Roman Dam of Fonte Coberta

Roman Dam of Fonte Coberta is an archeologic site of a Roman dam in the parish of São Sebastião, municipality of Lagos [1]. The dam was constructed during the Romanization of Hispania [1]. The wall is about 70 meters long, and between 2.6 and 2.7 meters thick [1]. From the typological point of view, it is a wall of straight, rectangular section, consisting of homogeneous stone blocks mortared in opus caementicium [1]. It is situated in an open valley, which is relatively open [1]. It is built where the valley begins to narrow, about 1.3 km west of Ribeira de Bensafrim [1]. Barragem Romana da Fonte Coberta may have served to irrigate cultivated fields, or as part of a water supply system for the town of Lacobriga, which was situated on Monte Molião, on the east bank of Ribeira of Bensafrim [1].