:: tongobriga ::

Ptolemy (2, 6, 38-48) makes reference to the town of Tungobriga, located between the regions of Douro and Minho and integrated in the Callaeci Bracari territory. In 1882, in the village of Freixo, it was collected a parallelepiped granite block on the edge of a well, where one can read: [G]ENIO/ [T]ONCOBR / [I]CENSIV[M] / [FL]AVIUS / V(otum). S(olvit). A(nimo). L(ibens).M(erito) From the interpretations made by several authors, we have chosen the Tongobriga name and identified this town as being the present village of Freixo, where archaeological evidences confirmed the propriety of the inscription found in 1882.

Tongobriga occupied an area of about 30 hectares, including the necropolis. So, it may be considered as being a medium sized Roman town. The residential areas occupied about 5 to 7 hectares and we estimate a population of about 2000 to 2500 inhabitants. Excavation works show that by the end of the 1st century/beginnings of the 2nd century, Tongobriga appeared as a socio-economic entity that concentrated not only residential characteristics but also a handicraft industry and systematic trading, which justified the building of a forum.

In the 5th century, Tongobriga is reported as being part of a Suevi parish, after which it is lost in the mists of time.

Today, it is a small village that grew around the parish church, which was built on the same place of a Christian church from the 5th century. There are currently around 50 hectares that have been classified as a National Monument and designated as Archaeological Site of Freixo.