Resumen de At the Mercy of the Sea — Vulnerability of Roman Coastal Settlements in the Algarve (Portugal). Boca do Rio as an Emblematic Example of a Key Maritime Industry
Florian Hermann, Lisa Feist, Félix Teichner, Joâo Pedro Bernardes, Klaus Reicherter, Helmut Brückner
The Roman fish-salting industry in theWestern Mediterranean was concentrated in a high-risk geological area as regards extreme wave events. It underwent a significant and sudden decline and reorganisation between the second and third centuries AD. The few explanations that have been hitherto offered for this abrupt transformation range from political and economicdisruptions to vague speculations on natural causes. Accordingly, this chapterfocuses on determining the possibility of an extreme wave event as the cause behind the restructuring of this industry. For this purpose, the results of 3 years of archaeological and geoscientific field research in Boca do Rio (Vilado Bispo, Algarve) are presented and evaluated. Although far-reaching changes in the building stock of this Roman industrial settlement have been dated to between the second and third centuries AD, and a short series ofhigh energy events has been identified, there is no evidence of the direct influence of a single event (a flood, storm surge, tsunami, etc.) as a trigger for the changes in the settlement and the local Roman economy. Rather, medium-term environmental changes seem to have been the driving force behind them. Additionally, a previously unknown late medieval event layer is described in detail.
