Quaternary Research 54, 359 –371 (2000)

doi:10.1006/qres.2000.2154, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

Middle Terrace Deposits of the Tagus River in Alpiarça, Portugal,

in Relation to Early Human Occupation
Paolo Mozzi
Dipartimento di Geografia, Università di Padova, via del santo 26, 35123 Padova, Italy

Maria Teresa Azevedo and Elizabeth Nunes

Centro de Geologia da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 5° Piso, Campo Grande, 1700 Lisbon, Portugal

and

Luis Raposo
Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Praça do Imperio, 1400 Lisbon, Portugal

Received June 29, 1998

a detailed geological survey of the region, aimed at understand-

The stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Q3 middle terrace
alluvial sequence in the lower Tagus river valley, Portugal, were
studied near the village of Alpiarça, approximately 40 km up-
stream from the estuarine area. Two main stratigraphic units were
recognized, separated by an important uncomformity. The Lower
Gravels unit (LG) consists of intercalations of medium to coarse
gravel deposits, mainly quartzitic, with coarse sandy matrix, or-
ganized in tabular bodies. The overlying Upper Sands unit (US)
consists of tabular sandy channel deposits and overbank fines, the
latter containing well-developed paleosols and backswamp depos-
its, showing a general aggrading trend, apparently with varying
rates; available data indicate that deposition of the US took place
under temperate climatic conditions. Within US deposits are sev-
eral paleolithic archaeological sites, the lower ones in the alluvial
stratigraphy being Middle Acheulian, whereas those embedded in
overlying deposits are, from bottom to top, Upper Acheulian and
Micoquian. Some of these sites have been recently excavated. The
quartzite artifacts were apparently abandoned by early humans on
the flood plain surface during deposition of the US unit and were
subjected to limited reworking during their incorporation in the
alluvium. TL/OSL dating of sandy-silty sediments, though impre-
cise, support archaeological evidence pointing to an age of 150,000
to 70,000 yr B.P. for the US unit. © 2000 University of Washington.
Key Words: fluvial deposits; fluvial terraces; paleolithic;
paleosols; thermoluminescence dating; geoarchaeology; last
interglaciation; Tagus River; Portugal.
INTRODUCTION
The Tagus river valley (Fig. 1) was the site of one of the first
investigations of Quaternary fluvial valleys in Portugal. In the
middle 1940s the geologist Georges Zbyszewski (1946) made
359
ing the morpho-stratigraphy of the alluvial terraces, which
characterize the lower portion of the valley. He recognized four
major terraces and related deposits, naming them, from top to
bottom, Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. The terrace surfaces lay at
altitudes of 80 to 60 m (Q1 and Q2 “upper terraces”), ca. 50 m
(Q3 “middle terrace”), and 20 –25 m (Q4 “lower terrace”). The
typical stratigraphy of each terrace consists of a basal gravel
unit, partially generated by colluviation of older terraces, cov-
ered by fluvial mud and sand, sometimes with intercalated
gravel in the upper part. The formation of these four terrace
levels was regarded as being due to alternating climate and
eustatic sea-level fluctuations related to Pleistocene glacial/
interglacial cycles. This model led him to formulate a scale of
events in which each terrace unit spans the second half of a
glaciation and the first part of the following one, thus compris-
ing a full cycle.
This scheme of four terraces, inferred to correlate with the
Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm glacial cycles (“cycle Sicilien,”
“cycle Milazzien,” “cycle Tyrrhenien,” “cycle Grimaldien”),
was later exported to other regions of Portugal (Zbyszewski,
1958, 1985) and was adopted in the geological maps of the
Serviços Geologicos de Portugal at the scale 1:50,000. The
well-developed Q3 middle terrace was regarded as having
formed between the last phases of Mindel glaciation and the
beginning of Riss.
Early interest arose concerning the Quaternary geology of
the Tagus valley, and more specifically of the area of Alpiarça,
because here a large number of apparently very old lithic
industries had been found, both in stratigraphic position and in
surface scatterings, by the end of the 19th century by scholars
of the “Comissão dos Trabalhos Geologicos.” This evidence
0033-5894/00 $35.00
Copyright © 2000 by the University of Washington.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
360
FIG. 1. Simplified geologic map of the lower Tagus valley (after Carvalho, 1968; Barbosa and Pena dos Reis, 1989, 1996; Serviços Geologicos de Portugal,
1992).
suggested the possibility of acquiring data on human prehis-
tory, as well as providing an independent way of dating the
deposits. Zbyszewski and the French archaeologist Henri
Breuil studied the lithic industries and related them to cultural
evolutionary models then in use in other European regions,
especially France. An initial chronology was proposed for the
different assemblages (Zbyszewski, 1943; Breuil and Zbyszew-
ski, 1942, 1945, 1946), linking archaeological evidence to the
morpho-stratigraphic setting.
In the following decades, intensive and detailed archae-
ological work has been carried out in the Tagus valley, and
some major palaeolithic sites have been excavated (Raposo
et al., 1985a, 1985b, 1993; Raposo, 1995). This has brought
about a thorough revaluation of previous cultural, typolog-
ical, and chronological assessments for the artifacts. Breuil
MOZZI ET AL.
and Zbyszewski’s studies had been based mainly on the
recognition of “characteristic artifacts” (i.e., “coup-de-
poing”) and on their degree of weathering. Although
Zbyszewski’s morpho-stratigraphic interpretations retained
many inadequacies (Daveau, 1993), virtually no recent in-
vestigations had been carried out concerning the geology of
Tagus fluvial deposits.
This paper concerns the alluvial stratigraphy of the mid-
dle and lower portions of the Q3 middle terrace sediments,
which contain important and partially excavated archaeo-
logical sites. The investigations focused on the minor val-
leys of Vale do Forno and Vale de Atela, located south of
the village of Alpiarça and intersecting the middle terrace in
a direction transverse to the Tagus valley axis (Figs. 1 and
2).
 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL 361

FIG. 2. Map of the study area, comprising the tributary valleys of Vale do Forno and Vale de Atela. Asterisks indicate main paleolithic archaeological sites.
The almost flat bottoms of these minor valleys, cut into the Pleistocene alluvium of the Tagus River, represent the top of Holocene valley fills (Leeuwaarden
and Janssen, 1985); these confined floodplains extend to the Vale do Tejo alluvial plain, together representing one single geomorphic surface.

MIDDLE TERRACE DEPOSITS
In the study area, the best outcrops of the alluvium are found
in the extensive gravel, sand, and clay pits, some of which are
still under excavation (Pedreira Hilario and, partially, Pedreira
do Barro), whereas others are now abandoned (Vale do Forno
and Vale de Atela quarries). In addition, several trenches were
dug, thanks to the collaboration of the Municipality of Alpi-
arça, which provided a bulldozer for several days.
Stratigraphic sections were described in the field, and labo-
ratory sedimentological analyses were carried out for several
samples, shown in cross section A–A⬘ (Fig. 3), in the strati-
graphic log of Figure 8, and on the map of Figure 2.
Two main lithostratigraphic units have been recognized,
from bottom to top, a gravelly unit, defined as the “Lower
Gravels” (LG) unit, and a sand-and-mud unit designated the
“Upper Sands” (US) unit, in which sandy channel deposits are
intercalated with fine-grained overbank sediment and a flood-
plain soil–sediment complex (Figs. 3 and 4).
Lower Gravels (LG) Unit
The LG unit consists of coarse, heterometric, subangular to
subrounded quartzitic gravels with coarse sandy matrix; other
lithologies, such as micaceous shale, granite, and ferruginous
concretions comprise ⬍10%. The clast diameter ranges be-
tween 0.5 and 30 cm.
LG gravels are organized in tabular bodies 2 to 3 m thick and
show clast imbrication and some planar cross bedding. Some
minor channels with maximum depth of 1 m and width up to
362 MOZZI ET AL.

FIG. 3. Stratigraphic cross section A–A⬘.

15 m were observed. Lenses of coarse sand with pebbles are
common, range from 0.1 to 1 m thick, and mainly are massive
or have planar cross-stratification.
The exposed part of the unit is ca. 12 m thick; although the
lower part of the unit is not visible, evidence from wells drilled
at the bottom of the Vale do Forno show that the thickness of
the unit likely does not exceed 15–20 m. The LG unit lies on
the pre-Quaternary bedrock, which consists of the Miocene
lacustrine claystone and marls of the “argilas de Tomar” for-
mation (Serviços Geologicos de Portugal, 1952; Barbosa and
Pena dos Reis, 1989; Barbosa, 1995). The upper boundary of
the LG unit is erosional and represents an important uncom-
formity traceable throughout the study area.
Upper Sands (US) Unit
In the study area, the US unit reaches a thickness of 20 m.
Its deposits can be subdivided in two main classes, channel
deposits and overbank deposits.
Channel deposits consist of medium to fine poorly sorted
sand, sometimes with a low percentage of fine and medium
gravels, mainly as channel lags. Sands are mainly massive.
Where sedimentary structures are present, planar cross-
bedding and horizontal stratification are predominant; lateral
accretion facies were not seen. Common rounded grayish to
brownish mud balls 20 –30 cm in diameter appear mainly as
channel lags but also are dispersed in the sandy levels, espe-
cially in the basal portion of the unit. Most samples examined
with a binocular microscope are angular to subangular grains
of hyaline quartz (but also citrine, rose, smoky, and white) with
clear conchoidal fractures, lustrous surfaces, and abundant
impact marks. A small percentage of grains present a tarnished
surface and some are somewhat ferruginized. Other lithologies,
including gypsum, muscovite blades, and jasper, are present in
a 5–10% average. The heavy mineral associations consist
mainly of staurolite, andalusite, zircon, biotite, and muscovite
as abundant grains; tourmaline and sillimanite are less abun-

FIG. 4. Stratigraphic cross section B–B⬘. For legend see Figure 3.

 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL 363

dant or rare. For the 3␾ and 4␾ dimensional classes, most

Average

22.5
10.3
20.6
6.2
35.2
(%)
grains are angular to subangular, except for the zircons, which
are euhedral or subrounded. The clayey matrix of the sands can
represent up to 35% by total weight and is kaolinitic-illitic

Medium to
16A (%)
ALP16,

coarse
sand
13.9
11.2
39.4
6.1
29.3
(6.9 –36%) and montmorillonitic and illitic (1–13%) (Table 1).
Overbank deposits consist mainly of laminated to very thinly
bedded intercalations of fine sand and silt, together with mas-

ALP14

Clayey
sive silts; clay deposits are less widespread. Organic-rich back-

sand
13.3
6.2
14.0
9.6
53.8
(%)
swamp deposits and buried soils are embedded within the
overbank series. The clay fraction of the overbank deposits

ALP13
have an essentially montmorillonitic character, this mineral

Silty
26.4
9.2
20.9
3.9
39.6

clay
(%)
varying between 9.3 and 34.3%, associated with kaolinite
(9.1–27%) and illite (9.2–14.4%) (Table 1). Attapulgite is

ALP12A
Percentage of Clays Present in the Studied Samples and Their Respective Lithologies
present in some clayey strata in small quantities (1– 6%).

sand
Fine
9.8
4.1
13.0
9.4
50.7
(%)
In cross sections A–A⬘ and B–B⬘ (Figs. 3 and 4), the lower
portion of the US unit consists almost exclusively of sandy

ALP12
channel deposits. Their thickness ranges between 1 and 6 m

sand
Fine
21.5
9.3
15.0
10.1
37.9
(%)
and generally decreases toward the east and southeast, being
dependent on the geometry of the erosive bounding surface

ALP11

Clay
34.3
11.8
27.0
2.0
24.9
with the LG unit.

(%)
Directly on top of these channel deposits lies the more
important body of overbank deposits, with a thickness of 6 – 8

ALP10

Very

sand
22.1
7.5
15.8
6.7
39.9
(%)

fine
m and a lateral extension of more than 1 km along a north–
south transect. Remarkable is the presence of some fairly
well-developed, 1 to 1.5-m-thick, laterally continuous pa-

Medium
ALP9

sand
27.2
9.9
32.8
3.7
8.0
(%)
leosols, vertically stacked in the stratigraphic series and sepa-
TABLE 1
rated by 0.5 to 2-m-thick overbank deposits. These soils were
described and sampled in different locations on freshly cut
ALP8

Very

sand
33.3
11.1
29.5

23.0
(%)

fine
profiles (sections AL1, AL2, AL3, AL4).

–
All buried soils have 30- to 70-cm-thick, dark-brown,
ALP7

organic-rich A horizons, with wavy or irregular abrupt to clear

Clay
28.4
14.1
16.4
5.5
34.3
(%)

lower boundaries and mainly have medium to coarse prismatic

and blocky pedogenic structure; upper boundaries with over-

medium
Fine to
ALP5

sand
26.9
4.9
30.5
4.3
lying overbank deposits are usually abrupt. Underlying B ho- 21.6
(%)

rizons are relatively thin (20 – 40 cm), light olive-brown to light

yellowish-brown, with gradual lower boundaries; root traces,
ALP4-1

Clay

and 1- to 3-mm-diameter tubular pores due to bioturbation are

14.7
9.2
9.1
11.1
50.7
(%)

common. Redoximorphic features such as reddish and grayish

mottles and iron–manganese oxides are generally abundant and
ALP4

Clay
9.3
14.4
13.3
8.2
48.9
(%)

ubiquitous, the latter both in the form of soft and hard concre-
tions (laterally continuous Fe/Mn oxide cemented horizons up
to 2–3 cm thick are sometimes present in both B and C
ALP3

Clay
21.2
10.5
15.2
6.2
43.2
(%)

horizons) and as coatings in pores and on peds faces; the

structure usually goes from blocky to prismatic, but also a very
medium
Fine to
ALP2

coarse columnar structure was observed with 5- to 6-cm-thick

sand
21.0
11.8
24.2
4.7
34.3
(%)

and 15- to 40-cm-long peds. The B horizons often pass grad-

ually downward to pale yellow C horizons through transitional
1A (%)
ALP1,

Sandy

BC horizons.
36.0
20.5
13.5
6.7
23.2

clay

Paleosols have clayey to loamy textures. Within each soil,

lateral variations of textures are present, probably related to a
Montmorillonite

changing granulometry of the parent material. The most sig-

Mineral

Illite-quartz

nificant case is represented by the paleosols exposed at AL1,

Kaolinite

Texture
Quartz

which are markedly more clayey than those observed else-

Illite

where in the study area. Slickensides (surfaces produced by

364
FIG. 5. Lithic assemblage from the Upper Acheulian VF8 site (Vale do Forno, Alpiarça): (1) Tayac point; (2 to 7) sidescrapers; (8) denticulate; (9 to 11)
borers; (12 to 15) cores; (16) biface; (17) cleaver. All in quartzite, except 1 and 6 (flint) and 5 (quartz).
one soil mass sliding past another, due to the swelling of clays
during changes in moisture content) crossing A and B horizons
are very common and well developed in these more-clayey
paleosols.
Above the paleosol sequence lies a 20- to 40-cm-thick layer,
with a lateral extent of ⬎1 km, consisting of laminated silts and
muds containing a high percentage of leaves and carbonaceous
matter. These backswamp deposits should correspond to one of
the Q3 “gisement de vegetaux” described by Dr. Carlos Teix-
eira (Zbyszewski, 1946). He recognized leaves pertaining to
different kinds of Salix and rhizomes of Nymphea, while the
pollen content was apparently restricted to Ericacea and Pinus
(Montenegro de Andrade, 1944). Vegetal macrofossils, mainly
leaves, were observed by one of us (P.M.) in the muddy
infillings of abandoned channels at the western end of cross
section B–B⬘.
In the field it was evident that the thick flood-plain sedimen-
tary body just described is bounded at the top by a flat to
concave-up erosional surface, probably in phase with the dep-
osition of the overlying channel deposits. The geometry of the
different channel units in this upper portion of the US unit is
tabular, with thicknesses not exceeding 3– 4 m; the sediments
are mainly sandy, but medium to coarse gravels are locally
MOZZI ET AL.
present in the uppermost part of the section. Within the channel
deposits 1- to 2-m-thick, tabular or slightly lens-shaped bodies
of laminated to massive silty overbank deposits are common.
Some muddy infillings of abandoned shallow channels are also
present.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND ALLUVIAL
STRATIGRAPHY
Ten paleolithic archaeological sites found within the US
sedimentary unit in the study area consist of scattered quartzite
artifacts. Among the four sites that have been recently exca-
vated (by L.R.), three are particularly significant because the
large number of artifacts allows for a sound cultural diagnosis
of the industries.
VF1. In this site the lithic industry consists of a not very
evolved Acheulian type (Middle Acheulian). Preliminary ty-
pological analysis shows a high percentage of flaked pebbles,
unifacial choppers, and hand axes, commonly of quite rough
manufacture, with many fewer implements on flakes.
VF8. The lithic assemblage of this level is very rich: in a 20
m 2 excavation, about 3000 artifacts were collected. It is an
Upper Acheulian industry with many tools on flakes. Common
 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL
FIG. 6. Spatial distribution of artifacts in the excavated area of VF8 site (contour line values express the number of retrieved artifacts; grid squares measure
1 ⫻ 1 m).
bifaces show a good flaking technique (Fig. 5). In Figure 6 a
plan-view perspective of the scattering of the artifacts on the
excavated archaeological paleo-surface is shown. A concentra-
tion along a NE–SW direction is evident.
VF3. The 338 artifacts from this site, also known as Mı̀l-
haròs (Raposo et al., 1985a), have the characteristics of the
so-called Micoquian type (Late Acheulian) (Fig. 7). A predom-
inance of evolved bifaces (lanceolate and Micoquian ones)
with respect to the more archaic shapes (amigdaloides) and
enhanced flaking skills (bilateral and bifacial simmetry, re-
touched edges, use of elastic percussion instruments, produc-
tion of highly standardized flakes for tool making) contrast
with an apparent lack of specialization in the flake tools (rec-
ognized by Zbyszewski, 1946), almost no use of Levallois
technique, and common presence of “culturally regressive,”
i.e., simple, worked pebbles.
In the LG unit, a small number of artifacts, commonly worn
out, have been recovered during several years of archaeological
surveying. Further investigations have been seriously hindered by
the building of a dam at the end of the Vale do Forno, which led
to the creation of a small reservoir, the water of which covers most
of the LG sequence. Thus, the existence of still-older Lower
Acheulian and Clactono-Abevillian human occupation of the area
(Zbyszewski, 1946) has not yet been verified.
Altogether, the paleolithic cultural sequence within the US unit
is well defined, with assemblages from Middle Acheulian to
Micoquian type. This sequence agrees very well with the different
stratigraphic positions of the sites in the alluvial series (Figs. 3 and
4). The more archaic VF1 site occupies the lowermost position,
365
lying within the US basal channel deposits in an elongated lens of
fine gravel with sandy matrix, a few meters above the US/LG
unconformity. VF8 is incorporated in the overlying soil/sediment
flood-plain sequence, apparently always beneath the major pa-
leosols and swamp deposits that characterize the upper part of the
section. The Milharos VF3 site is within the upper sandy deposits.
It lies outside the cross section of Figures 3 and 4, but corresponds
stratigraphically to the archaeological level of the AL3 (Pedreira
do Barro) section, where a few artifacts were collected (by P.M.)
from a slightly humiferous fine sandy horizon exposed on the
quarry walls.
During this investigation two other sites were found (by P.M.),
the VF8a site and a new site exposed in the AL4 section. On the
basis of the stratigraphic relations shown in Figure 4, site VF8a
appears to be an extension of VF8. A detailed sketch of the
sedimentary context of site VF8a is given by the log of section
AL2 (Fig. 8). Here the artifacts are associated with a silty clay lens
with common angular to subangular granules and pebbles. This
few-cm-thick lens lies in silty to very fine sandy overbank depos-
its, at the base of a ca. 0.5-m-thick soil. A somewhat similar
situation was observed in AL4, where flaked quartzite pebbles lie
at the bottom of minor (⬍1 m deep) scours filled with silt.
TL/OSL DATING
In order to assess the age of the VF8 site, an attempt was
made in 1991 by one of us (L.R.) to date the visible sedimen-
tary sequence. In view of (a) the available samples (sandy to
silty sediments), (b) the expected ages, and (c) the international
366
FIG. 7. Lithic assemblage from the Late Acheulian, “Micoquian,” VF3/Milharos site (Vale do Forno, Alpiarça): (1) lanceolate biface; (2 and 3) micoquian
bifaces; (4 and 5) cleavers. All in quartzite.
interdisciplinary cooperation established between the National
Archaeological Museum of Lisbon and the Department of
Scientific Research of the British Museum, it was decided that
the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique, a vari-
ant of the thermoluminescence method (TL), could be success-
fully used (Aitken, 1985).
The most suitable levels were selected, after careful obser-
vation of the local sediments. Dosimeters with cleaned TL
signal were buried at these levels for one year in order to
measure the annual environmental dose rates by gamma radi-
ation and cosmic rays. When retrieved, the dosimeters were
sent to the British laboratory, together with sediment samples
collected in their immediate vicinity. The TL signal obtained
during the voyage was controlled by another dosimeter used
only for this purpose. The laboratory measurements, carried
out by Dr. Nick Debenham, are summarized in Table 2.
In general, the results obtained are close to the upper TL/
OSL dating limit for the sediments, and hence they give
imprecise information. On the basis of probability, they allow
ages to be obtained between ca. 150,000 and 100,000 yr B.P.
However, it is not possible on the basis of these TL/OSL dates
to exclude dates beyond that limit.
MOZZI ET AL.
During this investigation, as new technologies became avail-
able, we again tried to date the same deposits by TL/OSL,
together with VF8a sediments and younger parts of the US unit
exposed in the upper portion of the AL3 section. Six samples
of silt to fine sand were collected by Dr. Debenham. Again, no
precise results were obtained because of the lack of measurable
TL signal in the sediments, due either to their age or to the
absence of sufficient solar exposure before burial.
DISCUSSION
The stratigraphic and sedimentological observations carried
out in the minor valleys of Vale do Forno, Vale dos Tejeiros,
and Vale de Atela indicate the existence of two major strati-
graphic units (LG and US) separated by an important uncom-
formity. The alluvial architecture and lithofacies of the LG unit
are markedly different from those of the US unit.
The coarse, heterometric gravels of the LG unit show some
imbrication and have a laterally persistent thickness which,
together with the absence of lateral accretion surfaces, indicate
middle or lateral bar deposition in low-sinuosity channels.
Overbank deposits are virtually lacking. The characteristics of
 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL 367

FIG. 8. Log of section AL 2, with VF8a archaeological site.

these amalgamated channel deposits suggest deposition by a
coarse bed-load braided river.
Lithofacies in the US unit are more varied than those in the
LG, as both channel and overbank deposits are well preserved.
The essentially planar character of the sandy current structures
and the absence of epsilon cross stratification in the US channel
deposits point to deposition in low-sinuosity channels with
limited lateral accretion. The overall widths of the channel
belts are estimated to range between 2.5 and 4 km. The US
overbank deposits represent vertical flood-plain aggradation.
The thick body extending between ca. 19 and 27 m altitude is
the major flood-plain sequence in the study area. The presence
of several fairly well-developed soils suggests that depositional
events alternated with periods of surface stability or that ac-
cretion rates were alternately higher or lower than the rates of
soil formation. This recurrent switching from one condition to
368 MOZZI ET AL.

TABLE 2
Thermoluminescence Measurements and Dose Rates for the US Unit in Vale do Forno (Site VF8)

Dated levels Dose Rates

(progressive numbers Natural
indicate top to bottom regen. dose Alpha Beta External Total
stratigraphic positions) (grays) (Gy/10 3 yr) (Gy/10 3 yr) (Gy/10 3 yr) (Gy/10 3 yr) TL age (years)

VF01 601 ⫾ 56 1.443 3.060 1.498 6.001 127,000 ⫹ infinite ⫺ 26,000

VF02 685 ⫾ 140 1.889 3.582 2.018 7.489 119,000 ⫹ infinite ⫺ 32,000
VF05 639 ⫾ 79 1.512 3.393 1.706 6.611 117,000 ⫹ infinite ⫺ 26,000
VF06 624 ⫾ 66 0.894 3.432 1.485 5.811 ⬎124,000

another may be related to migration of the river channels both
away and toward this portion of flood plain following avulsive
events upstream, and/or changes in the recurrence intervals of
the largest floods and associated overbank deposition. The
scarcity of pedogenic features in the overbank fines of the
upper portion of the US unit points to higher, more-constant
aggradation rates.
The abundant redoximorphic features in these paleosols
indicate the presence of a shallow underground water table
with recurrent fluctuations that made B and C soil horizons
alternate between reducing and oxidizing conditions. The well-
developed swell-and-shrink structures (slickensides) of the
clayey soils in AL1, also testify to the existence of wetting and
drying cycles at the time of soil formation.
Available data on US pollen content (Montenegro de An-
drade, 1944) have to be considered with caution, as they are
biased by methodologies that are inadequate compared to mod-
ern standards (Mateus and Queiroz, 1993). The interpretation
of US macrofloral assemblages that imply a “mild-temperate
climate similar to that of the present day” (Zbyszewski, 1946)
should be tested in future investigations. Nevertheless it is
consistent with the observed sedimentological characteristics
of the deposits, such as the high percentages of kaolinite in the
US clays. On the other hand, the extreme hot, moist climate
inferred from the Dal Cin diagram (Dal Cin, 1968) (Fig. 9) for
the LG unit does not strictly relate to climatic conditions at the
time of LG deposition. In fact, the sedimentological character-
istics of this unit suggest that it is mainly a product of rede-
position of the Upper Pliocene “Serra de Almeirim conglom-
erates” (Carvalho, 1968; Barbosa, 1995; Barbosa and Pena dos
Reis, 1996; Azevedo, 1997), the latter being a very coarse, 20-
to 40-m-thick alluvial unit forming the large plateau within
which lie the Tagus valley and its Quaternary terraces (Fig. 1).
The same may apply to at least part of the coarse fraction of the
US unit. It, thus, follows that the diagram in Figure 9 reflects
average Pliocene–Quaternary environmental conditions.
A detailed discussion of the geological conditions that led
to significative changes in lithofacies and alluvial architec-
ture at the LG/US boundary is beyond the scope of this
paper. The magnitude of these changes is such that they
most probably reflect the complex response of the Tagus
depositional system to changing external factors, such as
tectonic activity, climate, and sea level. Tectonics in central
Portugal during the last 2 myr are regarded as having
consisted mainly in a general uplift of ca. 200 –500 m, with
maximum estimated rates of about 0.25 mm/yr, also result-

FIG. 9. Dal Cin morphoclimatic index (after Dal Cin, 1968).

 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL 369

TABLE 3
Tentative Correlation of Sedimentary, Cultural, and Chronostratigraphic Evidence in the Vale do Forno Sequence
(Alpiarça, Portugal), in Comparison with Previous Interpretations (Zbyszewski, 1946)

Proposed scheme Zbyszewski (1946)

Stratigraphic Lithic Archaeological Stratigraphic Lithic

unit TL/OSL Age industries sites unit Lithology Age industries

C. 10 Sand and gravel Riss II

glaciation
Last interglaciation (?)
“Upper Sands” (US)

(Isotopic stage 5)
Micoquian VF3 C. 8-9 Clayey sands and fine sandy clays
119,000 ⫹ infinite C.7 Sands, with lenses of fine to coarse Riss I glaciation Micoquian
⫺ 32,000 ytr gravels
Upper VF8 C.6 Yellowish clayey sands, greenish Mindel/Riss Upper
Acheulian gray or yellowish sandy clays interglaciation Acheulian
117,000 ⫹ infinite C.5 Gray clay with fossil floral remains
⫺ 26,000 yr
⬎124,000 yr Middle VF1 C.4 Greenish gray clay, with sandy Middle
Acheulian portions Acheulian
C. 3b Gravel lenses, within yellowish
(Isotopic Stage 6)
“Lower Gravels”

glaciation (?)

sands in the upper portion

Penultimate

C. 3a Yellowish white sands Lower

(LG)

Acheulian
? ? C.2 Reddish gravels and sands, Mindel Clactono-
manganese oxides glaciation Abevillian
C.1 Yellowish sands

ing in the reactivation of pre-Quaternary tectonic structures
(Cabral and Ribeiro, 1989, 1990; Ribeiro et al., 1996).
Neotectonics, therefore, may have been active on temporal
and spatial scales broader than those relative to the evolu-
tion of valley fills, such as those preserved in the Alpiarça
middle terrace sedimentary sequence. The deposition of the
LG and US likely took place under contrasting climatoeu-
static conditions, possibly related to glacial/interglacial cy-
cles.
The stratigraphic positions of the three main excavated ar-
chaeological sites (VF1, VF3, VF8) correspond, from bottom
to top, to increasingly recent lithic industries that show typo-
logical evidence of different cultural stages. The sedimentary
context shows that the Upper Acheulian sites of Vale do Forno
were incorporated in the vertically aggrading US flood-plain
deposits. From reliable excavation data (site VF8), and direct
observation during this investigation (site VF8a, and section
AL4), the artifacts are concentrated in thin and elongated
lenticular sedimentary bodies within the overbank fines. These
lenses possibly represent deposition along minor drainage lines
active on the flood-plain surface during and immediately after
flooding, fed by overbank waters. Notably, in all these sites
artifacts have sharp, fresh edges, and small flakes were found
together with much larger worked pebbles. This suggests that
the archaeological materials were probably displaced from
their original position, but that only limited reworking took
place.
The more-ancient Middle Acheulian VF1 site is associated
with basal US coarse channel deposits. In this sedimentary
environment a higher degree of reworking could be expected;
nevertheless, here, too, the artifacts generally have well-
preserved, sharp edges, suggesting only limited transport by
tractive flows in fluvial channels.
Recent archaeological revisions of the Vale do Forno lithic
industries, and their regional comparison with other sites where
identical stages of the same Acheulian techno-complex have
been reported and are better dated (Raposo et al., 1993),
suggest a much more recent chronological framework (Late
Riss to Early Wurm of the Alpine chronology, i.e., ca. 150,000
to 70,000 yr B.P.) than that proposed by the traditional inter-
pretation (Late Mindel to Initial Riss of the Alpine chronology,
i.e., ca. 400,000 to 300,000 yr B.P.) (Zbyszewski, 1946; Ser-
viços Geologicos de Portugal, 1952). In the context of this
disagreement, available TL/OSL dating results are of some
interest because, even if imprecise, they support the archaeo-
logical arguments for last interglacial/early phases of the last
glacial ages for the VF1, VF8, and VF3 lithic industries and for
the US deposits that contain them (Table 3).
CONCLUSIONS
The ca. 30-m-thick lower alluvial sequence of the middle
terrace in the Vale do Forno, immediately south of the
village of Alpiarça, consists of two sedimentary units. The
lower (LG unit), consists of channel gravel deposits,
whereas the upper (US unit) consists of tabular sandy
370 MOZZI ET AL.
channel deposits and overbank fines. These two units do
not constitute a single, fining-upward depositional sequence,
as previously inferred, but instead they represent two dis-
tinct sedimentary episodes, separated by a major disconti-
nuity.
The US unit is particularly important because several ar-
chaeological sites are intercalated in the fluvial deposits, con-
stituting a continuous geoarchaeological record ranging be-
tween Middle Acheulian and Micoquian. Alluvial stratigraphy
is consistent with the different ages of the sites, the only
presently known Middle Acheulian site being embedded in the
lowermost part of the US unit, and the Upper Acheulian and
Micoquian sites being located, respectively, in the floodplain
soil/sediment complex and in the overlying intercalations of
channel and overbank deposits (Figs. 3, 4, and 8). Apparently,
only limited reworking of the archaeological materials took
place; tool production by early human inhabitants of the Tagus
valley was contemporary with deposition of the valley fill
represented by the US unit. Artifacts were not eroded from
older sedimentary formations before being incorporated in the
US fluvial sequence.
TL/OSL dates of US sediments support archaeological ar-
guments that this sedimentary unit was deposited between ca.
150,000 and 70,000 yr B.P. Available data suggest that the US
unit formed under temperate climate, and this implies that this
unit may include sediments of last-interglacial age. If this is the
case, it may also be assumed that the LG/US boundary marks
the adaptation of the fluvial depositional system to changing
climate and eustatic conditions at the onset of the last inter-
glaciation, and that the LG unit is related to environmental
conditions of the penultimate glaciation (Table 3). The general
tectonic uplift to which central Portugal has been subjected in
Quaternary times was not a major factor controlling the sedi-
mentary dynamics of the Tagus River during deposition of the
LG and US units.
The preservation of archaeological sites within a rather
continuous and complex fluvial sedimentary record makes
Alpiarça an outstanding site in the context of western Iberia
Quaternary geology and prehistoric archaeology. The possibil-
ity that the sedimentary sequence of the Q3 middle terrace may
record environmental changes related to the transition between
oxygen isotopic stages 6 and 5 (Turon, 1984; Chappel and
Shackleton, 1986; Mangerud, 1989) further highlights its im-
portance.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This investigation benefitted from funding by the European Community
Project ERBCHRX-CT94-0597, coordinated in Portugal by CEIPHAR (Cen-
tro Europeu de Investigaçao da Pré-Historia do Alto Ribatejo)-Escola Superior
de Tecnologia of Tomar. A grant was provided to P. Mozzi for fieldwork, and
sedimentological analysis was carried out in the Geology Center of the Faculty
of Sciences, University of Lisbon. The Municipality of Alpiarça offered
several facilities during the survey. We thank the editor and two anonymous
referees of this journal for their comments and suggestions, which helped
improve this paper.
REFERENCES
Aitken, M. J. (1985). “Thermoluminescence Dating.” Academic Press, San
Diego.
Azevêdo, T. M. (1997). “Arquitectura Deposicional del pre-Tajo en el Plio-
Cuaternário.” Actas III Congreso del Grupo Espanhol del Terciário, Cuenca.
Barbosa, B. P. (1995). “Alostratigrafia e litoestratigrafia das unidades conti-
nentais da bacia terciaria do baixo Tejo.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Lisbon.
Barbosa, B. P., and Pena dos Reis, R. (1989). Litoestratigrafia e modelo
deposicional dos sedimentos aluviais do Neogenico superior da bacia do
Tejo (Tomar-Lavre), Portugal. Comunicações dos Serviços Geologicos de
Portugal 75, 89 –97.
Barbosa, B. P., and Pena dos Reis, R. (1996). Geometrias de enchimento,
sistemas deposicionais e organização estratigrafica do pliocenico continental
da Bacia Terciaria do Baixo Tejo (Portugal). Comunicações do Instituto
Geologico e Mineiro 82, 51– 86.
Breuil, H., and Zbyszewski, G. (1942). Contribution à l’étude des industries
palèolitique du Portugal et de leurs rapports avec la geologie du Quaternaire.
Communicações dos Serviços Geologicos de Portugal 23.
Breuil, H., and Zbyszewski, G. (1945). Contribution à l’étude des industries
palèolitique du Portugal et de leurs rapports avec la geologie du Quaternaire.
Communicações dos Serviços Geologicos de Portugal 26.
Breuil, H., and Zbyszewski, G. (1946). Contribution à l’étude des industries
palèolitique du Portugal et de leurs rapports avec la geologie du Quaternaire.
Communicações dos Serviços Geologicos de Portugal 27.
Cabral, J., and Ribeiro, A. (1989). “Carta Neotectonica de Portugal, Escala
1:1,000,000, Nota Explicativa.” Serviços Geologicos de Portugal, Lisbon.
Cabral, J., and Ribeiro, A. (1990). Neotectonic studies in Portugal. The
neotectonic map. Bulletin INQUA Neotectonic Commission 13, 6 – 8.
Carvalho, A. M. G. (1968). Contribuição para o conhecimento geológico da
Bacia Terciária do Tejo. Memorias dos Serviços Geologicos de Portugal 15,
1–210.
Chappel, J., and Shackleton, N. J. (1986). Oxygen isotopes and sea level.
Nature 324, 137–140.
Dal Cin, R. (1968). Climatic significance of roundness and percentage of
quartz in conglomerates. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 38, 1094 –1099.
Daveau, S. (1993). Terraços fluviais e litorais. In “O Quaternàrio em Portugal,
balanço e perspectivas,” pp. 17–28. Colibrı̀, Lisbon.
Leeuwaarden, W., and Janssen, C. R. (1985). A preliminary polinlogical study
of peat deposits near an oppidum in the lower Tagus Valley, Portugal. Actas
I Reunião do Quaternario Iberico 2, 225–236, Lisbon.
Mangerud, J. (1989). Correlation of the Eemian and the Weichselian with deep
sea oxygen isotope stratigraphy. Quaternary International 3, 1– 4.
Mateus, J. E., and Queiroz, P. F. (1993). Os estudos da vegetação quaternaria
em Portugal; contextos, balanço de resultados, perspectivas. In “O Quater-
nàrio em Portugal, balanço e perspectivas,” pp. 153–178. Colibrı̀, Lisbon.
Montenegro de Andrade, M. (1944). Estudo polinico de algumas formações
turfo-lignitosas portuguesas. Publicações do Museu e Laboratorio de Min-
eralogia e Geologia da Faculdade de Ciencias do Porto 37, 5–11.
Raposo, L. (1995). Ambientes, territorios y subsistencia en el paleolitico medio
de Portugal. Complutum 6, 57–77.
Raposo, L., Carreira, J. R., and Salvador, M. (1985a). A estação Acehulense
final de Milharos, Vale do Forno, Alpiarça. Actas I Reunião do Quaternario
Iberico 2, 41– 60. [Lisbon]
Raposo, L., Silva, A. C., and Salvador, M. (1985b). Noticia da descoberta de
 TERRACE STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHEOLOGY, PORTUGAL
estação mustierense de Foz do Enxarrique (Rodão). Actas I Reunião do
Quaternario Iberico 2, 79 –90. [Lisbon]
Raposo, L., Salvador, M., and Pereira, J. P. (1993). O Acheulense no vale do
Tejo, em territorio Portugues. Arqueologia e Historia 10/3, 3–29.
Ribeiro, A., Cabral, J., Baptista, R., and Matias, L. (1996). Stress pattern in
Portugal mainland and the adjacent Atlantic region, West Iberia. Tectonics
15, 641– 659.
Serviços Geologicos de Portugal (1952). “Carta Geologica de Portugal, Esc.
1:50.000 —Folha 31-A Santarem.” Direcção Geral de Minas e Serviços
Geologicos, Lisbon.
Serviços Geológicos de Portugal (1992). “Carta Geológica de Portugal, Esc.
1:500.000, South Sheet.” Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, Lisbon.
371
Turon, J. L. (1984). Direct land/sea correlations in the last interglacial com-
plex. Nature 309, 673– 676.
Zbyszewski, G. (1943). La classification do Paleolithique ancien et la Chro-
nologie du Quaternaire du Portugal. Boletim da Sociedade Geològica de
Portugal 2, 1–111.
Zbyszewski, G. (1946). Etude géologique de la region d’Alpiarça. Comuni-
cações dos Serviços Geologicos de Portugal 27, 145–268.
Zbyszewski, G. (1958). Le Quaternaire de Portugal. Boletim da Sociedade
Geològica de Portugal, 12, 1–227.
Zbyszewski, G. (1985). Terraços Quaternarios da Bacia Inferior do Tejo
(excursion guide). Actas I Reunião do Quaternario Iberico, Lisbon.