The impact of dams on the rock art of Portugal was, in the last fifty years, devastating. Six major areas were affected.
by Mila Simões de Abreu
DAMS AND ROCK ART IN PORTUGAL: A MATCH MADE IN HELL
The impact of dams on the rock art of Portugal was, in the last fifty years, devastating. Six major areas were affected:
- Tejo, (river Tejo/Tagus)
- Ocreza, (river Ocreza/Pracana)
- Mazouco, (river Douro /Duero)
- Vale da Casa, (river Douro)
- Côa (river Coa)
- Guadiana (Alqueva area both Portuguese and Spanish sides)
Tagus valley (sumerged) rock art |
Three of these areas are almost completely under water and probably lost forever:
- Tejo, (river Tejo/Tagus)
- Vale da Casa, (river Douro)
- Guadiana (Alqueva)
Ocreza/Pracana dam (1951)
Vale da Casa/Pocinho (1982)
In the eighties, a few months before to the conclusion of the Pocinho dam on the river Douro in Portugal, several dozen engraved rocks were found on its bedrock. Photographs and tracings were made of the figures, which were attributed mainly to the Iron Age. The area ” Vale da Casa ” is now completely under water. Only brief references were published about it. These figures probably span thousands of years, including animals from the Palaeolithic and early forms of writing from the Iron Age.
Mazouco/Pocinho Dam (1982)
The waters of the reservoir reach north to the international Douro. According to locals, in Mazouco, the so-called Palaeolithic horse was not the only engraving. It is not clear how many figures were lost in this area.
Côa a Valley/Foz Côa Dam
The idea that something like the Côa case would ever happen again was torn apart in 2001, a few months before the conclusion of the Alqueva dam. Following finds in Cheles on the Spanish side of the Guadiana, engravings were found on the Portuguese bank. There was no will to stop or even delay the project to give time to at least collect more information. The Spanish site was surveyed and more than 500 decorated surfaces discovered. The exact number of rocks in the Portuguese area is still uncertain. A international petition was signed by more than 2500 person from more than 50 countries and 150 universities and research institutes.
Tragically, in a democratic Portugal, less was made to document the engravings of the Guadiana than 30 years before in the Tejo. A project of building another dam on the Sabor, a tributary of the Douro, where several sites of rock art were discover in 1993 and 2001 leaves us extremely worried.
CONCLUSIONS
Rock art studies and the knowledge of prehistoric cultures have suffered one of the heaviest tolls in Portugal. When we talk about the costly impact of dams, the price has been the loss of thousands of priceless prehistoric engravings. This become truly scandalous when it is associated with the lack of responsibility of at least keeping records for the future. We have no doubt that future generations will ask how this was possible. That why it is fundamental to discuss solutions.
REFERENCES
- Arcà, A.,R. Bednarik, A.Fossati, L.Jaffe & M. S. Abreu (2001) Damned Dams Again: the plight of Portuguese Rock Art, Rock art Research, 18(1): I-Viii.
- TRACCE 13 (2002)
- http://www-ext.lnec.pt/lGb/about.phtml (2002)
- http://www.europreart.net (2002)
- http://www.utad.geira.pt/arqueologia/pagina_geral/ (2002)
- EuroPreArt (http://www.europreart.net) for the Tagus, Guadiana, Ocreza, Mazouco and Coa engravings
MILA SIMÕES DE ABREU
Department of Geology, Archaeology
Unit University of Trás-os Montes e Alto Douro
Apartado nº1013, 5000-911
Leave a Reply