In a statement, the municipality revealed that “research work continues at the Alto da Vigia archaeological site, next to Praia das Maçãs, having now identified and excavated the ruins of a second Islamic 'ribat' mosque dating from the 11th and 12th centuries”.

“This place would be both a place of prayer and surveillance of the coast against the risk of attack, particularly by Christian forces”, the note reads.

According to information that Lusa had access to, “this find reinforces the importance of this sacred space for Islam, documenting a type of architectural reality for which only two other examples are known in the entire Iberian Peninsula: one in Aljezur and another near Alicante, in Spain”.

“By comparing these sites leads us to believe that the remains now uncovered in Sintra will include numerous mosques in a large area yet to be excavated”, highlights the municipal information.

A first mosque had already been identified at the site, with its characteristic niche facing the holy city of Mecca ('mihrab'), as well as a building without this oratory.

The city council information also highlights “the presence of a cemetery with burials carried out according to the dictates of the Islamic faith, in addition to around a dozen cavities excavated in the rock intended for storing food (silos)”.

The technicians from the municipal archaeology services emphasise that, in the case of Alto da Vigia, the unique particularity of this 'ribat' is that it shares space with the Roman sanctuary dedicated to the Sun and the Ocean, from whose ruins "he reused multiple epigraphic and architectural elements such as construction material".

“This new discovery not only enriches our understanding of Sintra but also strengthens our commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the municipality’s cultural heritage”, said the mayor of Sintra, Basílio Horta.

The work of the services team at the Archaeological Museum of São Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO) included the collaboration of volunteers and students from archaeology courses at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon and the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisbon.

Sintra City Council is promoting a project to enhance and museumize the remains already uncovered, and work is expected to continue at Alto da Vigia through the development of a new research project.