Castro of Zambujal

The Castro of Zambujal is a Chalcolithic fortified settlement near Torres Vedras, about 50 km northwest of Lisbon, Portugal, first occupied at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC and inhabited for at least 800 years until around 1700 BC. One of the largest Copper Age settlements in Western Europe, it features walls still standing up to 4 metres high with oval-shaped adobe houses approximately 6 m in diameter. Discovered by Leonel Trindade in 1938, systematic excavations by the German Archaeological Institute began in 1964, making it one of the best-documented sites of the period on the Iberian Peninsula. Key finds include gold ornaments, copper tools, ivory items, Bell Beaker pottery, and over 1,000 arrowheads found between defensive lines, suggesting armed conflict.