Silos of time: Uncovering Portimão's buried history

Algarve is a favourite region among tourists. The towering cliffs in shades of brown and orange, the blue Atlantic Ocean, and the expansive, sandy beaches attract eager travellers. A team of archaeologists from ERA Arqueologia made an extraordinary find in this region. It was uncovered beneath one of the streets near the main church of Portimão, Igreja Matriz. They discovered three underground clay silos, which functioned like modern refrigerators for food storage.

Inside the underground silos, one of which has a cracked cover, remnants of oysters and shellfish were found, suggesting they were used for storing food items.

According to experts, the clay silos may have been used by the residents of Portimão from the 16th to the 18th century. Archaeologists now plan to conduct detailed research to precisely determine the age of the silos and understand their functional evolution over the centuries. They do not rule out the possibility that these "clay containers" could have served various purposes in different historical periods, and the site of their discovery still holds many mysteries.

However, the analysis of the found artifacts is complicated due to the numerous earthquakes that have affected this area, particularly the catastrophic disaster of 1755, which significantly damaged the region and everything on it.

The research coordinator, Vera Teixeira de Freitas, notes that indications are suggesting this area may have been inhabited as early as Roman times. The Romans arrived on the Iberian Peninsula in 218 B.C., providing opportunities for further significant archaeological discoveries.