"Espigueiros, Soajo, Portugal" by Steven Evans, ,

A cluster of mysterious stone structures perch on a rocky outcrop on the outskirts of the Portuguese town of Soajo. From a distance, their silhouettes suggest an acropolis: the remnants of an ancient sacred site. Up close, the coffin-like structures are reminiscent of burial vaults in a time-worn cemetery. In fact, their purpose is more prosaic, less mysterious and less ancient than we expect. They are granaries, or espigueiros, designed and constructed by local inhabitants to store, protect and dry grain.

This modest, pragmatic form made from materials close at hand evolved throughout northern Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula in the mid-16th century. The earliest examples in Soajo date back to the mid-18th century, and many are still in use today. Beyond their time-honoured purpose, they survive as a kind of stone haiku about everyday objects that unintentionally remind us of the historically complex relationship between humans and the environment.