4 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient fish processing factories were discovered in ancient Roman city of Balsa, Portugal

In the Roman city of Balsa, one of the most important and symbolic archaeological sites in southern Portugal, archaeologists have unearthed a complex in which fish sauces and pastes were produced in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

Tanks and a villa site were unearthed by the Unidad de Geodetección team of the University of Cádiz to produce fish preparations such as garum, known as cetarias, located in the ancient Roman city of Balsa, near Tavira.

This year’s campaign focused on land from the old Quinta das Antas in a peripheral area of that ancient Roman city and concluded last Friday -July 15th.

According to a statement from the Municipality of Tavira, “a geomagnetometer and a tomograph were used by the Unidad de Geodetección team at the University of Cádiz, with the aim of crossing the readings collected from the subsoil by these devices with the data obtained by georadar, in previous years,”.

In addition to the explanation: the data indicate that these factories, or part of them in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD and were controlled by a large and wealthy house (villa) located on a platform a little over 100 meters high.

These factories were found during the last round of digs carried out this year in Quinta das Antas. Photo: Municipality of Tavira

Archaeologists believe that when the villa was abandoned in the 4th century, at least some of the factories continued to operate until the 4th or maybe 5th century, based on pottery discovered under the fall of a roof that filled one of the excavation tanks.

Digs also centred on the remains of the house, on top of which a “structured grave with large rocks” was set up, centuries after the house was abandoned – by then, its remains had become buried and were no longer visible.

Say the researchers, the grave shows “some typical characteristics from the first Christian graves known to exist in the region starting in the 5th century AD.”

The archaeological project entitled ‘Balsa, Searching the Origins of Algarve’ is financed by CRESC 2020 and is coordinated by the University of the Algarve and backed by the Tavira Living Science Centre, Tavira Council, and Regional Culture Board.

What is the Garum?

Garum is a fermented fish sauce that was used as a condiment in the cuisines of Phoenicia, ancient Greece, Rome, Carthage, and later Byzantium.

Municipality of Tavira

Related Articles

Queen of Seas Who Challenged Rome: ‘Queen Teuta’

31 October 2023

31 October 2023

Illyrian Queen Teuta is one of the most extraordinary figures of Illyrian antiquity and of Albanian heritage. She was also...

The longest inscription in Saudi Arabia turned out to belong to the last king of Babylon

25 July 2021

25 July 2021

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has announced the discovery of a 2,550-year-old inscription etched on basalt stone...

Archaeologists may have Found a Viking Age Marketplace in Norway

21 February 2024

21 February 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Stavanger have identified the possible remains of a marketplace from the Viking Age on a...

Ancient Hittite Bronze Helmet Unearthed: A Rare Glimpse into the Warrior Culture of a Forgotten Empire

5 June 2025

5 June 2025

3,300-Year-Old War Helmet Reveals the Power, Beliefs, and Craftsmanship of the Hittite Civilization A rare 3,300-year-old bronze helmet discovered in...

1700-year-old weaving workshop discovered in southeast Turkey

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

Excavations carried out in the ancient city of Perre in the southeastern province of Adıyaman have unearthed a 1,700-year-old weaving...

Extremely well-preserved 2000-year-old child’s leather Shoe Discovered During Archaeological Mine Excavations

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

An “extremely well-preserved” Iron Age child’s shoe was discovered in Austria during excavations at Dürrnberg, near the historic town of...

A woman in the Czech Republic found a medieval jackpot during a walk

29 May 2024

29 May 2024

A woman walking in the town of Kutná Hora in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic found a...

A Batavian Cavalry Mask was found on the Battlefield of Roman Comrades

22 July 2022

22 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered that a rusty corroded plate they found 4 years ago at an old battlefield in the city...

Poland’s largest megalithic cemetery discovered

3 March 2021

3 March 2021

Archaeologists excavated in Poland discovered a large megalithic complex, including dozens of tombs dating back 5,500 years. The site was...

A Mysterious Human Face Carved on Stone Dated to Bronze Age Discovered in Kazakhstan

21 July 2024

21 July 2024

Kazakhstan’s rich archaeological landscape continues to reveal fascinating details about ancient civilizations. Recent research in the Akmola, and Pavlodar revealed...

Iron Age Ingenuity: Unique Dacian Stonemasons’ Tools Discovered in Romania

10 May 2025

10 May 2025

An extraordinary discovery in a Romanian forest near the hill of Măgura Călanului has unveiled a unique set of 15...

Hebrew University Archaeologists have Unveiled 7,000-year-old Seal İmpressions

10 June 2021

10 June 2021

Israeli archaeologists unveiled a 7,000-year-old clay seal impression used for commerce and protection of property, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...

Roman Wooden Cellar Found in Frankfurt, Germany

28 February 2024

28 February 2024

Archaeologists from the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum have recently uncovered a remarkably preserved wooden cellar in the Roman city of Nida...

Archaeologists discovered a dragon made of mussel shells in in Inner Mongolia

26 August 2023

26 August 2023

Archaeologists discovered a dragon made of mussel shells earlier this week in Chifeng, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which...

Egypt opens King Djoser’s 4,500-year-old tomb after a 15-year restoration

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Egypt on Tuesday showcased an ancient tomb structure belonging to the cemetery complex of King Djoser, a pharaoh who lived more than 4,500...