Last December 12th, Casa Árabe received the last organised conference for the Cultural Asociation “We are all Archeology”, in the Conference Cycle framework “News about Archeology in al-Ándalus. A sight from Qurtuba”. Dr. Susana Gómez Martínez, from the University of Algarve (Portugal) and director of “Archeological Field of Mértola” offered an interesting conference “From Martulah to Mertola. History, archeology and heritage in a living deposit/area”.
The conference of the profesor offered an interesting point of view about the cultural and patrimonial management of an area, totally empoverished during the 60-70 (XX century) from the economical point of view about how was the Mértola’s village, in the Alentejo Portugués. This village of about 3000 inhabitants, located in the last navigable stretch of Guadiana River, is considered today a model of reference due to the works they have done about integral archeology, in a wide sense of the concept, the “Archeological field of Mértola”. Its geographical situation in the Guadiana River has made the area populated from the Iron Age to the present.
The commitment to archeology and heritage made in Mértola is worthy of praise, and has been used as economic engine in the municipality, feeding back at same time thescientific production, which has resulted to the opening of 12 different museums in the municipality, or the same citizens are participants as guides for the visitor, and even generating a quality employment for young people.
