Alessia Amato

"The Atlantic coasts of the South of Portugal, conveniently located near the area where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic World meet, were continuously visited and populated by peoples of the Mediterranean – societies of maritime vocation such as the Romans and the Muslims who transformed the Atlantic maritime space.
The expansion of the main Portuguese maritime cities took place side by side with the development of harbour activities, whose consolidation dates to the Roman period. In addition, evidence throughout the Islamic era confirms both the proliferation of maritime commerce and the preference for estuaries for the installation of harbour structures. Today’s Portuguese maritime landscape is, thus, shaped by harbour complexes made up by a set of harbours all integrated in the same geographical context.
The study of ancient maritime installations must also take into account the economic meshing of territories. Underwater archaeology and its relationship with archaeological evidences on land, such as imported ceramic materials for instance, have provided our study with natural connecting links where ancient harbour activities existed."