Mau Vizinho Castle

Parish of
Cimo de Vila da Castanheira

The medieval castle

The so-called Bad Neighbour's Castle, also referred to as the Moorish Castle, is located in the parish of Cimo de Vila da Castanheira, in the municipality of Chaves, in the district of Vila Real, in Portugal.

Isolated on a rock overlooking the right bank of the Mousse River (Mouce?), a tributary of the Mente River, on the northeastern slope of the Serra do Candedo, it is in reality an archaeological site whose nature is not yet fully understood by scholars. Some authors argue that it is a pre-Roman sanctuary, consisting of an altar and sacrificial sites. Other authors argue, on the other hand, that the site does not present the same type of structures (cultic and defensive) identified in the region.

Discovered by the archaeologist António da Eira e Costa between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, it was the subject of three campaigns:

• in the summer of 1981 - led by Adérito Medeiros Freitas, António da Eira e Costa and Joaquim Rodrigues dos Santos Júnior, carried out cleaning and layout work;
• in September 1988 - led by the same team, with the participation of Norberto dos Santos Júnior, continued the cleaning and layout work; and
• September 1989 - led by Adérito Medeiros Freitas and António da Eira e Costa, completed the work, with resources from the City of Chaves.

As a result of these works, the site is classified as a Property of Public Interest by Decree published on January 3, 1986.

The material brought to light by archaeological research on this site consists of a clay cossow and fragments of tiles and ceramics, corresponding to the Middle Ages.

Architecture

The structure known as the castle is made up of the cut top of the shale rock, at an elevation of 562 meters above sea level, limited by grooves for the installation of the structure of a possible central tower. Surrounding the space of this central enclosure (c. 184 square meters), there is a fence made of mortared shale stones that develops in two sections. Outside this fence, there are a series of cavities in the rock, for the installation of perishable materials (such as wood), which would constitute a second defensive line. The complex is accessed by a line of steps excavated in the rock.