<< Our Photo Pages >> Museum Municipal Tavira/ Palace Galeria - Museum in Portugal in Faro
Submitted by Maatje on Thursday, 01 February 2024 Page Views: 125
MuseumsSite Name: Museum Municipal Tavira/ Palace Galeria Alternative Name: Palace GaleriaCountry: Portugal Distrito: Faro Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Tavira
Latitude: 37.126040N Longitude: 7.6514W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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External Links:
In 1866 the true location of the Roman city Balsa was located by archeologist Estácio la Veiga.
The ruins, south of Luz de Tavira on the Torres 'd Aires and Antas farms were linked to the city of Balsa, at that time one of the main cities of the Roman Empire and mentioned by several writers.
As the government could not pay the price of Torre d'Aires, the site is still privat.
La Veiga excavated more than 200 graves and a Roman bath. In 1977 Manuel and Maria Maia discovered more details. In 2007 a book was publiced by Luis Fraga da Silva pubished Cidade Perdida, Lost City.
The exibition in the museum of Tavira shows artifacts that have been found on the spot. All the rest is disappeared in privat ownership.
An impressive copy of a map of the Roman Empire is also shown.
A few artifacts found in the area of prehistoric inhabitants from the bronze and iron age, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and Greek are shown. Unfortunately there are no archeological locations accessible from these times.
From internet:
----Several testimonies describe the existence of very extensive and dense Roman building remains before 1977. The archaeological terrain has been being heavily destroyed since then to the present days (2008) by agricultural works and the building of suburban villas.
Archaeological exploration has been very limited to two necropolises, two bath buildings, three fish factories and a few structures. The larger part has been done in the 19th century, with pre-scientific standards. On the other hand, a total of sixty places with Roman findings are known in the archaeological perimeter of BALSA.
Archaeotopography revealed important and extensive urban structures: a theatre, a pier and internal harbour, a hippodrome, large hippodamic quarters and several others.
The urban centre had an extraordinary size for a municipal town without a capital status: the urban limits spawned no less than 116 acres (47 ha) and the peri-urban area occupied at least 266 acres (108 ha). Its plan reveals a double town, or a massive development juxtaposed in two urban moments.
The civitas territory corresponded to modern Eastern Algarve, bordering the province of Baetica and with an approximate area of 585 square miles (1,520 km2), mostly occupied by hills then rich in forests and minerals.
Significant remains of Roman agrarian centuriations can still be traced in modern surveys, limited to the littoral plains where olive groves, vineyards and dry orchards are historically best adapted. The coast was formed by lagoons and estuaries, whose agro-maritime capacities were extensively exploited in Roman times.
The major fluvial road of river Anas (modern Guadiana) was controlled from BALSA territory along its better navigable part, draining several mining districts south of Myrtilis (Mértola, Portugal). Several better known villae or vici like "Pedras d'el-Rei", "Paul da Asseca", "Cacela", "Manta Rota", "Vale do Boto", "Álamo", "Montinho das Laranjeiras" and many others belonged to the territory of BALSA.
----Archaeological collections of BALSA are scattered by several museums and private collections. The best preserved objects are from funerary spoils (good collections of sigillata, glassware, lucernes and personal objects such a complete surgeon kit), a female bust from the Antonine epoch, 17 civic and funerary epigraphed stones, statuettes, coins, architectonic elements, etc.
In the present day there is practically nothing to be seen of BALSA. Almost all land became fenced private property, cutting most accesses to the public lagoon-shore, and the few known and visible archaeological remains are kept more or less hidden. With the present total lack of protection and real menace of total destruction it is better they remain like that for the time being.
However, notwithstanding the brutal destructions of the last 30 years, BALSA still has a major archaeological potential: the foundations of about 1/5 of the town extension, including maritime suburbs, ought to be still basically preserved, either buried, silted or submerged.
Public museums in Portugal with collections of BALSA
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/portugal/the-algarve/tavira/attractions/ruinas-fenicias-de-tavira/a/poi-sig/1614544/360376
Astonishing archaeological remains found on this site just below the castelo date from the 8th century BC through to the 18th century AD. Digs have unearthed part of a Phoenician wall circa 800 BC, an ox-hide altar from the 4th century BC thought to be Turdetanian (the pre-Roman Iberian civilisation), Moorish foundations from the 12th century AD and a 17th-century Portuguese mansion.
A museum dedicated to the Phoenician and Turdetani periods is planned here once excavations have finished.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
94m S 178° Castelo de Tavira* Castro or Chafurdão
9.5km NE 51° Túmulo Megalítico Santa Rita 2* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
9.7km NE 52° Tumulo de Santa Rita Chambered Tomb
11.4km W 260° Caminho do Cerro da Cabeça* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
16.6km ENE 62° Cachopo Palheiros* Ancient Village or Settlement
17.6km SW 234° Quinta de Marim 1* Ancient Village or Settlement
17.8km SW 234° Centro de Educacão Ambiental de Marim* Museum
21.4km ENE 70° Monumentos da Quinta da Nora e Herdade da Marcela Standing Stones
22.7km W 261° Núcleo Museológico da Villa Romana de Milreu* Ancient Village or Settlement
31.4km N 349° Parque Mineiro Cova dos Mouros* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
31.8km NE 43° La Torre-La Janera* Standing Stones
32.4km NW 323° Cerro das Pedras Altas* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
32.7km NW 324° Aldeia dos Palheiros* Ancient Village or Settlement
33.1km W 273° Al-Ulyá* Museum
33.1km N 352° Cerro do Castelo de Santa Justa* Ancient Village or Settlement
33.4km WSW 251° Tanques romanos de salga de peixe* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
33.5km NNW 327° Anta do Curral da Castelhana* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
33.7km NW 326° Anta da Masmorra* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
34.1km NW 316° Anta do Beringel* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
34.4km NNE 32° Barragem Romana de Álamo* Misc. Earthwork
34.8km NNW 327° Tholos do Cerro do Malhanito* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
35.3km NNE 28° Vila Romana do Montinho das Laranjeiras* Ancient Village or Settlement
36.1km NNW 342° Cista do Cerro do Malhão* Cist
36.7km NW 316° Pedra do Alagar* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
37.3km WNW 290° Salir Museum* Museum
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