Lapas Caves are a network of artificial galleries developed beneath the houses of the village with the same name. This urban area has been raised in a small elevation corresponding to a fluvial terrace of Almonda river, from the Quaternary, composed by a specific geological material, the calcareous tufa. As it was easy to cut, this material was widely used in building construction for several centuries across the region. the origin of the caves remains a big mystery. Perhaps it eas a big tufa underground quarry, but there are no effetive elements to date it. several theories have been formulated: primitively used as shelters in natural cavities that could preexist, or places of refuge to early Chistians or even a tufa extraction station in the Roman Era. There are also references to the Moorish times in the legens... For sure one knows that the village was already named as Lapas in 1212 [a Portuguese word that mans small caves in a rock], as it appears in the foudation date of Lapas Brotherhood. The oldest materials found during the archeological works are from the 15th century and there are document sources from the 18th century referring the galleries as already abandoned. This is certainly one of the most singular heritage places in the country. You cam walk inside a fluvial terrace, get to know better the calcareous tufa and understand the particular interaction between the galleries and the medieval village raised on its top, among other historical facts and local characteristics. Engage yourself in this unnique environment and make your own theory about what happened here.
Grutas de Lapas. Informação Geológica. Câmara Municipal de Torres Novas.
Lapas Caves are a network of artificial galleries developed beneath the houses of the village with the same name. This urban area has been raised in a small elevation corresponding to a fluvial terrace of Almonda river, from the Quaternary, ...