Ibero-Punic habitational structures.

A stylized representation of a boat on the inner surface of a pottery fragment. The figure represents a Hippos, a boat used for fishing and short to medium distance trade.

Amphora stand with maker’s mark in the upper part, composed by two seals each representing a horse or similar animal. The surface is covered by a grayish glaze. Imported item.

On the 2th century B.C. new settlers arrived at Olisipo coming from the powerful city of Rome. The military conquest phase is rapidly replaced by commercial, social and cultural contacts.

NARC is located west of the city, in a place where people probably used to cross the small affluent. Between the last three decades of the 1st century B.C. and the mid 1st century A.D., which is to say for about one century, the area was used as a necropolis, the oldest roman cemetery known in Lisbon.

Several burial artifacts were found in eight graves along with an incineration grave and four areas used for incineration. The anthropological study revealed the presence of three infants, who had succumbed at birth, two children, a girl about 15 years old, a young man in is twenties and two adults, a man and a woman both of advanced age.

Ring with a bronze rim, where a small bronze or copper bead appears to be preserved. The table, in iron metal, is flat and oval and has part of the stone in amber or carnelian still preserved. This ring was retrieved from the finger of one of the burials, a girl about 15 years old.

Polychrome mosaic that paves the quadrangular atrium that gave access to the frigidaria (cold water pools) of the Bathhouse.

Hypothetical reconstitution of the industrial complex, bathhouse and road.

Head of a small bronze statuette, cut at the height of the neck and chin, representing a young man, beardless face framed by large tufts of hair. The contours of the face and hair volume suggest it was manufactured using the lost wax casting process but not much effort was put into the finishing work.

Amphora handle with maker’s mark [C.O.I. (?)] probably corresponding to the three names of the manufacturer (tria nomina). Produced in Spain (Hispania Baetica) these amphorae were used to transport olive oil.

An Ataifor, a typical wide bowl used to serve food (not for cooking). Made from pink clay and covered in a oxide-based glaze, both in the inside and outside. It is decorated with a red and purple lily or lotus flower coming out of a bulb. This symbolic element was meant to keep the freshness of the food. Most likely made in Olisipo.

Globular double-handled pot made from pink clay. Dark spots resulting from direct contact with fire. Ornamented in the neck and body with sets of three strokes interspersed with bolbular motifs (painted in white) and fluting.

Incomplete oil lamp made of ordinary clay produced in the eleventh or twelfth century. The top of the oil reservoir bottleneck is missing. The handle disappeared. The long and duck’s beak shaped nozzle is complete and shows black smudges, caused by the lighting of the wick. It may be of local production.

Following the Christian conquest of Lisbon, in 1147, the city experienced a few decades of political and military instability, barely improving or developing. With the stabilization of the borders of the Kingdom of Portugal, the city resumes its growth, particularly in the western suburbs, which is attested by the construction of new lines of defensive walls by King D. Dinis (late thirteenth century) and King D. Fernando (late fourteenth century).

Between the second half of the twelfth century and fourteenth century there was a decrease in the rate occupation of the area in a first period, and this happened specifically in the area of NARC, after which there was an intensification of the urban pressure, being possible to identify walls, dumps and combustion structures from this period. The houses and facilities from the Islamic period were probably still used.

Pitcher, painted in beige, green and Brown colors, showing flower, geometric and animal decoration. Used to serve wine it was imported from Saintogne region, in the Atlantic coast of France. Between 1250 and 1350 this artifacts were abundantly exported to England, Sweden, Norway, The Nederland and Portugal, where plenty of specimens were found.

The most significant archaeological context is a cesspit of ceramic materials, dating from the mid-13th century to the mid-14th century, eventually associated with a pottery factory. Here, in addition to other remains, would be deposited the defective or damaged objects. The ensemble is mostly composed up of common domestic ceramic utensils and, to a lesser extent, glazed ceramics. In this pit was found the Pitcher produced in France, in the region of Saintogne.

Bird drawing flanked by two arm shields decorating the pitcher produced in the Saintonge region.

Drinking glass decorated in yellow and white glaze. The theme of decoration, an arm shield flanked by vegetal motifs, and the production technique used leads to a classification as Aldrenadinos glass, a type of glass produced in Venice between the end of the thirteenth century and the first half of the fourteenth century.

In the 16th century King D. Manuel I of Portugal promoted the construction of a new political and administrative center located in the present-day Praça do Comércio, by the river, as well as the consolidation of the harbor for commercial purposes. The progressive urbanization of the western hills also contributed to the relocation of the city’s downtown.

At NARC the vestiges of sidewalks and roads allowed the archeologists to identify the location of several pre-earthquake streets and alleys. The remains found were mainly composed by buildings foundations, pavements, wells, sewers and plumbing.

The most usual materials of this period found in NARC are ceramics made of red and homogeneous clay, ceramics glazed and burnished, Portuguese faience (as well as imported), and oriental porcelains.

Dating from this period was also found a relevant numismatic set, which includes “Ceitis”, “Reis” and a “Tostão”, chronologically dated between the 15th and the 18th centuries.

On the morning of Saturday, the 1st of November 1755, Lisbon was struck by an earthquake that lasted for about six minutes and was recently estimated to had a magnitude between 8,5 and 9 on the Richter Magnitude Scale. Lisbon´s downtown was one of the most affected areas. The quake triggered a tsunami and afterwards flames erupted causing a fire that lasted for several days. Lisbon was devastated.

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (the Marquis of Pombal) which was at the time the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and War assumed the responsibility of Lisbon’s reconstruction; the urban structure was then based on an axis connecting two large squares: “Rossio” and “Terreiro do Paço” (the present-day Praça do Comércio). Stands out the innovative character of this reconstruction, namely the architectural standardization, the use of prefabricated elements, the imposition of the measure as a defining element of urbanism, the systematic use of wooden pillars on the foundations, the structure in “bird cage “, the roofs with” Firewall “, the sewer network and the collection and conduction of water.

Curious element of the collective imaginary, the small ceramic images of Santo António, common in the archaeological record of the city, decapitated and without Jesus and scriptures. The statues were dropped in wells as a tradition, probably related to the popular religiosity of Lisbon.

The Great Lisbon Earthquake is clearly registered in the archeological layers of NARC: house ruins, debris and carbonized vestiges of the great fire.

Regarding the “Pombalino” context, at NARC were preserved pavements in limestone slobs, sometimes grooved and leaning towards the outside which shows the use of the ground floors as stables. In the inner corridor there was a cobbled pavement of basaltic pebbles. Next to the buildings facades, in the interior, several wells were found. Four meters below the present-day ground level lay the building foundations in wooden grid and green pine poles, submerged in the water level of Tagus River.

Dated from the 18th to the 19th centuries two industrial and commercial structures were found here. The first would most likely be a bakery which oven was excavated. The second was presumably a blacksmith workshop once there is a quadrangular forge heavily encrusted with construction materials, shards of melting pots, scobs, charcoal and ashes.