The rock-cut tombs necropolis of Moreira de Rei (Trancoso, Guarda): general considerations of an ongoing intervention

Abstract

Documented since 960, Moreira de Rei was one of the most prominent places in the region during medieval times. As the foremost heritage site of the early medieval period, the village preserves an extensive necropolis of rock-cut tombs, of which around 150 tombs were known to be scattered over an area coinciding with the churchyard of the Romanesque church of Saint Marinha and its neighbouring buildings. As part of the requalification and enhancement project for this churchyard, promoted by the local authority, the necropolis has been the subject of archaeological excavations focusing on the entire public space surrounding the church since 2018. The work carried out to date has revealed an impressive burial area, from which around 750 tombs have been identified, primarily excavated in the granite rocky substrate. Although excavations are still ongoing, some considerations and general data are presented about the context and characteristics of this early medieval necropolis, later converted into a parish cemetery, and about the paleobiological characteristics of the exhumed individuals.