Herdade dos Perdigões is located on the outskirts of Reguengos de Monsaraz and today is better known as the Perdigões Archaeological Complex.

Little was known about it until 1996, which was when a deep ploughing, which preceded the planting of vines, allowed its boundaries to be defined and its architectural complexity to be seen.

This archaeological complex is made up of concentric ditches carved out of the rock that culminate in a geometric centre. With a total area of 16 hectares, it was occupied for 1,000 years, between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C.

The scheme of the estate is, in itself, a valuable contribution to understanding how those who built it and lived in it saw the world.

This place can only be truly understood by looking at the surrounding countryside: an exceptional knowledge of the territory on the part of those who built it led to planned and clearly intentional architecture.

Little over 10 years ago the ERA-Arqueologia company undertook excavations at Herdade dos Perdigões.

Based on these excavations, it soon became apparent that the Perdigões Archaeological Complex involved a number of different spaces, which included a necropolis and a Megalithic ceremonial area outside the enclosure.

The influence of the estate in the area, particularly in relation to the other settlements of the Álamo stream, makes us think that this could have been a place for socialising that also had a sacred role and not merely somewhere for day-to-day living.

Given its importance, the Perdigões Complex has sparked the interest of the scientific community worldwide, becoming a benchmark in the field of research into recent European pre-history.

This year, apart from the ERA-Arqueologia team which has been working on a major project since 1997, signals the beginning of a partnership with the Department of Pre-History of Malaga University which, in situ, will develop the initial work of its own scientific research project.

The Perdigões Archaeological Complex is currently in the process of being classified as a National Monument.

During the 2008 excavations, which were initiated in July, enormously important data was gathered at Herdade dos Perdigões: A number of ditches from pre-history were discovered (which in the intervening years were completely covered by earth), one of which contained three human skeletons.

Because these were not found in the necropolis but rather in a supposedly residential or work area, this raises a number of questions and opens up new avenues of research.

One particularly interesting hypothesis, but one that needs to be properly tested, is that this has to do with something related to the long ritual of dealing with death and which would culminate with putting the mortal remains of people in sepulchres, two of which have been totally excavated.

At Perdigões, the remaining dead were put in collective graves after decomposing and dismembering (that which is called secondary burial): after the death of each person, there would be a place where the body was put to decompose, with the bones being transported to their definitive resting place during some ceremony, somewhere in the necropolis. This type of tomb would also contain offerings and objects belonging to the dead person.

What has been identified may be the place where the initial treatment of the bodies took place. If this is confirmed, this would be the first time such an archaeological discovery has been made in Portugal.

Believing heritage to be something that belongs to everyone and to be preserved wherever possible, in 1997 Finagra decided not to plant vines in the area of Herdade dos Perdigões. Since then, it has contributed to the funding of the archaeological research being undertaken, which every year discovers new facts about how our ancestors lived in this part of Portugal.

Esporão has also set up a small museum in the Esporão Tower, which allows visitors to see some of the most important objects found, as part of an interpretation of the archaeological site.

The idea is that giving the general public information that has only been in the scientific community will be advantageous to the project.

One of Esporão’s objectives is to highlight the role that private enterprise can have in the preservation of historical heritage, something that is an integral part of the company’s sustainability strategy.

The credibility of the project has also been consolidated by the researchers and by ERA-Arqueologia, who are symbols of scientific quality and rigour in the field of archaeology in Portugal.