGUEIREDO1,2, L. NOBRE2,3,4, R. GASPAR2, J. CARRONDO2,4,A. CRISTO ROPERO2, J. FERREIRA2, M.J.D. SILVA2, F.J. MOLINA2

1UAUM, Unidade de Arqueologia da Universidade do Minho, Portugal. CITCEM,

Centro de Investigao Transdisciplinar. E-mail: [email protected], Bento Pedroso Construes e Lena Engenharia Estaleiro do Baixo Sabor,

Lugar da Pvoa 5160 021 Pvoa, Adeganha, Portugal3Instituto de Estudios Prehistricos, Espagne

4 UTAD/ITM, Universidade de Trs-os-Montes e Alto Douro/ Instituto Terra e Memria, Portugal


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20 INORA, 2014, N 68

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

AUBRY T. (ed.), 2009. 200 sculos da Histria do vale do Ca: incurses na vida quotidiana dos caadores-artistasdo Paleoltico.Lisboa : Igespar. (Trabalhos de arqueologia ; 52).

BAPTISTA A.M., 2009. O Paradigma Perdido: O Vale do Ca e a Arte Paleoltica de Ar Livre em Portugal. Vale doCa : Edies Afrontamento, Parque Arqueolgico do Vale do Ca.

PEREIRA D.I. & AZEVEDO T.M., 1995. Evoluo quaternria do Graben da Vilaria (Trs-os-Montes, NE Portugal).Caderno do Laboratorio Xeolxico de Laxe, vol. 20, p. 123-137.

SILVA A.F., REBELO J.A., RIBEIRO M.L., 1989. Notcia explicativa da Folha 11C Torre de Moncorvo , Servios

Geolgicos de Portugal, Lisboa. ZILHO J. 1997. O Paleoltico superior na Estremadura Portuguesa Lisboa : Ed. Colibri,2 vol.

SIMN VALLEJJO M.D., CORTS SNCHEZ M., BICHO N., 2012. Primeras evidencias de arte mueble paleolticoen el sur de Portugal. Trabajos de Prehistria, 69 (1), p. 7-20.

MGALITHES SUR LES HAUTEURS DE LHIMALAYA

De rcentes dcouvertes de mgalithes ont eu lieudans le Kumaon Himalayen la stupfiante altitude de15 177 pieds (environ 4 626 m) au-dessus du niveau dela mer, 34 km de Tawaghat, prs de la frontire entrelInde et le Npal (fig. 1), dans la rgion de Pithoragarh

du Kumaon Commissionary (tat de lUttarakhand, Indedu Nord).

Localement appelChhiplakedar, ce mont abriteun lac aliment par la neige oles locaux se rendent annuel-lement pour leurs rites. Lesneiges ternelles dans lHima-laya de lUttarakhand com-menaient gnralement vers14 000 pieds, mais avec lerchauffement climatique laneige disparat de plus basses

altitudes en mai et juin. Les ple-rins de labrupt Chhiplakedaront dsormais moins de peine atteintre leur but (fig. 2). Illeur faut passer une nuit dansune grotte avant datteindre lesommet. Ils se baignent dansles eaux neigeuses du lac et selivrent leurs rites sur la berge.On donne aux jeunes des filssacrs quils porteront touteleur vie et ils ramnent aveceux les fleurs du divin lotus

(Brahma-Kamal ou Saussureaobvallata), don de la montagneaux membres de leur famille.

Au sommet se voient degrands monolithes. De nosjours, il nexiste pas de relationapparente entre ces pierres etles rites (si ce nest que certains plerins crivent leurnom sur les menhirs fig. 3), mais ces monuments setrouvent en de nombreux lieux, quasiment sur tous lessommets.

Sur le chemin de Kailash-Mansarovar, 11 000 piedsdaltitude, prs de lAshram Narayan Swami, des visages

furent sculpts sur des monolithes (fig. 4-5), avec lesorbites, le nez, le menton et des oreilles circulaires, vo-quant quelque peu les moaide lle de Pques. Sur desroches plates furent galement creuss de petits canauxserpentiformes.

MEGALITHS IN THE HIGHER HIMALAYAS

Megaliths have recently been found in the KumaonHimalaya at an astounding height of 15,177 feet (i.e. about4,626m) above sea level, 34km away from Tawaghat, nearthe Indo-Nepalese border in the Pithoragarh district ofthe Kumaon Commissionary in the Uttarakhand State in

northern India (Fig. 1).

Locally known as theChhiplakedar, the hill holdsa snow-fed lake where localpeople go annually to performworship. Eternal snows in theUttarakhand Himalaya used tostart at around 14,000 feet, butdue to global warming snownow disappears at lower alti-tudes during the months of Mayand June. Thus the worshippers

of the steep Chhiplakedar hillface less difficulties than theyused to in reaching their goal(Fig. 2). They have to spenda night in a cave on their wayto the top. They will bathe inthe snowy waters of the lakeand perform their rituals on itsbanks. The youths are givensacred threads that they willwear all their lives and they willbring back with them flowers ofthe divine lotus (Brahma-Kamal

or Saussurea obvallata) as a giftfrom the mountain to their familymembers.

Huge monoliths can be seenat the top. Nowadays there is noapparent relationship betweenthem and the ongoing rituals

(except that some of the pilgrims inscribe their names onthe megaliths Fig. 3), but such monuments are presentin many places, practically on all the hill tops.

On the way to Kailash-Mansarovar, at 11,000 feetabove sea level, near the Narayan Swami Ashram, human

faces were carved on some monoliths (Fig. 4-5), with eye-sockets, nose, chin and circular ears, somewhat resem-bling the Easter Island moai. Serpentine water channelswere also carved on flat rocks.

Fig. 1. Localisation des lieux, dans ltat indiende lUttarakhand, aux confins du Npal.

Fig. 1. Localization of the place in the Indian UttarakhandState, near the border with Nepal.

inora 68, 2014, p.12-20 figueiredo et al

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