Archaeological breakthrough: Ancient silos unearthed in Algarve

The Algarve is a region beloved by tourists. The massive cliffs in shades of brown and orange, the blue Atlantic Ocean, and wide, sandy beaches entice travellers to visit. A team of archaeologists from ERA Arqueologia stumbled upon an extraordinary find in this region, precisely beneath one of the streets near the main church of Portimão, Igreja Matriz. They uncovered three underground clay silos, which served like modern refrigerators for storing food.

Inside the underground silos, one of which retained a cracked lid, remnants of oysters and shellfish were found, suggesting their use for storing food products.

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

However, analysing the artefacts is complicated due to the numerous earthquakes that struck the area, especially the catastrophic event of 1755, which significantly devastated the region and everything within it.

The research coordinator, Vera Teixeira de Freitas, states that indications are suggesting the area might have been inhabited as early as Roman times. The Romans arrived on the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC, opening up prospects for further significant archaeological discoveries.