Continuidad de las CIUITATES romanas del noroeste hispano en época germánica (original) (raw)
Medieval Archaeology has grown significantly in Portugal since 1987. This results mainly from a twofold fact: the increasing number of archaeological excavations in the framework of salvage projects and the development of systematic research projects. Despite the recent appearance of Medieval Archaeology in Portuguese archaeological research, the present synthesis is however preceded by a few others that have been published in the last few years (CATARINO, 1995/97, 2002; FONTES, 2002; GOMES, 2002; FERNANDES, 2005a; FERNANDES, MACIAS, 2011). None of these was— or aimed to be —an exhaustive overview. And, once again, this contribution will not, nor could, approach all the works and publications made in the last 30 years. It is interesting to notice that somehow these syntheses reflect the bifocal tendency that can be observed on the subject. As in Spain, Medieval Archaeology in Portugal emerged and developed within two perspectives: the archaeology of Islamic spaces, where the topics of ceramic studies, urbanism and fortifications were the most relevant; and the archaeology of the Christian communities, that focused on the first built manifestations of Christianity (necropolises and temples) and settlement systems, whose approach is closely connected to the study of rock-cut graves, fortifications, and monasteries and churches dated to the beginnings of Portuguese nationality. In the latter, the research is still marked by studies within the History of Art. In my opinion, 1992 indelibly marks the destiny of Medieval Archaeology in the country. Several scientific and social events took place in that year, a fact that enhanced a greater investment in this domain and encouraged researchers. This year also featured the publication of the first volume of the Portuguese journal Arqueologia Medieval (“Medieval Archaeology”) by Mértola’s Archaeological Field. Again in 1992, the “Fourth Meeting of Peninsular Christian Archaeology” took place in Portugal, with the proceedings being published in 1995. Most of the contributions focused on excavation results from Portuguese sites, including an important collection of data on Paleo-Christian contexts. Indeed, the 1990’s marked an important turning point in Medieval Archaeology in the country. A number of factors can be put forward. One was the increasing number of archaeological fieldworks, mainly salvage excavations in urban contexts but also in the framework of the Alqueva Dam megaproject of salvage archaeology. The creation of the Portuguese Institute for Archaeology in 1997 pushed this tendency even further and allowed the funding of multiannual research projects aiming at the study of diverse topics, such as churches and monasteries, regional settlement systems, necropolises, cities and castles. The topic of Medieval fortifications resulted in many publications and archaeological excavations. Already focused by C. A. Ferreira de Almeida (1979), it was followed by M. J. Barroca, who published several relevant papers on the subject (1990/91, 1996/1997, 2003, 2004, 2008/2009). The increase in number of excavation works in Early Medieval churches and monasteries allowed new insights and interpretations on their architectonic and decorative evolutions, which in turn provided new bases for the enrichment of these monuments’ museological discourse. This growing trend in Medieval Archaeology can also be observed in projects focusing settlement systems of given geographical areas or centred in single archaeological sites. Systematic studies of necropolises and rock-cut graves were also carried out. Despite the fact that many researchers attempted to go further than record field data, the most recent theoretical leap is due to I. Martín Viso, who developed new perspectives on the analysis and interpretation of these Early Medieval funerary structures, that are very abundant in the Portuguese territory (MARTÍN VISO, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2017; TENTE, 2015, 2017a). Regarding material culture studies, a substantial development also took place with the increase of publications and thematic meetings, in particular those focusing pottery collections. Unfortunately, the latter are not always accompanied by complete studies of their assemblages—relevance is often paid to exceptional pieces or partial assemblages, thus preventing systematic, comparative studies. Islamic productions have been retaining most of the researchers’ attention. Another topic with a remarkable growth in the last years has been the archaeology of architectures, mostly of religious buildings and castles. According to official regulations, the participation of bio-anthropologists in the excavation of funerary contexts is mandatory in Portugal since 1999. This legal obligation, which runs in parallel with the increasing number of excavations, decisively boosted bio-anthropological and mortuary studies from archaeological contexts. An important development is also noticeable in the study of subsistence strategies, namely based on palaeobotanic and zooarchaeological data. These, however, are still far from systematic. To a great extent, these studies have been limited by the employed field methodologies that often ignore the scientific value of such type of evidence. More than in the case of macrofaunal remains, the (almost) invisibility of botanic and microfaunal remains lies at the core of their (almost) absence in current research. Studies have been more abundant in the domain of zooarchaeology. Here too a stronger focus on Islamic contexts is noticeable, to some extent related to contrasting taphonomic conditions, that are more favourable to organic preservation in the southern half of the country where the presence of Muslim communities was longer and research has been more intensive. Despite the growing number of publications and scientific meetings in the last 30 years, the countless number of field works was not always accompanied by the respective publications. Some of the main published studies can be found in the Bibliography, where the main references are cited. It is also worth mentioning that syntheses, either general or regional, are still lacking. This fact converges into another limitation, which is the scarcity of theoretical reflection that would allow interpretative models to be put forward and the building of a problematizing historical knowledge. However, the future seems promising and it is hoped that the above limitations may be surpassed in the next decades as, in Portugal, we are presently witnessing an increase of academic training in this specific research area.