Islamic Fishing Village, Carrapateira
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The Islamic Fishing Village () is an archaeological site close to the town of Carrapateira in the municipality of
Aljezur Aljezur (), officially the Town of Aljezur (), is a town and municipality of the District of Faro and Algarve region, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,884, in an area of 323.50 km2. The municipality comprises 4 parishes. History ...
,
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
Region of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. The site was excavated by a team of researchers from the
New University of Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon (, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital city, earning its name as the " ...
in 2001. This permitted the settlement to be dated to the 12th and 13th centuries, during the
Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). Th ...
at the end of the Muslim occupation of the Algarve. The village is located high above the sea, south-west of Carrapateira. Items found that date back to the 12th century, and the location of the village, indicate that it served as a seasonal fishing village that also carried out some agriculture and animal rearing. Such an agro-maritime economy was still found on the Portuguese Atlantic coast until recently. It is believed that fishing and shellfish harvesting were not only the main food source of the residents of this village, but that salted and dried fish were traded with inland farmers in exchange for cereals and other products. The housing structures measured an average of 3.8 metres by 2.0 metres and were constructed of mud and stone. Remains of burned items and broken ceramics, as well as hooks, weights for fishing nets and marine and terrestrial fauna have been found. Included in the discoveries was a whale bone of around half a metre in length, which could have been used as a bench. The location of this settlement on a promontory exposed to almost year-round strong winds, together with the small size of the houses, suggests that it functioned as a lookout point, perhaps for
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
purposes. Whales were abundant at the time of the Muslim occupation. An initial assumption that it was an observation point for defensive purposes was discounted after the excavations.


References

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Source

*Gomes, Rosa Varela; Teixeira, Vera; Miranda, Maria João, "Povoado Muçulmano na Ponta do Castelo (Aljezur), Notícia Preliminar", in Al-madan nº 10, pp. 200-201, December 2001 Villages in the Algarve Archaeological sites in the Algarve