The dark side of the Discoveries

Our first question has to do with your archeological involvement. When did it begin? How many people were involved?

Maria João Neves: We began the excavations at the Anel Verde carpark, at Vale Gafaria, in Lagos, on January 2009. The dig was from the outset designed to safeguard any archeological remains that might have existed in that location. We call this kind of dig “preventative action” – and, in the end, if further building hadn’t been planned there, and we hadn’t taken this action, the site would never have been discovered. The five months of excavations involved 30 professionals, including archeologists, anthropologists and geomorphologists.

How did you come to the conclusion that you were dealing with a cemetery for slaves? How did you find it?

When we arrived on the ground, our objective was to amass the maximum data possible about archeological remains that could exist on the site. We began by effecting archeological depth-soundings, and we identified not only the remains of a vast urban rubbish dump – accumulated between the 15th and 17th centuries – but also the remains of human skeletons.

They were in the heart of the dump, right in the middle, and around the extensive rim (a large natural depression, about six metres deep). The morphological and metric characteristics of the skulls, as well as the associated archeological material, allowed us to identify the skeletons as African slaves. This custom for disposing of slaves is also documented in history. King Dom Manuel 1 passed a regal decree in 1515 ordering pits to be dug for slaves’ bodies – so that they weren’t simply left in the streets, for dogs to drag off and eat. Also, slaves who weren’t able to withstand their conditions of captivity, were also thrown into these pits - alive.

How come Lagos was such a centre for slavery? Why this town?

Lagos played a dominant role in slave trafficking because it was one of the principal ports during the era of the Discoveries. This era was, as you know, very much engineered by Infante Dom Henrique, who lived in Lagos and held all the commercial rights for slavery.

So does your discovery highlight anything new about the socio-cultural conditions slaves had to endure?

Yes, it gives us a unique opportunity to objectively document the treatment before and after death of a group of African slaves between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Working with the skeleton – the most direct link to our ancestors – we can discover details of these individuals: their ages, sex, stature, even their ancestry.

In a lot of the skeletons, bone lesions characteristic of poor health, were discovered. Signs of violence, too, were apparent. Direct, as well as indirect violence – namely evidence that these people had been tied up at the hands and feet.

How has the academic community reacted to this discovery? What next?

The academic community has been very interested in this discovery – and as a result, since 2009, the iDryas team (www.dryas.pt) has conducted further investigations of the site, along with Coimbra University and UNESCOhttp://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/ researchers. Right now, there’s an investigative project financed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

So, this was the darker side of the otherwise lauded era of the Discoveries?

Yes, we can say this is a very negative side of Portugal’s contact with other people and geographical locations.

It has been hailed as a “unique find for the world”. Why?

There were other cemeteries for slaves elsewhere in Portugal, and on American islands – but none in this context (a rubbish dump). That, and the fact that this was one of the first cemeteries. All the others dated from later periods, in the 17th and 19th centuries. Thus, this one has global significance.

There are certain places in Brazil, like the cemetery of “Pretos Novos” (New Blacks), in Rio de Janeiro. Have more cemeteries been identified in Portugal?

Historical sources point to the existence of cemeteries in Lisbon and Elvas - but up until now none of them have been excavated.

Apart from the skeletons, did you find anything else on this site?

Along with the 155 skeletons, we also discovered a lot of archeological remains (ceramics, metal objects, animal bones) which relate to the sort of things the inhabitants of Lagos would have thrown out. These vestiges are very informative vis-à-vis the lifestyles, habits, customs and economic and social activity of the town during the time. For example, we unearthed thousands of ceramic fragments – many of which came from foreign workshops (mainly Spanish and Italian) – which show the kind of commercial and economic vitality this port town enjoyed.

What will happen to all the discoveries now?

The site they came from has been turned into an underground carpark. The Portuguese “Slave Route”, under the UNESCO umbrella and led by Isabel Castro Henriques, will lay some sort of foundation stone there eventually - and we’re still hoping to establish some kind of multi-discipline investigation centre in Lagos.

Can the public see any of the remains?

Some can already be seen at the exhibition on show at the “Slave Market” behind the carpark. New initiatives will be organised in future to show other finds. The archeological value of this site is enormous.

One last question. In human terms, has this discovery changed anything in your life?

Definitely. I think it has had a profound impact on everyone who participated in the project – whether they were investigators working on the site, or engineers overseeing the building of the carpark. The fact that we all bore witness to the skeletons of adults and children – in the positions in which they were found – is what affected us most, and what helped us to study a scourge: slavery, an evil that sadly still today claims the lives of millions of people the world over.