Abicada

Abicada ( villa romana de Abicada ) is the name of Roman ruins north of the municipality of Alvor in the Portimão district ( Faro district ), Algarve , Portugal. The ruins are on a hill at the mouth of the Rio de Alvor . The building, classified as villa maritima , is characterized by its sophisticated architecture with a hexagonal courtyard. The villa contains well-preserved mosaics and is believed to date from the 4th century AD. The spur itself was settled between the 1st and 5th centuries AD.

Coordinates: 37 ° 9 ′  N , 8 ° 36 ′  W

Abicada​

Portugal

location

Location of the place of discovery (freehand drawing - not true to scale)

The surroundings of the Quinta da Abicada are made up of the river valleys of the Ribeira de Bensafrim , Ribeira do Farelo and Ribeira de Torres as well as the Arade River.

The complex is located on a spur that protrudes to the south between Mexilhoeira Grande and Alvor . The spur is about eight meters above sea level and is surrounded by the rivers Ribeira do Farelo and Ribeira de Senhora do Verde, which flow into the Ria de Alvor immediately to the south .

The remaining parts of the building are partly badly damaged by slope erosion .

Historical context

The high density of Iron Age sites in the area indicates a continuity of settlement of the local population in the areas still used in Roman times. On the basis of the finds, a use of the facility from the 1st to the 5th century AD can be proven. Neither the size nor the structure is known about the early phase of the facility, but this is documented by the existing finds. In Tetrachian times, the complex was expanded to the now visible remains, creating a typical villa maritima with a 50 m long portico and a view of the open sea. After that, the northern canal system was rebuilt and the northern canal system was installed, and area A was redesigned in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

Phase plan according to Teichner

Settlement phases	Dating	Building findings
I.	2nd half of the 1st century - 3rd century	no
IIa	4th century (?) Tetrarchic	Core building A – C
IIb	(?)	Door A1 / 2, drainage E.
III	4th to 5th century	Reallocation of the N-half of unit A

Research history

Tower ruin near the villa

The site was first mentioned in 1917 in the journal O Arqueólogo Português by José Leite de Vasconcellos , who had discovered it a year earlier on the basis of roof tiles, wall remains and mosaics. The notary José Formosinho carried out the first archaeological investigations in 1937/1938. The finds made are in the museum named after him in Lagos .

In 1940 the site was placed under a preservation order. In the following years several articles appeared that dealt with the individual finds and mosaics. From 1984 to 1989 the responsible monument authority ( IPPAR ) carried out the necessary conservation work, as the complex had been affected by erosion, tourists and the landowner.

Investigations by the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main under the direction of Felix Teichner followed from 1999 to 2003 . In 2008 he presented a scientific review of the area and the individual finds.

Geoarchaeological research

Coastline reconstruction

The first probes by the responsible monument authority (IPPAR) took place from 1984 to 1989, the results are unpublished. In 1999, the company Posselt & Zickgraf conducted a prospectus at the site and discovered a wall line surrounding the terrain spur on the immediate edge of the brackish water area. In 2000, employees at the University of Galway, Ireland, made accurate topographical and geomagnetic surveys. The latter, however, did not achieve any usable results due to heavy metallic contamination of the part of the site filled with rubble to the west and east.

From 2006 onwards , geophysical studies financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the geoarchaeological reconstruction of the Young Holocene landscape history in the Algarve were carried out by the Department of Prehistory and the Institute of Geography at the University of Jena . In the Abicada lagoon, pile driving soundings and geoelectrical surveys were carried out.

A quay was identified not far from the villa through geophysical surveys .

The latest research has shown that the estuary has become increasingly silted up since the Bronze Age . During the imperial era, brackish conditions and a sandy barrier against the open sea emerged, which still characterize the landscape around the villa today. Despite the siltation, the remaining fluvial waters are likely to have guaranteed free access between the settlement, the quay and the open sea.

For example, the villa , which is located inland today, was right on the water for her wedding. Due to the siltation, the coastline moved south. As a result, areas that were once under water are now above the water line. The former bay developed into a river delta that had become brackish due to fluvial inputs, which gradually filled the bay. The major changes in the landscape are believed to have had a profound effect on the maritime resources, which must have been the basis of the local economy. In the immediate vicinity there were and are no large agriculturally usable areas.

The attachment

Building plan of Villa Abicada Area A yellow; Area B blue; Area C brown; Area D green; Area E orange (according to Teichner)

The facility covers an area of ​​approx. 2000 m² and is currently 8 m above sea level. It can be divided into five independent areas (A – E). With a building size of 1300 m², areas A – C of the villa take up the largest part with over 30 rooms. This is a pars urbana with an attached portico (area D). The rooms extend from west to east, following the course of the slope.

Aerial view of the villa area

Area A

For the western part with rooms A1-10, use as a private area is addressed. The rooms are grouped around a central room (A 6), which is surrounded by a corridor (A5). In total, this area takes up an area of ​​250 m². As in the other areas, access to the rooms was via the portikus (D3). Two ornamental gardens (A4 and 7) can be identified due to the lack of a floor. The remaining rooms served as living rooms and bedrooms.

Area B

The middle part of the building complex (area B) served as a representative reception area. The portico (D3) and an anteroom (B6) led to a hexagonal interior (B9) with a water basin (B10) that was adapted to the shape of the room. Lead water pipes and the lining with opus caementitium prove the use of B10 as a water basin. Pillars rose at the corners to frame the basin. Rooms B1 and B2 served as transition areas between the two rectangular areas A and C as well as the polygonal floor plan of B. It is uncertain whether they were used as living spaces, especially since neither entrances nor floors have been verified. Rooms B3 - B5 and B7 - 8 are grouped around the hexagonal inner courtyard and have a rectangular base.

Area C

Area C includes rooms C1–11 in the eastern part of the facility. Due to the lack of mosaic floors, this area is regarded as a service wing. This is said to have been the storage rooms, kitchen and quarters of the slaves. A precise functional allocation of the individual rooms is not possible due to the state of preservation.

Area D

The portikus (D3) was directly connected to the living areas and, like this, was oriented towards the confluence of the two rivers and thus the sea. D4 denotes the pars rustica . It consists of several basins for processing seafood. This part of the system was connected to the main building via corridor D2.

Area E

Area E consists of a canal system (drainage) to the north of the main building as well as another four-room area that is connected to the east. The sewer system consisted of lead pipes that lay in a gravel bed. It is not possible to say at this point in time what function the rooms enclosed by the remains of the wall had.

The direct environment

Since there is a lack of agricultural land in the immediate vicinity, the villa drew its wealth from the nearby sea. Formosinho found the remains of the pars rustica 20 m south of the villa . The basins found were used to process seafood caught off the coast. Immediately after exposure, the basins were destroyed by the landowner. A pier located on the site also testifies to the use of maritime resources.

The mosaics

Roman villa of Abicada, drawing of the mosaic floor from room B3: preserved areas black; Reconstructed areas gray; (according to Teichner)

Mosaic floors were found in almost all rooms in areas A and B. Magnificent patterns of tesserae were placed on a layer of opus caementitium . The mosaics are polychrome and show geometric and floral patterns. But vessels are also shown. The tesserae from different types of stone come in gray, red, white and blue.

Finds

The finds excavated in the 1930s are in the Formosinko Museum in Lagos. The ensemble of finds consists mainly of metal artifacts such as lead and bronze objects. They are not atypical for the time of the excavations, as organic materials were mostly not interpreted as finds. Due to the lack of stratification , the finds unfortunately do not give a meaningful overview.

The realities consist of tools from the fishing industry, cosmetic articles, a glass plate with a collar rim (1st century AD) and a few pieces of everyday ceramics and amphorae that date back to the middle imperial period. Coins from later phases of settlement were also found, including two from the Constantinian period, the others from the Theodosian period, according to the mint. The findings also included a fish / garum basin ( cetariae ) framed with opus caementitium . This allows conclusions to be drawn about the marketing of maritime resources and underpins the classification as villa maritima .

literature

• Maria de Jesus Duran Kremer: A villa romana da Abicada. Uma introduçao ao estudo da arquitectura e mosaicos . XELB 8, Actas do 5 ° Encontro de Arqueologia do Algarve I, Silves 2008. pp. 213-222. academia.edu (PDF).
• Maria de Jesus Duran Kremer: Floral and Geometrical Motives of the Pavement Mosaics in East and West. The example of the roman villa of Abicada. , JMR 5 2012. ISSN  1309-047X pp. 59-70, academia.edu (PDF).
• Maria de Jesus Duran Kremer: Les mosaïques géométriques de la villa romaine de abicada: leur rôle dans le contexte des mosaïques romaines de l'algarve , XI. International Colloquium on Ancient Mosaics October 16th - 20th, 2009. ISBN 978-605-5607-81-4 , pp. 353-361, academia.edu (PDF).
• Filomena Limao: The Vase's Representation (Cantharus, Crater) on the Roman Mosaic in Portugal: A Significant Formal and Iconographic Path from Classic Antiquity to Late Antiquity XI. International Colloquium on ancient Mosaics October 16th - 20th, 2009, ISBN 978-605-5607-81-4 , pp. 565-583, run.unl.pt (PDF)
• Felix Teichner : Between land and sea - Entre tierra y mar. Studies on the architecture and economy of rural settlements in the south of the Roman province of Lusitania. Stvdia Lvsitana 3 (MNAR) / Madrid Contribution (DAI) 2008. ISBN 978-84-612-7893-0 Volume 1, pp. 417-474; Volume 2, pp. 134-137 Volume 1 Volume 2 .
• Felix Teichner: Subsídios para a restituiçãovirtual da villa romanade Abicada (Mexilhoeira Grande, Algarve) . Partimónio estudos 10.2007, academia.edu (PDF).
• Thomas G. Schattner (Ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-2313-1 p. 163

Web links

Commons : Abicada  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• University of Jena
• OpenStreetMap
• Monumentos do Algarve Ruínas da "Villa" Romana da Abicada, in Portuguese
• O Arqueólogo Português
• Patrimonio Cultural
• IPPAR
• Felix Teichner: Papers on Hispania (academia.edu)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. P. 419.
2. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. P. 420.
3. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. P. 419.
4. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. Fig. 247.
5. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. P. 420.
6. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. Volume 1. pp. 417-474; Volume 2, pp. 134-137.
7. ↑ Felix Teichner: “entre tierra y mar, between land and sea.” In: “Studia Lusitana.” P. 420.
8. ↑ Felix Teichner: “entre tierra y mar, between land and sea.” In: “Studia Lusitana.” P. 423.
9. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. P. 423.
10. ↑ geographie.uni-jena.de ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Institute for Geography at the University of Jena - Geoarchaeological reconstruction of the Young Holocene landscape history in the Algarve (southern Portugal). Retrieved May 19, 2017. 
11. ↑ geographie.uni-jena.de ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Institute for Geography at the University of Jena - First results from the individual research areas. Retrieved May 19, 2017. 
12. ↑ Felix Teichner: Subsídios para a restituiçãovirtual da villa romanade Abicada (Mexilhoeira Grande, Algarve), Partimónio estudos 10.2007.
13. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. Volume 1. p. 428
14. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. Volume 1. p. 426.
15. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitana. Volume 1. p. 436.
16. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitania. Volume 1. p. 447.
17. ↑ Felix Teichner: entre tierra y mar, between land and sea. In: Studia Lusitania. Volume 1. p. 420
18. ^ Felix Teichner: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to the Maritime Economy. In: Lusitanian Amphorae: Production and Distribution. Pp. 244-245.
19. ↑ Filomena Limao: The Vase's Representation (Cantharus, Crater) on the Roman Mosaic in Portugal: A Significant Formal and Iconographic Path from Classic Antiquity to Late Antiquity . P. 567