On Tuesday 1st April, the Algarve Archaeological Association (AAA) will be presenting two lectures, in English, by Archaeologists Miguel Serra and Samuel Melro.
The first lecture will be at 2.30pm at the Museu do Traje in São Bras de Alportel, the second lecture will be at 6pm at the Convento de São José in Lagoa.
In this presentation Miguel Serra and Samuel Melro will be telling us about the collection of Bronze Age and Iron Age stelae (stone identity markers) from the Rainha Dona Leonor Museum in Beja. The ongoing review of the museological program at the museum has provided the opportunity for this presentation. The stelae, which cover a time span between the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC and the 5th century BC, served as authentic identity markers for these communities, being mainly linked to funerary spaces, where they would mark specific graves. The Bronze Age stelae display warrior paraphernalia such as swords, halberds, axes and an intriguing object know as a Anchoriform; while those from the Iron Age record the Southwest Script, the oldest writing on the Iberian Peninsula, based on Phoenician characters. The presentation will include a description of the collections, their interconnection with the history of archaeology in the region, the socio-cultural contexts to which they belong and the main archaeological sites to which they are associated.
Miguel Serra is an archaeologist of the Municipality of Serpa, involved in the protection, management and dissemination of the archaeological heritage; he is also affiliated with CEAACP – Universidade de Coimbra (Centro de Estudos em Arqueologia, Artes e Ciências do Património). His main areas of research focus on the Bronze Age, Public and Community Archaeology, Heritage Education and Museology. He has carried out research about the Bronze Age, particularly in the Baixo Alentejo region, with the Outeiro do Circo (Bronze Age fortified settlement) Archaeological Project.
Samuel Melro is an archaeologist of the regional administration of Alentejo (CCDR Alentejo) based at Castro Verde and is involved in the protection and management of the archaeological heritage. He is also affiliated with UNIARQ, Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa. His area of interest is the Iron Age, and he has carried out research into the archaeological contexts of the Southwest Script, particularly in the Almodôvar region, where he also part of the archaeological site team at the Mesas do Castelinho archaeological site. In 2021 Samuel Melro gave the AAA a guided visit of the fabulous Mesas do Castelinho site at Santa-Clara-a-Nova and a visit to the Southwest Script Museum in Almodôvar (MESA).
Non-members are welcome to attend AAA lectures for a 5-euro admission fee, with all money raised by the AAA being used for archaeological grants and speakers.
For more information contact info.algarvearqueo@gmail.com, visit arquealgarve.weebly.com or Facebook 'Algarve Archaeological Association'.
Please check the website or Facebook page for any last-minute changes.
