Archaeological remains from the 19th century, discovered during construction work in Figueira da Foz, will be filmed this Wednesday for future reference, the municipality announced today.
“As part of the ongoing construction work, the underground gallery found on Rua São João do Vale, a clean water supply pipeline, will be filmed tomorrow, May 29, at 10:00 a.m., for future reference,” the municipality said in a statement released today.
The conduit had already been found in 1988 on Rua da Clemência and was the subject of archaeological work carried out by Isabel Pereira, then curator of the Santos Rocha Municipal Museum.
In 1994, during the archaeological monitoring of the installation of the public natural gas network, access was gained to its interior through an existing manhole on Rua de São João do Vale. From this point, they traveled 45 meters north (reaching the limit) and 100 meters southwest. On Rua das Mercês, the outer face of the vault appeared.
The works currently underway at the intersection of Rua da Restauração and Rua dos Combatentes have uncovered a gallery that runs down Rua dos Combatentes and had already been referenced in the 1988 works.
"The gallery is approximately two meters high and one meter wide. The walls and vaulted ceiling are made of stone. The clean water pipe runs along the left wall in a downward direction and is supported by pillars that raise it. This pipe is made of stone with a brick roof and has at least two vents," reports the Figueira municipality.
According to the same source, “it is believed that the spring is in Mata de Santo António, where there is a fountain, and it is also plausible that the supply came from the cistern well on Rua do Hospital, formerly Rua da Cerca, at the intersection with Rua de São João do Vale.”
Currently, the Vale gallery connects to an aqueduct that runs down Combatentes Street, built by the municipality in 1801 to sanitize Rua and Praça Nova, which cut through the Vale gallery, nullifying its primary function of supplying water and integrating it into the sanitation system of which it is still a part today.
“The end of the Vale gallery remains unknown, which, according to Pereira (2005), should lead to a fountain, possibly for supplying ships,” says the municipality.
The work is being monitored by the archaeologist hired by the municipality, Ricardo Nóbrega.
The findings, although they do not jeopardize the continuity of the work, “as they only create some challenges to its schedule, represent a gain in knowledge of local and even national history, given that the existence of structures of this nature is only known in Lisbon and Porto,” says the city council.
“Recording these findings using all available means, including cartographic, topographic, photographic, and video, is extremely important for their study and preservation,” concludes the local authority.
Source: asbeiras