A strategic partnership protocol to investigate, preserve and disseminate the archaeological site of Rîbat da Arrifana, in Aljezur, will be signed this Wednesday, July 10, between the governing area of Culture, the Municipality of Aljezur, the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the Aga Khan Foundation for Culture.
Classified as a National Monument in 2013, the Rîbat da Arrifana is «considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the XNUMXst century», stresses the Ministry of Culture in a press release.
The protocol, which will be signed next Wednesday, at 18 pm, at the Centro Ismaelita in Lisbon, provides for the creation of a technical working group, which will define a multi-annual action plan for the creation and management of an interpretive center for Rîbat of Arrifana.
The strategic partnership between the governmental area of Culture – through the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve -, the Universidade Nova de Lisboa – through the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and the Institute of Archeology and Paleosciences – it's the Aga khan trust for culture, aims to «guarantee the legal protection of the archaeological site, preserve the landscape context in which it is located, preserve the archaeological remains on the site and promote academic research».
The Rîbat da Arrifana is referred to as a convent of Muslim warrior monks and began to be built in the mid 1130s of the Christian era on the initiative of Ibn Qasi, a natural historical character from Silves, leader of the opposition to the Almoravids and temporarily ally of the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques.
Since its discovery, the archaeological site has been investigated by archaeologists Mário and Rosa Varela Gomes.
Taking into account the historical and archaeological value of the Rîbat da Arrifana, the agreement that will be signed “contributes to the unequivocal value of this site and its enjoyment by an increasing number of citizens”.
Comments