Rocha da Mina's archaeological site is located in the Municipality of Alandroal, in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The site was firstly identified in the early 90's, on a prominent rock outcrop, in a river meander., and was thought to be some sort of a late Iron Age sanctuary.
Ongoing excavations since 2010, by Rui Mataloto and Conceição Roque, have been revealing a few houses and streets, in what appears to be a complex use and reuse of the structures, have helped to understand the urban planning and architecture of the site, which shows Roman influences, on an essentially indigenous basis.
Further work aims to deepen the analysis of the nature and origin of the site, taking into account the possibility that it was structured around an indigenous sanctuary, of Celtic origin.
Ceramic assemblages constitute the best way to get to understand the dinamics of the site. Even though local ceramics constitute a big percentage of the finds in Rocha da Mina, the presence of imports such as Campanian ware, Thin-walled ware, few Italic Terra Sigillata, Baetican and Lusitanian amphorae.
Through these ceramics, it is also possible to narrow down a time span for the usage of the site. Until now, it appears that the earliest presence in the site was around the 50's and its abandonment around 20's BCE.