Once again, Mértola’s subterranean riches featured in National Geographic Portugal. The article by Gonçalo Pereira Rosa, entitled ‘Medieval Mértola: the rural world a millennium ago‘, presents the findings from the excavation campaign conducted in May 2024 in Mesquita (Espírito Santo/Mértola), as part of the IACAM Project, coordinated by Maria de Fátima Palma from the Mértola Archaeological Field and Bilal Sarr from the University of Granada, with the support of the Mértola City Council.
In Gonçalo Pereira’s words: ‘Mértola holds a golden place in the history of Portuguese archaeology as the site of some of the most significant discoveries of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, this time, the latest findings did not come from within the urban perimeter of the town but from the village of Mesquita. For the fourth consecutive campaign, Mesquita has provided valuable information on how rural settlements from the 9th and 10th centuries adapted to the religious and political realities of the region’.
Read the full article at https://www.nationalgeographic.pt/historia/mertola-medieval-o-mundo-rural-ha-um-milenio-descoberta-alcaria_5239