Contributo para o conhecimento do povoamento rural romano no concelho de Montemor-o-Novo: caso da barragem dos minutos

O concelho de Montemor-o-Novo é rico em vestígios arqueológicos de várias cronologias, pelo que a época romana não é excepção. Durante muito tempo pouco se conhecia deste período cronológico, particularmente a forma do seu povoamento. Durante os anos 60 do século XX, foram identificadas e escavadas algumas estruturas deste período, nomeadamente a Fonte do Prior, o Curral dos Cães e o Cabeço do Ceivo. No entanto, foi durante as obras da Barragem dos Minutos que começamos a ter uma nova perceção de como seria o povoamento romano neste território. Sítios como estes têm vindo, ao longo do tempo, a ser colocados de parte quando se falava sobre a romanização dos campos por se considerar que essa ocupação era exclusiva das luxuosas villae e por se pensar que estes sítios fariam parte das villae. Neste trabalho iremos ver o resultado das intervenções realizados na Barragem dos Minutos, bem como as realizadas no regolfo da Barragem de Alqueva com o objectivo de tentar perceber estas novas realidades do povoamento romano; Abstract: The Montemor-o-Novo municipality is rich in archaeological remains of various chronologies, so the Roman era is no exception. But for a long time little was known of this chronological period and especially the shape of your settlement. During the 60s of the twentieth century, they have been identified and excavated some structures of this period, namely the Fonte do Prior, the Curral dos Cães and the Cabeço Ceivo. But it was during the construction of the dam of Minutos we started to have a new perception of how would the Roman settlement in this territory. Sites like these have been, over time, to be put aside when talking about the romanization of the fields in Roman times as it was considered that this occupation was exclusive of villae luxurious and think that these sites would be part of the villae. In this work we will see the result of the work done at the dam of the Minutos, as well as the work carried out in the surroundings of the Alqueva Dam and try to understand these new realities of the Roman settlement.

Salted-Fish industry in Roman Lusitania: Trade Memories between Oceanus and Mare Nostrum

Initiated by Augustus, Rome’s Atlantic policy seems to have been consolidated in the age of Claudius, with the acknowledgement of the economic potential offered by the Atlantic region. It is in this context that we must understand the development of the salted-fish industry in Lusitania. In the same geographical contexts, and in close relationship with fish-processing factories, are known about 20 pottery centres producing amphorae, located in the regions of Peniche, Sado and Tejo valleys, and the coasts of Alentejo and Algarve. This production extended in time beyond the end of the Western Roman Empire and up to the end of the 5th and 6th centuries, according to the archaeological data of some amphora kilns and fish-processing sites. The identification of Lusitanian amphorae in distant consuming centres and several shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basin confirm the long-distance commerce and the total integration of this “peripheral” region into the trade routes of the Roman Empire.