Some of the objects date back to prehistory
Over 2,200 items dating from the prehistoric period all the way to the present day have been collected from the dredged deposits of the Arade River and Alvor Estuary, in Portimão, as part of a metal detector survey project.
All kinds of metallic objects were found, from every-day items to “ritual objects”, explained archaeologist Vera Freitas, one of the people in charge of the DETDA project – Prospecting with Metal Detectors in the Dredged Deposits of the Arade River and Alvor Estuary.
The pieces that “have already lost their original archaeological context” have been collected since 2000 as part of the project, Freitas told Lusa news agency.
According to the archaeologist, the project’s main goal to continue “prospecting for decontextualised goods” using metal detectors, “which allows for the safeguarding of a heritage that would otherwise be irretrievably lost.”
“In total, 2,257 pieces of various types were collected, with some presumed to come from shipwrecks, anchorage areas, occasional losses, or populations from the riverbanks and the estuary,” Freitas said.
Although their exact origin is unknown, the objects are believed to date all the way back from “prehistory to the present day,” she said.
The survey is carried out voluntarily by members of the IPSIIS Project Association, under the supervision of two intervention directors, responsible for scientifically framing the survey and the collection of the heritage, research, conservation, restoration, and dissemination.
“I think it’s a unique project in the country, especially because the use of metal detectors is regulated and requires legal authorisation,” said Vera Freitas.
According to the association, the activities were carried out following a protocol signed between the Portimão Museum and the IPSIIS Project Association, in collaboration with the former Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage and Algarve Culture.
The objects found by volunteers are then delivered to the Portimão Museum.
Part of the objects found in the dredged sands of the Arade River and Ria de Alvor can be seen in the exhibition “Histórias que o Rio nos traz” (Stories the River Brings Us), on display until November at the Portimão Museum.
“This exhibition aims to give meaning to this set of pieces and present it in a way that visitors could envision the occupation of the banks of the Arade River, from prehistory to the present day,” added Vera Freitas.
Source: LUSA
