VISITORS HAD a rare opportunity to see the Roman galleries in Lisbon at the end of last month. The monument has only been open once a year since the 80s due to the conditions of access and this year’s free guided tours were offered on September 28, 29 and 30.
Discovered in 1771 during the city’s reconstruction after the earthquake in 1755, the structure is believed to have been used as a criptoportico, a structure to hold up public buildings.
These structures were built by the Romans on unstable ground to create a platform which supported public buildings. In this example, the construction
 Access to the monument is only possible through a rectangular hole in the centre of the road where hundreds of cars and trams normally drive daily |
 |
techniques and materials date the structure to the period of Augustus between the first century BC and the first century AD.
Essentially, what can be seen inside the warm dampness are arched stone tunnel compartments that run under the city, but the experience was definitely worth the wait.
Our guide told the group: “The galleries are only open once a year because there is a lot of water down here,” adding: “This is very time consuming to pump out and we are not sure how it would affect the long term
 Above visitors’ heads, these bricked up well openings, which were once used to collect water believed to have healing properties, can be seen. |
|
conservation of the actual structure and adjoining buildings if it was pumped more often.”
After the 1755 earthquake, a crack appeared in one of the tunnels, which is currently monitored by specialist equipment for any movement. So far the gap has not widened, although on the ground water from an underground river gushes into the tunnel system, which if it wasn’t for the fire brigade’s constant pumping would flood the visitors very quickly.
She also said that many buildings had opened wells to extract the water from these galleries that was believed to have healing properties. These were closed down by the council after a complaint in the late 1800s, when it was discovered that the water in the tunnels was contaminated with sew age!
Do you have a view on this story?
Email: [email protected]
