Exhibition “Balsa, Roman City” is a “success” and runs until January

The exhibition “Balsa, Cidade Romana”, on view at the Municipal Museum of Tavira/Palácio da Galeria, which should end on the 28th of September, will continue until the 25th of January, such has been its success.

The news was announced in the presentation of the exhibition catalogue. First, Mayor Ana Paula Martins expressed her desire to continue the exhibition for a while longer, as it has been a “success”, due to “the number of people who have visited the exhibition, particularly many people from Tavira”. By mid-July, it had already been visited by more than 10 thousand people.

Shortly afterwards, the director of the National Archeology Museum, where many of the pieces that can be seen there come from, gave the good news: the exhibition will continue until almost the end of January.

The mayor is no stranger to success, especially among the local public, as «Balsa has always been a mythical thing for the people of Tavira».

Celso Candeias, municipal archaeologist and one of the scientific coordinators of the catalog and exhibition, began by thanking the «three owners who authorized our entry into their land» to carry out the most recent investigations. One of these owners was even one of the many people present at the catalog launch, which took place on the street, in the shadow of Palácio da Galeria, on a very hot afternoon.

The archaeologist recalled the main objectives of the most recent research campaigns in the Balsa area, located in Torre d'Aires, on the banks of the Ria Formosa: «to understand the real dimensions of the city», and «if there were still structures there or if it was already everything destroyed».

As for the dimensions of the Roman city of Balsa, based on the «data collected with geophysical surveys (georradar) and surveys», the researchers came to the conclusion «that the city did not have the 47 hectares» that some researchers once suggested, «but around 10 hectares».

The idea that Balsa would be a more important and larger Roman city, in terms of area, than Olissipo (Lisbon) or Ossónoba (Faro). The dimensions defined by geophysical surveys, according to archaeologist Celso Candeias, place it «in line with other provincial cities». Balsa was “important”, but only “the seat of a small Roman municipality”.

Regarding the presence of building structures and equipment in the ancient city, it was found that «there are indeed areas that have already been razed, but others with walls measuring a meter or so high». Therefore, announced the municipal archaeologist, there are structures that, «in the future, we want to museumize» and make visitable.

Celso Candeias recalled that, in recent years, the «project had public dissemination sessions whenever there was a new archaeological campaign».

«Our project is for the community and I am happy to see so many people here. This happening, it happened, but without you it wouldn't be the same,” said the archaeologist.

It was precisely in one of the public sessions that the idea for the exhibition was launched, which began as “a small thing, with a few panels”, but ended up turning into a well-structured and very interesting exhibition.

António Carvalho, director of the National Archeology Museum (MNA), the entity where many of the archaeological objects are stored and which are now, in some cases, shown to the public for the first time, highlighted that the MNA's connection to the Algarve is «foundational».

This large national museum in Lisbon – which «holds 3160 archaeological sites» across the country – was created with the collections of Leite de Vasconcelos and the Algarve Estácio da Veiga, where the archeology of the region was dominant.

«In a democracy, the MNA and the Algarve municipalities knew how to find themselves in partnerships», he highlighted. And so it will continue, predicted António Carvalho.

The Mayor of Tavira took advantage of the launch of the exhibition catalog to thank the University of Algarve for its research work and the financial support of the Regional Coordination and Development Commission.

As for the work, Ana Paula Martins highlighted that the «catalogue will perpetuate the exhibition».

The director of the MNA, in fact, had already praised the quality of the work, saying that «we could have this catalog in any bookstore of a large museum around the world». «The exhibition is ephemeral, but the catalogue, which is a book, stays forever», he reinforced.

Archaeologist João Pedro Bernardes, from the University of Algarve, researcher responsible for the Balsa project, added that the «catalog is, in a way, a tribute to all the researchers who passed through Balsa, starting with Estácio da Veiga, the Maias [ Manuel and Maria Maia], Luís Fraga da Silva, Janette Nolan, José de Encarnação and many others who dedicated themselves to clarifying and understanding what this city was that, two thousand years ago, was built here in the territory of Tavira».

But the catalogue, he added, also seeks to «bring together several generations of researchers», «from young people, still students», to «senior researchers, 80 years old, like Professor Vasco Mantas», who is the author of an «article that will make This catalog is a mandatory reference book", because "it deals with two imperial inscriptions, dedicated to the emperors by the Balsian people, and which were illegible, but which, due to new technologies, were possible to read".

The work is also a “way of thanking all those who wanted to collaborate with the investigations, such as Dr. Vera Barafusta», one of the owners of the land where Balsa was located. «We hope that this goodwill can continue in the future», wished João Pedro Bernardes.

And what is the catalog about? It brings together nine articles by different authors, starting «before Balsa», why this town appears, «why here and not elsewhere», addresses the history of research into the almost mythical Roman city up to the present day, reveals ancient monuments and inscriptions unpublished, talks about the Balsian society or the coins minted or discovered there, the ceramics, which “attest to the commercial relations”, sometimes very distant, of the city, analyzes the Roman surgeon's utensils found there or the Roman necropolises. And don’t forget “the almost invisible work of archaeological conservation”.

Then, it includes “a catalog of the pieces themselves”, as they appear in the exhibition. Finally, it presents the museography project, designed by architect Célia Anica.
In other words, the work, which can now be purchased at the Palácio da Galeria/Museu de Tavira store, «transforms this exhibition, which is ephemeral in nature, permanent».

The exhibition culminates the research project “Balsa, Searching the Origins of Algarve”, led by the University of Algarve and the Centro Ciência Viva de Tavira, with financial, logistical and technical support from the Municipality of Tavira, as well as support from the extinct Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve.

This exhibition about the urban center that developed two thousand years ago on the banks of the Ria Formosa, near Luz de Tavira, brings together pieces belonging to the collection of several museums and institutions, such as the National Archeology Museum, Municipal Museum of Tavira, Archaeological Museum do Carmo/Association of Portuguese Archaeologists, Municipal Museum of Faro, Olhão Municipal Museum, Moncarapacho Parish Museum and Culture Unit of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, as well as private collections.

Throughout 10 rooms, different aspects of this ancient city are presented, from the oldest references to its existence to the most recent investigations.

Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação