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A collapsed wall in a 15th-century Portuguese church revealed at least 12 skeletons, sparking archaeological investigations into centuries-old burials.
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Archaeologists uncovered remains dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, suggesting the churchyard served as a burial site for multiple generations.
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Experts are analyzing the skeletons to uncover details about their ages, sexes, and health, while exploring the possibility of more hidden graves on site.
When the walls of a 15th century Portuguese church collapsed during poor weather, they revealed more than just dust and debris—they exposed at least 12 skeletons stashed inside the walls.
The ancient Igreja Matriz de Portimao (which translates to Main Church of Portimão), is located at the highest point in the city of Portimão near the famed Praia da Rocha beach. It was likely one of the most impressive buildings in the region when it was constructed, but time took its toll and eventually caused a wall to collapse. When crews arrived on site to assess the damage, they stumbled into an unexpected archaeological situation. “The work to replace the wall ended up uncovering part of the bones, and at the time, an archaeology team was called in to study the findings,” a source within the Portimao City Council told the Lusa News Agency.
Ancient churches often doubled as cemeteries, and questions have now started to brew regarding the possibility of a larger graveyard on site—especially since the walls that held the bones surrounded a courtyard. “It is normal to find bones in construction sites near churches,” the source said, “because these were places that were previously used as cemeteries.”
Initial analyses pointed to the presence of at least 12 bodies, but the archaeological team wasn’t ruling out the possibility of additional findings. A translated statement from the city reported that the remains were from the 16th through 19th centuries, and that teams are ready to find more skeletons as they work to rebuild the wall.
Rita Dias, an archaeologist and project manager for ERA Arqueologia (the archaeology company on site), told Sul Informacao that thanks to “several overlapping chronologies” at the location, it’s likely that the same burial site was used a variety of times and spans multiple centuries.
Crews will need to analyze the skeletons to better understand their sexes, ages, and pathologies. “So far, no remains have come to light that would allow us to date these burials more precisely,” Vera Teixeira de Freitas, archaeologist at the Portimao Museum, told Sul Informacao. “However, it was to be expected that the traces of this type would appear in this area, since it was common to bury people in and around churches.”
Dias believes that burials in churchyards ended around the 1860s, as hygiene concerns caused cemeteries to be moved to city outskirts. City history supports this, as a new cemetery was built by the city in 1863.
Now all that’s left is to wonder what’s in the rest of the walls.
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