The Lapedo Valley is a limestone gorge carved by the Sirol stream in the parish of Santa Eufémia e Boa Vista, municipality of Leiria, known for the Abrigo do Lagar Velho rock shelter. On 28 November 1998, archaeologists found there the skeleton of a child of about four years old from the Upper Palaeolithic, known as the Lapedo Child.
The rock shelter is classified as a National Monument since 2013.
What to see in the Lapedo Valley
- Abrigo do Lagar Velho: a shallow rock shelter at the foot of the limestone wall, occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic, where the burial was found.
- Interpretation centre: the Centro de Interpretação do Abrigo do Lagar Velho, which shows a replica of the skeleton, a reconstruction of the child's face by the American anthropologist Brian Pierson, and the results of the research at the site.
- The valley: steep limestone walls, woodland and the Sirol stream, crossed by walking paths.
History of the Lapedo Valley
- Upper Palaeolithic: people use the Abrigo do Lagar Velho as a shelter, roughly 30,000 to 20,000 years ago.
- 1994: the rock shelter is identified after earthworks at the site that nearly destroyed it.
- 28 November 1998: the skeleton of the Lapedo Child is discovered, buried in a pit and wrapped in a shroud coloured with red ochre.
- December 1998 to January 1999: the archaeologist João Zilhão and the anthropologist Cidália Duarte lead the first excavation.
- 2008: the interpretation centre opens.
- 2013: the Abrigo do Lagar Velho is classified as a National Monument.
- 2021: the skeleton is classified as a movable property of national interest.
Why the Lapedo Child matters
- First Palaeolithic burial in Iberia: the grave is described as the first Upper Palaeolithic burial excavated in the Iberian Peninsula.
- Age: studies have dated the skeleton to about 24,500 years ago, and more recent studies to about 29,000 years ago.
- Neanderthal traits: the researchers who studied the skeleton, João Zilhão and Erik Trinkaus, argued that it shows a mix of Neanderthal and modern human features.
- Where the skeleton is: the original skeleton is kept at the National Museum of Archaeology in Lisbon.
Visiting the Lapedo Valley
- Location: the valley is in Santa Eufémia, about 10 to 13 kilometres from the centre of Leiria.
- Opening times: the interpretation centre opens on set days, and the Leiria Municipality publishes the current times.
Places to visit in Leiria
