due to its strategic location, at the intersection of several roads from the north and east connecting to lisbon, sacavém was an important settlement during periods of portuguese history, with some evidence extending back to pre-history. the portuguese historian pinho leal wrote, in his chorography "portugal antigo & moderno" ("ancient & modern portugal"), that ""sacavém is incontestably a very old settlement, and already existed in the time of the romans"". the oldest known references date back to the neolithic and chalcolithic: three polished stone axes were discovered from the bronze age, and in the mid-1980s, excavations in the historical centre of the city revealed a cave with similar artifacts from this period.