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| Map of Braunio |
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Pedestal of the statue dedicated
to Emperor Augusto |
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Poster of the International
Archeological
Excavations, in 1978 |
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History of the Investigations
Bracara Augusta was discovered in the XVI century, accompanied by a general curiosity about the past in the whole of Europe. Publicly acclaimed by clergymen, scholars and antiquarians, this interest manifested itself in the organisation of collections of objects, the editing of historical works, and finally in the XIX century, the birth of Archeology.
The first archeological collection is attributable to Archbishop D. Diogo de Sousa who assembled milliaries that came from the Roman roads leaving the city, in the Campo de Santana, now the Avenida Central. In the following centuries, the continuing interest of collectors allowed for the preservation of inscriptions and other Roman artefacts discovered throughout the city.
These valuable remains, as well as the ruins of Roman Braga which are still visible, enabled the Archbishop D. Rodrigo da Cunha and Jerónimo Contador de Argote to develop the first historical synthesis of the city, adopting the antiquarian, enlightened vision of the XVII and XVIII centuries.
The first private museum of Archeology was set up in the city in the XIX century. It was organised by Albano Belino and was based in a shop in the Archbishop's palace which housed a significant collection of artefacts from Bracara Augusta.
In the middle of the XX Century, the phase of collecting antiquarian objects was followed by a period of observations and archeological undertakings in the ancient Roman city, presently under threat by modern urban expansion in the south and south east of the city.
The first excavations in the urban areas of Braga took place in the 1960's and 1970's. The Casa do Poço in Maximinos and the cloister of the Santiago Seminary were particularly prominent.
The pressure of urban development resulting in the widespread destruction of archeological areas of Roman Braga, led to a strong public outcry which in turn resulted in the creation of the Archeological Site of Braga, under the guardianship of the recently founded University of Minho, in 1976.
A permanent archeological team was then formed and was involved in the systematic and scientific registering of all the ruins and remains that came to light, allowing for the discovery of subterranean Bracara Augusta.
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