O arqueiro da Fraga de Puiu (Picote-Miranda do Douro) : estudo de uma estação com arte rupestre no Parque Natural do Douro Internacional

Abstract

Fraga do Puio, in the extreme North East of Portugal, is a prominent and exposed natural rock platform with vertical cliffs, dominating the Douro river canyon. This site has an ethnographic meaning and it is identity significant for the inhabitants of the village of Picote, in the municipality of Miranda do Douro. A rock-carved panei at one of the most prominent corners of the platform depicts an archer in launch position with a figure representing the sun in the background. The engravings form part of a composition in which the peculiar natural features of the rock are used to simulate a "realistic action in the landscape". This text describes and discusses the iconographic imagery employing archaeological, chronological and ethnographic frameworks, in the attempt of providing a symbolic interpretation.