Ceramic production in Cacela (Algarve). Raw material, territory, continuity

Cacela-a-Velha, located on a cliff on the Algarve coast, had a castle in the Islamic medieval period with jurisdiction over the territory of the Baixo Guadiana. Clay deposits were an important raw material in the region’s pottery production, which dates back to Roman times, with an impact on the settlement in subsequent times. Archaeological excavations carried out in Cacela since 1989 have brought together a collection of around 25,000 ceramic pieces. Archeology motivated the development of an interdisciplinary project, with the aim of understanding how populations managed their resources and transformed them with the intention of meeting the needs associated with everyday life, how this activity accompanied the development of traditional industries and their impact on the countryside. The last pottery production unit, which operated in the Algarve between the end of the 19th century and the 1970s, is registered, comparing the typologies of medieval and modern domestic ceramics and their interrelation in the territory.