Place · Portugal
The history of Loures
Assembled from 2 dug tiles · 27 sourced records · 39800 BC–now · last reviewed 8 November 2026
Loures gathers traces from Upper Paleolithic hunting camps to a Roman farming estate and villa, through a parish first named in 1118, shaken by earthquakes in 1531, 1551 and 1755, and still marked today by civic life along Rua da República.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Loures — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Loures
A road crew found a Roman town buried under LouresA retail construction project in 1990 turned up a villa, a burial ground, and a bath complex, still being dug in the 2000s.
39800 BC–1910 Farmland outside a parish town
This point sits on open ground near Loures, a short walk from a Roman farming estate. Rua da República
32407 BC–now
Loures in layers
c. 39,800–35,500 BC
A radiocarbon sample taken 245 m from this spot dates to between roughly 39,800 and 35,500 BC, among the oldest human traces found near Loures. OpenContext / Cross-referenced p3k14c (OXA-15499)
32,407–30,953 BC
Radiocarbon dates from a half kilometer away show people were on this ground during the last Ice Age. Cross-referenced p3k14c
c. 32,400–18,900 BC
Several more radiocarbon samples from the same spot span roughly 32,400 to 18,900 BC, showing people returned to this ground again and again across tens of thousands of years. OpenContext / Cross-referenced p3k14c
Iron Age to Roman period
Another Roman villa, with material reaching back into the Iron Age, lies about 2 km northeast at Frielas, part of the same rural Roman landscape around Loures. Endovélico — Sistema de Informação Arqueológica
Iron Age to Roman period
Excavation beneath the site of the Igreja Matriz de Loures, over a kilometer away, turned up a necropolis dating to the Roman period and the preceding Iron Age. Endovélico — Sistema de Informação Arqueológica
1st–5th century AD
The Roman villa of Almoinhas, occupied from the first to the fifth century AD, was found nearby in 1990 when the first materials turned up on the site. Wikipedia — Roman villa of Almoinhas
Paleolithic period
Stone tools from the Paleolithic period were recovered at Quinta de Santa Ana, 720 m from here. Endovélico — Sistema de Informação Arqueológica
Chalcolithic period
Archaeologists recorded a Chalcolithic (Copper Age) settlement at Casal de Gaitadas, nearly 2 km southwest of this spot. Endovélico — Sistema de Informação Arqueológica
1st–5th century AD
A Roman villa stood just 328 meters north of you, occupied from the 1st century AD through the late Roman period. Roman villa of Almoinhas
Medieval period
The parish church of Santa Maria stood as the center of medieval Loures, 1.2 kilometers from where you stand. Igreja de Santa Maria (Loures)
1118
The parish of Loures appears in writing for the first time in 1118, and again in 1191 alongside the parishes of Unhos and Sacavém. Wikipedia — Loures (parish)
early 14th century
After the Knights Templar were suppressed in the early fourteenth century, their lands at Loures passed to the newly founded Order of Christ, which built a church over the ruins of a fourth-century temple beside an old Christian cemetery. Wikipedia — Loures
Early modern period
The Palace of Correio-Mor stands 1.7 kilometers west, protected as cultural heritage of public interest. It served as a royal administrative building. Palace of Correio-Mor
1531
An earthquake on this day killed 30,000 people in Lisbon and destroyed 1,500 houses, its shock felt here 15 kilometers south. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
1551
A second major earthquake struck the region, recording 2,000 deaths and destroying 200 houses in Lisbon and the surrounding towns. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
1574
The Quinta do Conventinho, a manor house built in 1574, survives 983 meters southeast of you, now pending national monument classification. Quinta do Conventinho
1598–1603
When plague struck Lisbon in 1598 and raged for five years, killing about 80,000 people, city dwellers fled uphill to the village of Montemor, within Loures, seeking cleaner air at 350 meters elevation. Wikipedia — Loures
died 1665
João Lourenço Rebelo, a composer who served the Portuguese royal court, died in Loures in 1665. Wikidata / Wikipedia
1665
The Portuguese composer João Lourenço Rebelo, born in 1610, died in Loures. His works were performed at the royal court. Wikidata
1744
Félix de Avelar Brotero, considered the father of Portuguese botany, was born in Loures in 1744. Wikidata / Wikipedia
1744
The naturalist Félix de Avelar Brotero was born in Loures in 1744 and became one of Portugal's most influential botanists and zoologists. Wikidata
1 November 1755
On All Saints' Day 1755 a massive earthquake struck Lisbon, killing tens of thousands and sending tsunami waves up the Tagus River; Loures, some 15–20 km northeast of the city center, felt the shaking, the flooding and the fires that followed. Wikipedia — 1755 Lisbon earthquake
16 June 1910
The Igreja Matriz de Loures, standing about a kilometer from here, was declared a national monument by decree in June 1910. Direção-Geral do Património Cultural — Atlas do Património Classificado
16 June 1910
The Cruzeiro de Loures, a stone wayside cross near the parish church, was designated a national monument the same day in 1910 as the church beside it. Direção-Geral do Património Cultural — Atlas do Património Classificado
Questions about Loures
What is Loures known for historically?
Loures is known for the Roman villa of Almoinhas, struck by a road crew in 1990 while cutting access to a supermarket, which later excavation showed included a necropolis, drainage channels, salting tanks and a residential quarter, with finds held at the Municipal Museum of Loures.
What happened at Loures in 1990?
Workers cutting an access road to a supermarket struck the buried remains of the Roman villa of Almoinhas, occupied from the first to the fifth century AD, leading to excavation formalised in 2006.
How old is settlement at Loures?
Evidence of people in the area reaches back to the Upper Paleolithic, with dated traces from around 39,800–35,500 BC and a cluster of further Paleolithic dates nearby, long before the Roman farming estate or the parish itself.
When was Loures first recorded as a place name?
Loures was first named in a document of 1118, and the street now known as Rua da República has since carried the town's civic and festive life.
What natural disasters affected Loures?
Loures and the surrounding region were struck by earthquakes in 1531, 1551 and again on 1 November 1755, the last of which shook the ground and sent the sea up the Tagus.
Who notable came from Loures?
Botanist Félix de Avelar Brotero was born in Loures in 1744, and composer João Lourenço Rebelo, who served the future kings of Portugal, died there in 1665.