Large-scale photographs showcase the biggest archaeological discoveries of the last 30 years in the Arade
Portimão’s riverside square Praça Manuel Teixeira Gomes has welcomed a photography exhibition highlighting the underwater archaeological discoveries made in the Arade River, from the end of the 20th century to today.
“The Arade River has long been considered one of the most relevant national areas of nautical and underwater archaeology, having been used for the last two millennia as a place of passage, fixation, civilizational crossing of cultures and commercial relations with the people from the Mediterranean basin, north of Africa and Europe,” organisers say.
“Due to this historical context, valuable cultural heritage has been discovered underwater, a large part of which is displayed and safeguarded at Portimão Museum,” they add.
The exhibition, which opened on July 23 and runs until September 18, is organised by the Grupo de Amigos do Museu de Portimão (Group of Friends of Portimão Museum, or GAMP) alongside Portimão Council, Portimão Parish Council and Portimão Museum and is the sixth edition of a project of outdoor exhibitions held every year.
Large-scale photographs are displayed in an attempt to showcase the biggest archaeological discoveries of the last 30 years in the Arade. Photos were taken by several entities, associations, diving teams and even members of Portimão Museum.
Add organisers, the series of exhibitions entitled ‘Passear Pela História’ (Walking through History) aims to “strengthen the identity of Portimão by valuing the town and the municipality as a cultural and leisure destination, while at the same time providing an informal and laid-back journey through time”.
This month, it was reported that the Sines and Algarve Port Administration (APS) will carry out a €3 million archaeological scan of the riverbed – one of the ‘demands’ made by APA (Portuguese environmental agency) in order to allow the project to expand Portimão Port’s navigation channel to welcome larger cruise ships.
José Apolinário, president of the regional development commission (CCDR-Algarve), said the archaeological works are due to last between one and two years.
