MARINHAS MEDIEVAL TOMBS

Monolithic sarcophagi,

9th-11th centuries.

"The monolithic granite sarcophagi, unearthed during the renovation works at the Church of São Miguel de Cepães, provide invaluable evidence of Christian burial practices in the region, common during the Reconquista period and beyond. Associated with these, Romanesque corbels were exhumed, now integrated into the roof cornice of the church, attesting to the antiquity of the remains and the existence of a much older previous temple, and its significance in the local historical context.

They have been moved from their original site and, more importantly, their lids are missing.

These discoveries, along with other sarcophagi identified in Belinho and Forjães, a rock-cut tomb in Eira d'Ana (Palmeira) and the Medieval Cemetery of Barreiras in Fão, form the Network of Funerary Monuments in the Municipality of Esposende. These archaeological sites, spanning from prehistory, with the Megalithic Necropolis of the Vila Chã plateau, to the Middle Ages, reveal the region's importance throughout history and constitute an invaluable cultural heritage