User:Django0723/Roman Necropolis of Fonte Velha

Necrópole romana de Fonte Velha
General information
Location	Bensafrim

The Roman Necropolis of Fonte Velha is an archaeological site near the town of Bensafrim, in the municipality of Lagos, in Portugal.

Description

The archaeological site consists of a group of graves, located on an elevation between the areas of Fonte Velha, Hortinha, Cercas do Álamo and Sobões da Mina, located next to the village of Bensafrim. The collection found at the site consists of five stelae, pieces of glass and metal, and adornments such as glass beads, a bracelet and rings. The graves at Fonte Velha have several similarities to those found near Monte Molião, near the city of Lagos, such as the presence of a coin, a plate and an ointment vase next to a corpse. The ointment consisted of a small vase that contained the perfumed oil used in the funeral ritual, the dish was used to pour the oil over the corpse, while the coin alluded to the belief that the dead person should pay for their passage on the boat of the dead. However, in Molião the ointment vases were mostly made of ceramic, while in the case of Fonte Velha they were mainly made of glass, and the dishes had different shapes, being largely replaced by footed bowls. Some of the clay pieces were of the type known as Arezzo ceramics,. which was also found in graves on Monte Molião.

History

Two overlapping layers of use were found, relating to the periods of the Iron Age and Roman times. During the 19th century, Estácio da Veiga conducted research in a necropolis about a kilometer from Bensafrim, excavating seventeen graves. He calculated that the necropolis belonged to the first Iron Age, having found various pieces, including fragments of clay pottery, considered of great importance.

Later, the archaeologist António dos Santos Rocha and his group were in Bensafrim in the late 19th century, conducting their research with the support of the prior António José Nunes da Glória, who stood out for his archaeological work in the Algarve and had previously collaborated with Estácio da Veiga. The excavations began in an area near Bensafrim, next to a well, where some graves had previously been discovered but had already been destroyed. The work then focused on a hill a few hundred meters away, where various traces of walls and two ditches were discovered, along with a circular stone with two holes of different sizes, the larger one in the center. Santos Rocha suggested that the ruins could have belonged to a wine or olive oil press, with the perforated stone possibly used as part of a press or mill. The building would not be from the Roman period, as the construction materials of the ditches were different from those normally used in Roman structures in the Algarve, and their shape did not match the containers used by the Romans, fragments of which had been found in Milreu. In fact, he calculated that due to the poor quality and resistance of the structures, they were likely from the Islamic period. This conclusion is reinforced by the presence, on-site, of various fragments of an enameled vase inside, which were probably also from the Islamic period. The Muslim presence in Bensafrim was already recognized, expressed by the locality's name, the presence of silos excavated in the streets traditionally known as mouros barns, and the discovery of various ceramic fragments.

Santos Rocha also investigated a second necropolis, located next to the one already explored by Estácio da Veiga, on land that bordered the previous exploration on the North, South, West, and Southeast sides. He found fourteen graves, thirteen of which were similar to those already found by Estácio da Veiga from the prehistoric period, while one was of a different type. Both the different grave and two of the others were still within the zone explored by Estácio da Veiga. He also discovered fragments of sixteen funerary urns (ollae cinerariae), and parts of others, in spots of charcoal and ashes, where there were also remains of other votive materials. As with the graves excavated by Estácio da Veiga, these black spots were arranged in small mounds, with Santos Rocha finding traces of fourteen spots, almost all isolated and of varying thickness. The Roman tradition indicated two main ways of cremation: for wealthier citizens, a funeral pyre next to the grave, while the rest of the population used a public structure called an ustrino (ustrinum), which was nearby. Estácio da Veiga found remains of walls forming a square structure, which could have been the walls around the ustrino. However, if there were a ustrino in the necropolis of Fonte Velha, this would contradict the mounds of ashes and charcoal found next to the graves. Santos Rocha proposed the theory that these remains came from the ustrino along with the urn containing the ashes of the corpse.

In 2011, prospecting work was carried out on the site as part of the National Plan for Archaeological Work, and an elevation near Bensafrim was identified, likely to be close to the location investigated by Estácio da Veiga.