“The objective is to identify and document all the potential and very rich aquatic and underwater heritage of the coast of Lagos, a city that was once an important point for navigation, as a way of enhancing cultural tourism in this area”, said Hugo Pereira, president of the Lagos Chamber.

The joint project by the Câmara de Lagos and the Institute of Archeology and Paleosciences (IAP) of Universidade Nova de Lisboa started in 2006, but was interrupted in 2008, with work on the ground expected to resume in 2023.

According to the mayor, it is an initiative that is “important for the history of Lagos, with reference to historic shipwrecks and all the underwater assets that portray the maritime past”.

“Great value”

“These are places of great cultural heritage importance and of great scientific and tourism value”, he noted.

Exploration work should be resumed next year to identify the sites of shipwrecks, cannons and other artefacts, so that a database can be created with a special focus on the Age of Discovery.

According to researcher Rosa Varela Gomes, “shipwrecks stimulate the imagination and constitute an important means of our maritime past”, being important for all who visit the Algarve “due to the climate and heritage, including nautical and underwater”.