In Portimão, while ships sink on one side, on the other they are brought to the surface, after having been submerged hundreds or even thousands of years. An underwater archeology campaign ended on October 31, after about two weeks of work in the Arade estuary and in the area in front of Ponta do Altar, near the mouth of that river.
As the most visible result for the general public of this short campaign, the researchers removed from the bottom of the river, at the site designated as Arade B, a Roman amphora "which was practically intact", and which is now in the Portimão Museum undergoing desalination and conservation, revealed to Sul Informação the archaeologist Cristóvão Fonseca, one of those responsible for the intervention.
A underwater archeology campaign took place from October 18th to 31st, in the estuary and mouth of the Arade river. This intervention was promoted by Overseas History Center (CHAM) of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and coordinated by archaeologists Cristóvão Fonseca and José Bettencourt, with the «fundamental» support of the Museum of Portimão, and also of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Clube Naval de Portimão, Portimão Subaquatic Diving Club, Subnauta Diving Center, Archeosfera Lda archeology company, Portimão Port Authority and Ocean Studies Group (GEO).
In the area of the Arade bed, about six meters deep, the archaeologists wanted to confirm whether the large concentration of amphorae detected in previous campaigns corresponded or not to the sinking of a Roman vessel, around 2000 years ago, or if it was just a case of amphorae thrown overboard when ships were anchored there.
Although there is still no definitive answer, Cristóvão Fonseca says that “most of this amphoric material corresponds to the same typology, which gives substance to the hypothesis that it is a shipwreck”. In other words, if it were a simple dump site for empty amphorae – amphorae were, two millennia ago, the first container destined to be used and thrown away – there would be several types and not the concentration of just one.
As for the origin of the amphorae, most are of the Dressel 7-11 typology, which means that they were intended to transport fish preparations (such as the garum), and came from Betica, one of the two Roman provinces of the Iberian Peninsula, probably in the south of present-day Andalusia, having been produced «in the first half of the XNUMXst century AD)».
“Would they be preparing fish that were passing through, when the ship carrying them had to take shelter for whatever reason in the Arade estuary? Would they have the Algarve as their final destination? Arade was an important port of refuge and here could be an export to the Atlantic or to Northern Europe», explained Cristóvão Fonseca.
Given this Roman material, archaeologists would like to find more answers to their many questions. “Were there several shipwrecks that occurred there? How many? Which".
But, as Cristóvão Fonseca points out, «only with excavations in that site will we be able to reach more preserved levels», which allow us to better define what happened in that area of the Arade estuary, in Roman times. Furthermore, in the area where the amphorae are located, «everything is very disturbed, out of context», after decades of dredging in the Arade estuary, millennia of boat anchorage and the dynamics of the riverbed itself.
History pages to read
Proving that the bottom of the river is not an easy-to-read page of history, more or less in the same place where the Roman amphorae were located, in the «Arade B site associated with GEO7», the team once again located traces of the modern era ( XNUMXth or XNUMXth century), with wood, ceramics, cardboards. «There is no doubt that we are facing one or more wrecks from the modern age», but the archaeologists, in just two difficult and intense weeks of work, could do little more than a georeferenced survey.
Outside the estuary, in front of Ponta do Altar, the cape where the farol of Ferragudo, «the two anchors that served as a reference for the cannon survey campaigns» were relocated, carried out in 1992 by the underwater archaeologist Francisco Alves, from the then National Center for Nautical and Underwater Archeology.
In the 90s, cannons that were visible and could be stolen were recovered, in an area that would correspond to the probable sinking of a warship, from the time when the crowns of Portugal and Spain were united under the rule of the Filipes. Cristóvão Fonseca says that the ship wrecked there must date from the «beginnings of the XNUMXth century», but only further archaeological research can help confirm this dating.
This time, in the few days of work in the area, with the help of the geophysical equipment of the Subnauta company – one of the various entities that collaborated in this campaign – it was possible to «identify magnetic anomalies around Ponta do Altar». In future campaigns, which Cristóvão Fonseca hopes can take place as early as next year, archaeologists will already know where to focus their efforts.
Few days of work with added difficulties
This campaign by young archaeologists from CHAM, the Center for Overseas History of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the UNL, in addition to being reduced to a short two weeks, also had to fight against the strike in the ports that delayed the arrival of the diving material from the Azores, where archaeologists have been working before, as well as against the difficult visibility conditions in the Arade River estuary.
Because, due to the first rains and weather conditions, “we had about half a meter to a meter of visibility. There were days when we didn't even have 10 centimeters of visibility. This conditioned a bit a global reading of the site” and made the work of underwater archaeologists and other team members difficult.
But work is not just done underwater. The Portimão Museum has an immense collection linked to underwater archeology and the findings that have been made over the years in the Arade estuary. «It is necessary to take this collection and the underwater archeology work that was done [namely in the years 2004 and 2005], but which was interrupted, and cross these data. Everything has not been investigated or systematized. There are hot spots that need to be addressed», guarantees Cristóvão Fonseca.
In winter, when conditions do not allow for underwater work, researchers will now dedicate themselves to «systematizing, taking the available information, relating it, locating everything very well, drawing up plans and defining where to work in future campaigns».
Cristóvão Fonseca insists on highlighting the excellent conditions that the Portimão Museum has for underwater archeology (in fact, he himself has already worked there in this specific area), conditions that are not only logistical, but also human.
And he emphasizes that all collaborations are welcome: “it is necessary to bring everyone together, because all efforts are few, especially at a time like now, when there is a shortage of funding. The idea, for now, is to continue the project based on the volunteer work of all of us».
But this, warns the archaeologist, is only possible during a survey phase. “If we move on to the excavation phase, we will have to have other means and more time. It is not with 15 days of work that we will be able to do anything here».
For now, next summer, the CHAM team intends to return to Portimão. "There we hope to be able to carry out surveys."
Investigate and enhance the underwater heritage
Cristóvão Fonseca explains that the Arade estuary has great fund dynamics, so that «from year to year, every five years, it returns to exhibiting material. And it is necessary to follow this dynamic».
In addition to pure and hard scientific research, the works also have more pragmatic objectives: «the objective is also to protect the sites, to know them better in order to be able to protect them».
For, insists Cristóvão Fonseca, "the Arade estuary is a place at risk, an area of anchorage for boats, where archaeological materials are at permanent risk." Hence, from a «preventive archeology perspective», the works were even directed to «areas where there is a greater risk of destruction».
In the future, underlines the archaeologist, «it is necessary to join forces and involve people with know-how and with the necessary equipment. It is with this type of project that more wealth can be attracted to the area. Here too, diving tourism is an asset not to be forgotten».
«We've already talked with Subnaut about the possibility of making a field school, articulating with universities, Portuguese and foreign, that want to participate». Basically, it would be a way to attract more volunteers to work in the area – namely archeology students – and also to create a source of income and attract the funding that researchers need like bread in their mouths.
In terms of future research, CHAM's plans are to “work not only the Arade River, but the entire coastal front. There are already referenced remains and finds that should have an archaeological approach».
For now, while the rain, cold, currents and cloudy waters of the wintery Arade do not allow for fieldwork, the researchers will take the opportunity to systematize the information collected so far. And in this area too, there is a lot, a lot to do.
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