Back from Lisbon

Hello all!

Let me start by saying that it's a sunny and somewhat hot day around here. Not summer hot, but pleasant autumn high temperature. I might be in for an afternoon on the beach, which will be nice, especially since the weather has been mostly stormy, with heavy rain and some thunder. We actually had a brief twister in the centre of the country! Not normal at all! But returning to the blog, there's some catching up to do and with pictures! And I'll insert links in the text for further data, so if you don't know how to do it, I'll tell you how in the end.

First, the congress. Went well and overall was fine. Not super, but fine. Did get a proposal to write an article on something about women (your topic, Aylin) and someone suggested I should present a class in a course on History of European People. Not bad for a start. The whole thing ended with a small tour around the Roman remains in downtown Lisbon and the old city, and let me tell you: old academics turned out to be just as bad as small brats. They talk endlessly, they run around and it's a hell of a problem to keep them quiet and paying attention. Gods know the guide from the city hall got a headache out of it!

Anyway, we started by visiting some underground remains of the older settlement dating back to the pre-Roman Iberian tribes and Fenicians, followed by those of the older Roman manufacturing area, located by the ancient banks of the Tagus. We also got to see a primitive Christian grave, all of this under an 18th century building. Diggers found the remains while doing some construction works in the basement, so the bank who owns the building decided to convert the lower floor in an underground museum. They eventually came across other things, including daily objects, trading objects and Roman mosaichs from what was probably a private bath.

You can also get a glimpse of some of the wooden stakes on which Lisbon's downtown was rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake.

Afterwards we went to the city's medieval episcopal church, whose cloister has been escavated in the past few years. Archaeologists found a Roman stepped road that probably went from one of hills all the way down to the river. The road was later used as a floor for several houses, as at the close of Antiquity the concentration of population inside the city walls made every available space precious. On the other end of the cloister, the wall of a house from Moorish Lisbon was found and it still had some of its original paiting! It seems that salmon was a popular colour back then :p



On the left side, Roman road and one of its steps; on the right, the walls of the Moorish house.

Next to the church stands the Roman Theater Museum. The remains of the theater were only found in the earthquake's aftermath, since this sort of natural catastrophies are usually an archaeological feast as broken structures reveal their building blocks - often older materials - and what's under their foundations. At the time, someone proposed a full reconstruction of the theater but there was a pressing need to build new houses, so the ruins were covered up again. Still, the author of the idea did leave us very detailed notes and drawings, which allows us to fill in the gaps of what little has been escavated today.



On the left, some surviving pieces from the theater; on the right, outside ruins. The red arrow points at what's left of one of the tunels that went beneath the theater seats.

Finally, we took a look at two Roman ex-votos and one comemorative inscription that were used as construction material in the 18th century. Fortunately, someone back then noticed it and had the wisdom of at least face them outwards, which means you can still read them, though they're stuck in a wall. They refer to promises made to the gods Mercury and Cybele and comemorate a Roman nobleman from Lisbon, respectively.

Well, this post is already long enough. Next month I should get some news on my phd proposal, so I'll write again around that time (and post more pictures). If you want to add links to your texts, you can check how to do it here.

Cheers!