The funding commitment for the ‘Musa – Musealization of the Archaeological Finds from the Arade Riverbed’ was approved last Wednesday by the Algarve’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) under the Algarve2030 Regional Program, with execution planned until the end of 2027.
The National Center for Nautical and Underwater Archaeology (CNANS) plays a central role in the research, providing scientific and technical guidance for activities in the river that flows through the Algarve municipalities of Portimão, Lagoa, and Silves.
In statements to Lusa, José Bettencourt, researcher and director of CNANS, stated that the project aims to “ensure that the discoveries are correctly interpreted, preserved, valued, and presented to the public.”
Since the 1970s, around 3,000 objects of various types have been retrieved from the Arade riverbed, ranging from the prehistoric Iron Age to the 20th century.
The collection includes ceramic containers used for transporting goods in antiquity, everyday artifacts aboard ships, navigation instruments, and wooden shipwreck parts, highlighting the river’s significance as a commercial and cultural route through the centuries.
“Musa has two essential components, one for investigating the remains still at the river’s bottom and another for valuing both the finds already discovered and those to be identified and recovered during archaeological work,” the researcher noted.
According to José Bettencourt, the project is of “crucial importance,” as the intersection of the known underwater cultural heritage of the Arade “shows that it is unique in the country because of its extensive diachrony.”
“We have a bit of everything connected to past daily lives and maritime commerce,” he emphasized.
The project is expected to start in the last quarter of the year with geophysical inspection work, followed by the study of retrieved objects, excavations, and prospecting in river areas “identified and with high potential, where more intensive and systematic work will take place,” according to the researcher.
José Bettencourt added that the project will “provide researchers with the means for a more comprehensive archaeological work that was never possible before.”
At the same time, he highlighted, “it holds additional significance by allowing proactive measures ahead of potential port works, ensuring they do not—or minimally do—interfere with the underwater cultural heritage, avoiding past mistakes.”
Besides researching and preserving the Arade River finds, the project also plans to create museum spaces, both physical and virtual, and a visitable underwater reserve, enabling the public to explore part of the submerged archaeological heritage onsite.
The project is promoted by the municipalities of Portimão and Lagoa alongside Cultural Heritage and is funded by community funds, supported by CNANS.
According to CCDR/Algarve, Musa will have a sustainable and collaborative management model, involving diversified funding sources and strategic partnerships with various entities.
