There are a lot of questions to clear up and a lot of manpower willing to help find the answers. The preliminary results of the first archaeological excavation campaign of the project “Muslims and Christians in Medieval Cacela: changing territory and identities” were presented at the University of Algarve in a session that had a full house.
And they were very young those who completely filled the seminar room of the UAlg's Gambelas Campus Library, in Faro, on the 26th of February, to attend the 1st session of a cycle of lectures in which the work of the UAlg's Center for Studies in Archeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences will be disseminated.
After all, one of the components of this project by the University of Algarve, the Regional Directorate of Culture and the Vila Real de Santo António Council, which allowed the archaeological excavations to return to Cacela-a-Velha, is an archaeological field-school.
Thus, it was with the help of students from UAlg and Simon Fraser University, from Canada, but also from the secondary schools of Vila Real de Santo António and Pinheiro e Rosa, from Faro – the latter made up, to a large extent, the attentive audience of the lecture on the 26th – which began to reveal Cacela's secrets again.
There were about 40 students alone, but in total more than 50 people were involved in the excavations, which took place last summer.
In 2018, the team of researchers, coordinated by Maria João Valente (UAlg) and Cristina Teté Garcia (UAlg/Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve), focused on two new excavation areas, created next to the place where the last excavations had been made, where the cemetery of the first Christian community in this locality is located.
The idea was, on the one hand, try to understand where the old Chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires was located and the limits of the cemetery that existed, from the XNUMXth century, in the eastern part of the current village of Cacela-a-Velha.
On the other hand, we wanted to reveal more about the oldest traces, from the Islamic period, that exist in the same place, namely the «two wide and well-made streets, with a rainwater drainage system», flanked by buildings, which were discoveries, according to Maria João Valente.
After four weeks on the ground, no traces of the hermitage could be found, but several complete skeletons were discovered. Bones belonging to a woman were also partially unearthed.
Three newborns were also found “buried with the older population”, something that is not very usual. “In our experience, the many new ones were not buried with the rest of the population,” explained Maria João Valente.
And it didn't even miss «a skeleton of a cat», which, apparently, was buried among humans, something also rare.
Now, those responsible for the project are already thinking about the future. “We are still looking for the Islamic cemetery, which is what we are lacking. Last year, we just didn't go to the area where we think it exists, because it was becoming unbearable. It was very complicated in logistic terms. We think it is a little higher up, in the Várzea area [to the north of the village]», said Maria João Valente, speaking to Sul Informação.
"In 2019, we will return to the place where we were in 2018, to finish the excavation, and we will go to the other area, where we hope that the Islamic necropolis may be," added the archaeologist.
Next summer, in the excavations that will take place from the 17th of June to the 13th of July, the research coordinators will not be able to have as many students, «because we didn't have the Canadian team, which was autonomous and had its own accommodation, we only counted with the accommodation that the City Council can give us, which is limited – we can't have more than 15 volunteers».
Os Simon Fraser University students they come year in, year out. Still, they continue to collaborate, but with laboratory work. “We have a PhD student who will study the population that we are now excavating in Cacela,” she said.
However, there was an extension of the project term, which will now last until 2022, one year longer than originally thought.
“Originally, we thought of a work with great strength from the point of view of research, but there was also the heritage issue. Now, we have extended the deadline for another year, not only to establish this field-school, which we think is very important, but also the aspect of sharing knowledge», said Maria João Valente.
The transfer of knowledge to the community «is the most important thing and is something that, in archeology, is often lacking. People know it exists, they hear it is beautiful, but then they don't know it».
“I don't really like the idea of making a traditional museum there. I think there are already many museums in the Algarve, some of which can even host temporary exhibitions about Cacela. But it would be important for the site itself to be prepared for visitors who, by going to the field, can get to know the existing heritage”, added the researcher from UAlg.
Cristina Tété Garcia, who 20 years ago restarted excavations in Cacela-a-Velha, inspired by archaeological incursions by Estácio da Veiga (XNUMXth century) and work carried out by Arabist Garcia Domingues, did not hide the joy of returning to a land she knows well, but with a lot more company.
"It was extraordinary to return to the field and feel that the project evolves, that the team is expanding and there are more people involved", he told the Sul Informação.
The Algarve researcher has no doubts that this new project was necessary. «Twenty years ago, the University of Algarve was taking its first steps in the field of heritage sciences. At the time, I was a bit of the lone ranger. I ended up having to seek partnerships with the Mértola Archaeological Field, in order to be able to place specialists in the field», he framed.
“Now, there is greater maturity and an immense desire to create teams and pass on the witness. I know it's still early, but I'm starting to think about it. This needs to be continued, to think beyond us», he concluded.
Taking into account the enthusiasm shown by the young people present at the lecture, some of whom didn't even wait for the end of the session to drive a wedge to participate in the summer school camp, there will be no shortage of people interested in discovering the history that is now hidden under the ground.
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