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The Prazo archaeological site is located near Freixo de Numáo (Vila Nova de Foz Cóa, north-eastern Portugal). The site, discovered in the early '80s, initially revealed a significant historical record, having been a Roman villa whose occupation continued through part of the Middle Ages. In 1996, fieldwork there uncovered Neolithic layers. They were excavated from 1997 to 2001, revealing also the existence of a pre-Neolithic occupation. This paper presents the geoarchaeology and chronology of the prehistoric succession of Prazo, which is arranged as follows: an upper Pleistocene complex formed of slope waste sediments, featuring upper Palaeolithic finds and structures; an early to mid Holocene succession, also composed from slope waste deposits, containing Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic and Early Neolithic archaeological assemblages and features; and an upper Holocene complex, corresponding to occupations in the Roman and Middle Ages. The available data - deriving from the geoarchaeological survey at the site and from an extensive range of radiocarbon dates - are presented as part of a preliminary discussion of the environmental evolution and the settlement strategies at the site.

The Prazo archaeological site is located near Freixo de Numáo (Vila Nova de Foz Cóa, north-eastern Portugal). The site, discovered in the early '80s, initially revealed a significant historical record, having been a Roman villa whose occupation continued through part of the Middle Ages. In 1996, fieldwork there uncovered Neolithic layers. They were excavated from 1997 to 2001, revealing also the existence of a pre-Neolithic occupation. This paper presents the geoarchaeology and chronology of the prehistoric succession of Prazo, which is arranged as follows: an upper Pleistocene complex formed of slope waste sediments, featuring upper Palaeolithic finds and structures; an early to mid Holocene succession, also composed from slope waste deposits, containing Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic and Early Neolithic archaeological assemblages and features; and an upper Holocene complex, corresponding to occupations in the Roman and Middle Ages. The available data - deriving from the geoarchaeological survey at the site and from an extensive range of radiocarbon dates - are presented as part of a preliminary discussion of the environmental evolution and the settlement strategies at the site.