This abstract was submitted at December of 2012 by II International Congress “Transition of Archaeology: Death Archaeology”, Évora, Portugal, April 29th-­‐May 1st, 2013. CONTRIBUTION FOR THE STUDY OF THE BRONZE AGE FUNERARY CONTEXTS IN THE PORTUGUESE NORTHWEST. THE NECROPOLIS (?) OF QUINTA DO AMORIM, BRAGA Hugo Aluai SAMPAIO1, Maria João AMORIM2, Luciano VILAS BOAS3 & Ana Catarina GOMES4 Keywords: Middle Bronze Age, Portuguese Northwest, Funerary context, Necropolis, Ceramic depositions. Abstract: this work aims to present part of the data recovered at the archaeological excavation at Quinta do Amorim, parish of S. Victor, county and district of Braga. The discovery of a specific ceramic flat edge vessel – form 13c from the table of forms of A.M.S. Bettencourt (1999) – and a fragment of a third similar vase, in the archaeological monitoring of the Braga’s New Hospital, later followed by the identification of a plain grave, during the excavation of the site imposed by the Portuguese archaeological custody, confirm the importance of this place regarding to the Bronze Age funerary practices. Nevertheless, the excavated structure included a third form 13c vessel, recovered in primary context, which its organic adherences have allowed an absolute datation. Using similar and coetaneous contexts where these kinds of evidence have appeared (Almeida & Fernandes 2008; Sampaio et al. 2008; Bettencourt 2010), it is hypothesized an use of this area compatible with a Middle Bronze Age necropolis, which has combined the burial of people and the deposition of ceramic materials. References: ALMEIDA, P. & FERNANDES, F. 2008. O povoado da Idade do Bronze da Cimalha. Actas do I Encontro de Arqueologia das Terras do Sousa (Lousada, 2007). Oppidum nº esp: 29-­‐44; BETTENCOURT, A.M.S. 1999. A paisagem e o homem na bacia do Cávado. Braga: Universidade do Minho; BETTENCOURT, A.M.S. 2010. La Edad del Bronce en el Noroeste de la Península Ibérica: un análisis a partir de las prácticas funerárias. Trabajos de Prehistoria 67 (1): 139-­‐173. SAMPAIO, H.A.; BETTENCOURT, A.M.S.; BARBOSA, P.; DINIS, A. & CRUZ, C.S. 2008. A importância do povoado do Pego, no Bronze Final do Noroeste Peninsular. Férvedes 5: 227-­‐233. -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ (1) PhD student of Landscape and Settlement Archaeology at the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. PhD scholarship granted by F.C.T. with the reference SFRH/BD/41776/2007. Investigator of the Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória – CITCEM. E-­‐mail: [email protected] (2) Archaeologist. Investigator of the Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória – CITCEM. E-­‐mail: [email protected] (3) Master student in Archaeology at the University of Minho. Investigator of the Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória – CITCEM. E-­‐mail: [email protected]; 4-­‐ Master student in Archaeology at the University of Minho. E-­‐mail: [email protected]