were transferred to Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR), the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Patrimony. The IPPAR contracted the company Terracarta in order to create a three-dimensional design of the property. Further, the monument and terrains were purchased by the institute for 29.000.000$00 escudos. A public tender was issued on 29 January 2002, under PROAlgarve, for the Recuperation of the Castle of Paderne, under the auspices of the IPPAR. The candidate entity was responsible for the recuperation of the walls, in taipa, the archaeological study and museological assessment of the site, including the old dependencies within the courtyard, the drainage of the monument, and lastly, the consolidation of the ruins of the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Assunção. Archaeological excavations completed at the time unearthed remnants of dwellings and roadways within the castle compound, as well as the remains of a sophisticated sewage system and vestiges of a water supply network (that included cisterns and water channels). Architecture The rural, isolated castle is located on a high hilltop over a profound valley, covered in Mediterranean vegetation, olive groves, fig and carob trees. Its lies in a zone classified under the Natura 2000 designation, with a pedestrian trail under the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza (Institute for the Conservation of Nature). The castle is a regular trapezoidal plan, almost a hectare in size, surrounded by walls, with a road that links to a tower across a Roman arch bridge. Within the interior are vestiges of a longitudinal chapel, with only the walls remaining. The eastern side, which has the least natural defence has a substantial tower and is built of Taipa (mixture of mud, chalk, lime and aggregate that sets like concrete). This tower, the only one standing within the enclosure, protrudes from the wall and is connected to the main fortification by an upper passageway. From the outside of this tower is still possible to make out the whitewash strips which were applied to the taipa joints in order to give the impression that the tower was built from masonry. Nevertheless, these mud walls are thick and are constructed on a substantial stone plinth which can be seen at the base of the perimeter walls. There are also at intervals, vertical openings to allow for drainage of any accumulative water inside the castle walls. Below the tower are the remains of ramparts, which ran across the eastern perimeter: most of