Almonda is a Portuguese

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of around 300 inhabitants in the civil parish of Zibreira, within the municipality of

Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portugal, Portuguese Concelho, municipality in the district of Santarém (district), Santarém, in the Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo of the Oeste e Vale do Tejo region. The population of the municipality was approximately ...

and the

Santarém District The District of Santarém ( ) is a district of Portugal, located in Portugal's West and Tagus Valley region. The district capital is the city of Santarém. The district is the 3rd largest in Portugal, with an area of , and a population of 475 ...

. The village was named after the river Almonda, whose source is located nearby. Aroeira3

Almonda is noted for the Aroeira cave (possibly the largest cave in the country) in the

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

landscape, where the 400,000 year old Aroeira 3 skull of a

Homo Heidelbergensis ''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...

was discovered in 2014. It is the oldest trace of human history in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

.Phys Org, March 13, 2017, 400,000-year-old fossil human cranium is oldest ever found in Portugal
/ref>Joan Daura
et al.: ''New Middle Pleistocene hominin cranium from Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal).'' In ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scie ...

(PNAS)'' Online pre-release of 13 March 2017.The primitive man from Portugal
Article from 16 March 2017 in des Hamburger Abendblatt, accessed March 22, 2017.''Crânio de 400 mil anos é o fóssil humano mais antigo descoberto em Portugal''
(''English: 400,000 year old skull found; the oldest human fossil in Portugal'') Article from March 13, 2017 in the Portuguese newspaper Público, accessed March 22, 2017. The local conditions of

topography and abundance of water provided the possibility of obtaining energy, and thus, in 1818, Domingos Ardisson established the Renova paper factory. The company is an important commercial engine of the

region, and well-known both nationally and internationally. Although the company has expanded, the "old factory" continues to function.

References

Archaeological sites in Santarém District Villages in Portugal Populated places in Santarém District {{Portugal-stub