Author Archives: sp146347-ovh

The Roman forum of Bobadela

(Originally published on November 8, 2011)

  • Forum pieces
  • Close-up

In September, during another visit to the Roman city of Bobadela (Oliveira do Hospital), I was surprised by the result of the recent excavations in the courtyard of a 16th century house: nothing less than the remains of part of the Roman forum of the city, corresponding to its western end, thus allowing to define the dimensions of this gigantic building as they complement the well-known remains near the church corresponding to its eastern end. Columns and other building elements have been arranged at the site of the find, and their high numbers now make it possible to think of a possible partial reconstruction of the building which would be another milestone in the recovery of the former regional capital which is now a quiet village.

Milestones of Mário Saa at Ervedal

(Originally published on November 8, 2011)

  • «Ns. dos Prazeres»
  • «Lagoa Grande»
  • Altar to the Lares Viales

Last August I visited the «Paes Teles Archive» Foundation in the village of Ervedal (Avis), installed in the house Mário Saa, that displays the collection of Roman materials collected by this researcher. The highlights of the collection are the altar inscription (ara) dedicated to the «Lares Viales» (road deities) found by Saa in a site called «Monte das Esquilas» (Monforte), photo on the right, and two milestones, one dedicated to Emperor Constantine the Great found in «Casal da Pocariça» (Lagoa Grande, Bemposta, Abrantes), on the middle; the other is dedicated to Emperor Tacitus found next to the Chapel of Our Lady of Prazeres (Vale de Açor, Ponte de Sor), in the left picture. This meritorious foundation still preserves its interesting library and even publishes with some regularity a magazine about culture and heritage called “Vialibus” . A unique case in Portugal that is worth visiting. Coordinates: 39.043472, -7.813889

Milestones at Vila Viçosa Archaeological Museum

(Originally published on November 8, 2011)

  • «Herdade de Alcobaça»
  • Milestone to Constans

Pictures of the milestones on display at the excellent Vila Viçosa Archaeological Museum: On the left the milestone dedicated to Emperor Constans found close to town and on the right, the milestone dedicated to Emperor Marcus Aurelius found in «Herdade de Alcobaça» close to the village of Vila Fernando (Elvas). These milestones would belong to Itinerary XII between Lisbon and Merida that passed in Évora.

Milestone in Gosendos

(Originally published on January 14, 2011)

Pictures of an unpublished milestone on the Roman road linking Braga to Tui. It was reused as pillar of a balcony in a rustic house located in the village of Gosendos, parish of Sapardos, municipality of Vila Nova de Cerveira, 34 miles north of Braga. This milestone is about 2 m high and its faces have been thinned out so no trace of letters could be seen now. In the same place there are also two pig sinks made of a granite very similar to the milestone and with a diameter of about 0.5 m that may have been excavated from fragments of other milestones as in the case of the milestone found in the village of Romarigães. The photos were kindly sent by Ricardo Nunes. Coordinates: 41.922896, -8.662120

  • Milestone?

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#braga_tui

Milestones in the chapel of São Bartolomeu das Antas

(Originally published on November 30, 2010)

The construction of the Chapel of S. Bartolomeu das Antas near Rubiães reused 6 milestones found on the region; two of them support the chapel porch, one dedicated to Magnentius signalling 31 miles to Bracara Augusta (Braga) while the other is dedicated to Nerva indicating 36 miles. The remaining milestones are buried in upright position around the chapel: one dedicated to Julian of mile 33, one to Maximinus Thrax and his son Maximus, one to Maximinus Daia with unreadable miles and finally one without inscription. Pictures of the milestones in the Chapel of S. Bartolomeu sent by Ricardo Nunes. Coordinates: 41.899527, -8.642961


Vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#braga_tui

Roman tech – Modern uses

(Originally published on October July 15, 2010)


Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre, Peter Rich Architects, (2008), a) interior view, b) under construction (Photo: James Bellamy).  

The construction of the Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre in South Africa was inspired by ancient Roman construction techniques such as the arched ceiling structure and the use of local materials for a new model of subtlety. The project, designed by John Ochsendorf, a professor of civil engineering and architecture at MIT, and built between 2007 and 2010, aims to demonstrate that it is possible to build modern buildings using inexpensive materials near the construction site (one of the rules). to minimize costs and reduce construction time), thereby significantly reducing energy consumption and pollution associated with construction projects. A time-lapse video about this building could be watched here.

Wine production with Roman vessels

(Originally published on January 5, 2010)

French cellar using Roman-style vessels

TIME magazine has just published an interesting article about the recent use of the Roman amphora model in the production of high quality wines. Once again the validity of Roman technology is recognized for achieving excellence while ensuring the sustainability of the solution both in terms of energy and the materials used. The recent massification of the use of stainless steel vats has created some problems in the quality of the wines obtained namely in the production of Port Wine, forcing the use of micro-oxygenation and others processes to improve the bouquet, body and other characteristics of wines. In contrast, the porosity of the Roman vessels provide a natural micro-oxygenation without energy consumption. Another important advantage is the oval shape of the vessels that allows the formation of a vortex during fermentation which are attenuated by the angles of the traditional vats; the vortex can rotate for weeks facilitating the natural lifting of the sludge.
Read original story here.

Roman road section found in Évora

(Originally published on June 23, 2009)

A section of the Roman road that passed by the Évora aerodrome was discovered due to the works of the future Aeronautical Industry Park. Although the passage of a Roman road in this area was already known, following the crossing of the river Xarrama in the Old Bridge of Xarrama, this discovery clarifies the exact layout of the road. As this section is just outside the city, hopefully this time the road will be properly kept in tow of the important necropolis discovered there. This section would be part of Antonino’s Itinerary XXI, linking Ebora with Pace Julia (now Beja), passing the Serpa, Arucci and Fines stations for which there are no defined locations yet. It is assumed, however, that this road would go in the direction of Portel and Moura, continuing later by Serpa until Beja.

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#evora_serpa

A book about Roman Itineraries in Alentejo

(Originally published on April 6, 2009)

A new book about Roman roads has just been published by researcher André Carneiro. The book entitled «Itinerários Romanos do Alentejo» ( “Roman Itineraries of the Alentejo”) is a rereading fifty years later of the singular work of Mario Saa (1893-1971) entitled «As Grandes Vias da Lusitânia – o Itinerário de Antonino Pio» (“The Great Roads of Lusitania – The Itinerary of Antoninus Pius”) published in six volumes between 1951 and 1967. Despite its imperfections, the work of Mário Saa is still of primordial importance for the study of the Roman roads in Portugal. He has been widely criticized for its fanciful interpretations, errors and inaccuracies. However, the pioneering spirit of the work and the amount of archaeological information contained in it deserve this rereading entirely in the light of current knowledge. André Carneiro thus tries to mark the routes proposed by Saa with the remaining evidence on the ground while integrating the enormous advances of recent years in the knowledge of the Roman road. Although this work is still far from being completed by pointing a direction and a way, André Carneiro’s work will certainly have a strong impact on future work on the study of Roman itineraries in the Alentejo.