A Last Life: The Reuse of Ship Timbers on the Construction of River Waterfronts on Rua D. Luís I (Lisbon)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Lisbon, The Tagus And The Global Navigation", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The archaeological intervention of the Rua Dom Luís I, 1-18 A / Rua da Boavista, 51-59 site,

gave us the opportunity to record new data related to the evolution and use of the west part

of Lisbon riverfront, between the 17th and 20th centuries.

The most relevant finds recorded during this intervention are related to the transformation of

this space throughout the 19th century, materialized in three wooden structures, mostly made

of ship timbers, interpreted as embankment containments and built with the purpose of

conquering this area towards the Tagus River. One of these structures seems to correspond to

the dismantling of a single ship. Possibly before the great public work that was the Boavista

embankment, these realities may be related to what is known as clandestine embankments,

made by the private owners in this area of Lisbon.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Lisbon, The Tagus And The Global Navigation

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow