Phoenician presence in Lisbon: New evidences from the Castelo de São Jorge's Hill

Abstract

This paper presents the first accurate contexts related to the initial phase of the Iron Age occupation in the Castelo de São Jorge's Hill, in Lisbon (Portugal). Archaeological excavations carried out in this urban area allowed, for the first time, to identify a clear sequence of the city's Orientalizing occupation, which began during the 7th century and continues until the 5th century BC. Architectural and stratigraphic elements, as well as the associated artifacts, which include amphorae, gray and red slip wares, handmade vessels and common and painted pottery, are analyzed in detail, revealing the profound Orientalizing background of the populations that settled in ancient Olisipo during the 1st half of the 1st millennium BC.