Stepstones Across the Pônsul River

The crossing of watercourses using stepstones, stone blocks vertically embedded in the bed, used to travel across the water, avoiding the current, passing from block to block to the opposite bank, is an archaic and dangerous system, of limited use. For these reasons it was commonly used as secondary passages, as is the present case. However, the unusual length, around fifty meters, of this line of blocks, mostly repurposing Roman architectural elements, and its high number of blocks, forty-three, give it a remarkable singularity. Unfortunately, the date of its construction is unknown. In any case, the ford river crossing at this point seems to be very old. For the time being, as it has not been possible to connect these stepstones to the Roman road structure, it is almost certain that in medieval times, and later periods, it was part of itineraries to the west, namely, to Idanha-a-Nova and Castelo Branco.