Balsa (Roman town)
Encyclopedia
Balsa was a Roman
coastal town in Hispania
, province of Lusitania
, Conventus Pacensis (capital Pax Iulia
).
The modern location is in the rural estates of Torre d'Aires, Antas and Arroio, parish of Luz de Tavira
, county of Tavira
, district of Faro
, in Algarve, Southern Portugal
.
.
It was abandoned and replaced by the near oppidum of Cerro do Cavaco (1 km North of Tavira, occupied from the late 4th to late 1st centuries BCE), a better defensible site that was the central place of the balsenses during the Carthaginian and Roman Republican periods.
Cerro do Cavaco, the pre-Roman BALSA, did not survive the epoch of Augustus
, being then replaced by Roman BALSA.
(81-96 CE).
All main aspects of provincial Romanisation are documented locally: A res publica with a ordo decurionica IRCP 75, local prominence of the gens Manlia , magistrates (duunvir belonging to the QUIRINA tribe ), sexvir , public slaves (balsensium dispensator, ), evergetism (spectacle of naumachia and pugilate , collective construction of a circus and other unidentified monuments ), imperial cult IRCP 90 and a large proportion of Greek and North African names. A Roman citizen of Neapolis (Nabeul
, Tunisia
) with a daughter in Pax Iulia (Beja
, Portugal
) countryside, declares himself an incola of BALSA! .
The level of Romanisation in BALSA can also be inferred from the known personal names (39 men and 16 women): 58% have tria nomina or are women with Latin dua nomina. 71% have a Roman nomen and the remaining 27% a single cognomen, these being mostly Greek names. Native name words in all forms (Celtic or Turdetanian) are a small minority (9%).
From the 3rd century comes a rare funerary monument in Greek, considered by some to be Christian , and a hoard of coins of Claudius Gothicus (268-270 CE) discovered in a bath sewer.
Imported terra sigillata and glassware form a continuous series between late Augustan wares (early Hispanic) and late African D, late Gallic and Focean, with the latest pieces dated from the 7th century. The overwhelming volume peak corresponds to South Gallic wares of the 1st century CE but the studied material is much limited topographically.
Fish preserve industries are well documented in the town and neighbourhood, as well as amphorae factories. Six garum
producers are known in BALSA by their industrial brands: AEMHEL, OLYNT, LEVGEN, IVNIORVM, IMETVS F and DASIMVSTELI
Archaeological exploration has been very limited to two necropolises, two bath buildings, three fish factories and a few structures. The larger part has been done in the 19th century, with pre-scientific standards. On the other hand, a total of sixty places with Roman findings are known in the archaeological perimeter of BALSA.
Archaeotopography revealed important and extensive urban structures: a theatre, a pier and internal harbour, a hippodrome, large hippodamic quarters and several others.
The urban centre had an extraordinary size for a municipal town without a capital status: the urban limits spawned no less than 116 acres (46.9 ha) and the peri-urban area occupied at least 266 acres (107.6 ha). Its plan reveals a double town, or a massive development juxtaposed in two urban moments.
The civitas territory corresponded to modern Eastern Algarve, bordering the province of Baetica and with an approximate area of 585 square miles (1,515.1 km²), mostly occupied by hills then rich in forests and minerals.
Significant remains of Roman agrarian centuriations can still be traced in modern surveys, limited to the littoral plains where olive groves, vineyards and dry orchards are historically best adapted. The coast was formed by lagoons and estuaries, whose agro-maritime capacities were extensively exploited in Roman times.
The major fluvial road of river Anas (modern Guadiana
) was controlled from BALSA territory along its better navigable part, draining several mining districts south of Myrtilis (Mértola
, Portugal
).
Several better known villae or vici like "Pedras d'el-Rei", "Paul da Asseca", "Cacela", "Manta Rota", "Vale do Boto", "Álamo", "Montinho das Laranjeiras" and many others belonged to the territory of BALSA.
In the present day there is practically nothing to be seen of BALSA. Almost all land became fenced private property, cutting most accesses to the public lagoon-shore, and the few known and visible archaeological remains are kept more or less hidden. With the present total lack of protection and real menace of total destruction it is better they remain like that for the time being.
However, notwithstanding the brutal destructions of the last 30 years, BALSA still has a major archaeological potential: the foundations of about 1/5 of the town extension, including maritime suburbs, ought to be still basically preserved, either buried, silted or submerged.
Public museums in Portugal
Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon
Museu Municipal de Faro, Faro
Museu Paroquial de Moncarapacho, Moncarapacho
(Olhão
)
Vasco Gil Mantas: 1997, “As civitates: Esboço da geografia política e económica do Algarve romano”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Vasco Gil Mantas: 1997, “Os caminhos da serra e do mar”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Jeannette U. Smit Nolen: 1997, “Balsa, uma cidade romana no litoral algarvio”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Vasco Gil Mantas: 2003, “A cidade de Balsa”, in Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C. M. de Tavira, Lisboa
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2005, Tavira Romana, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2007, Balsa, cidade perdida, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira e Câm. Mun. de Tavira, Tavira (PIC)
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2008, Balsa, cidade perdida, Exposição. Campo Arqueológico de Tavira e C. M. de Tavira, Tavira (PIC)
Augusto Teixeira de Aragão: 1868, Relatório sobre o Cemitério Romano encontrado próximo da cidade de Tavira, Imprensa Nacional, Lisboa
Abel Viena: 1952, "Balsa y la necrópolis romana de As Pedras de el-Rei",Archivo Español de Arqueologia, 25, Madrid, p. 261-285
Maria Luísa Estácio da Veiga A. dos Santos: 1971-2, Arqueologia Romana do Algarve, Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, Lisboa
Maria Maia, Manuel Maia et alii: 1977, Relatórios de prospecção e escavação, Arquivo do Instituto.Português de .Arqueologia., Lisboa
José Fernandes Mascarenhas: 1978, Alguns subsídios arqueológicos sobre a antiga cidade de Balsa, Por Terras do Algarve, Ed. Autor, Lisboa
Cristina T Garcia.: 1989, Estação arqueológica da Luz (Tavira), Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, Olhão
Alexandre V. Cesário: 2005, Moedas de Balsa, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Vasco de Souza: 1990, Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani. Corpus der Skulpturen der Römischen Welt. Portugal, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra. Balsa: 115, 119, 125. Balsa territory: 113, 114, 118
Jeannette U. Smit Nolen: 1994, Cerâmicas e vidros da Torre de Ares (Balsa), Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisboa
José Luis de Matos (coord.): 1995, Inventário do Museu Nacional de Arqueologia. Catálogo de esculturas romanas, Lisboa: Several references
v.v.a.a.: 2002, Exhibition catalogue. Loquuntur saxa. Religiões da Lusitânia, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia; Lisboa: Several references
v.v.a.a.: 2003: Exhibition catalogue, Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C.M.Tavira, Lisboa: p 268-291
Catarina Viegas: 2006, A cidade romana de Balsa (1) A terra sigillata, C. M. de Tavira, Tavira
Luis Fraga da Silva: 2010, "Séries Temporais de Balsa. Da classificação de materiais arqueológicos à conjuntura socioeconómica do passado romano", Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Maria Maia: 2003, “O culto de Baal em Tavira”, Huelva Arqueológica (20). Actas del III Congreso Español de Antiguo Oriente Próximo, Huelva
Maria Maia: 2004, “Tavira Turdetana, porto do ‘Círculo do Estreito’ nos finais do séc. V a.C.”, in Conferencia Internacional: Historia de la Pesca en el Ámbito del Estrecho, Puerto de Santa Maria
IRCP: José d’Encarnação: 1984, Inscrições romanas do Conventus Pacensis, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra
E. Hübner: 1887, "Monumentos de Balsa (perto de Tavira)", Revista Archeologica e Histórica, Lisboa, p.33-38
José d’Encarnação: 1987, “A população romana do litoral algarvio”, in Anais do Município de Faro,XVII, C. M. de Faro, Faro
Maria Alves Dias: 1989, “A propósito de duas inscrições romanas da Quinta deTorre d’Ares (Luz, Tavira)”, in O Arqueólogo Português, IV s. n° 6/7, Lisboa
José d’Encarnação: 2003, “Quão importantes eram as gentes!...”, in Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C. M. de Tavira, Lisboa
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2011, de Balsa Romana. Apresentação, Blog imprompto.blogspot.com (PIC)
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
coastal town in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, province of Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
, Conventus Pacensis (capital Pax Iulia
Beja (Portugal)
Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....
).
The modern location is in the rural estates of Torre d'Aires, Antas and Arroio, parish of Luz de Tavira
Luz de Tavira
Luz de Tavira is a freguesia in the municipality of Tavira ....
, county of Tavira
Tavira
Tavira is a Portuguese city, situated at 37°07' north, 7°39' west in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is 30 km east of Faro and 160 km west of Seville in Spain. The Gilão River meets the Atlantic Ocean in Tavira....
, district of Faro
Faro (district)
Faro District is the southernmost district of Portugal, coincident with the Algarve. The administrative centre, or capital, is the city of Faro.-Municipalities:The district is composed of 16 municipalities:* Albufeira* Alcoutim* Aljezur* Castro Marim...
, in Algarve, Southern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
Name origin
BALSA is a pre-Roman place-name with a probable Phoenician etymology: B'LŠ..., a possible theonym connected with the older Phoenician occupation of neighbouring TaviraTavira
Tavira is a Portuguese city, situated at 37°07' north, 7°39' west in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is 30 km east of Faro and 160 km west of Seville in Spain. The Gilão River meets the Atlantic Ocean in Tavira....
.
Pre-Roman past
The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age oppidum of Tavira (7 km from Roman BALSA) stands as the genetic regional urban place, first as a Phoenician maritime colonial settlement with a strong religious character (mid 8th to end of 6th centuries BCE) and later as a Turdetani town (5th and 4 th centuries BCE).It was abandoned and replaced by the near oppidum of Cerro do Cavaco (1 km North of Tavira, occupied from the late 4th to late 1st centuries BCE), a better defensible site that was the central place of the balsenses during the Carthaginian and Roman Republican periods.
Cerro do Cavaco, the pre-Roman BALSA, did not survive the epoch of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, being then replaced by Roman BALSA.
Status, society and economy
Epigraphic inscriptions reveal BALSA as a Latin Right Municipality (ius Latii Municipium) during the 2nd century CE, most probably promoted by DomitianDomitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
(81-96 CE).
All main aspects of provincial Romanisation are documented locally: A res publica with a ordo decurionica IRCP 75, local prominence of the gens Manlia , magistrates (duunvir belonging to the QUIRINA tribe ), sexvir , public slaves (balsensium dispensator, ), evergetism (spectacle of naumachia and pugilate , collective construction of a circus and other unidentified monuments ), imperial cult IRCP 90 and a large proportion of Greek and North African names. A Roman citizen of Neapolis (Nabeul
Nabeul
Nabeul is a coastal town in northeastern Tunisia, on the south coast near to the Cap Bon peninsula. It is located at around and is the capital of the Nabeul Governorate...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
) with a daughter in Pax Iulia (Beja
Beja (Portugal)
Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) countryside, declares himself an incola of BALSA! .
The level of Romanisation in BALSA can also be inferred from the known personal names (39 men and 16 women): 58% have tria nomina or are women with Latin dua nomina. 71% have a Roman nomen and the remaining 27% a single cognomen, these being mostly Greek names. Native name words in all forms (Celtic or Turdetanian) are a small minority (9%).
From the 3rd century comes a rare funerary monument in Greek, considered by some to be Christian , and a hoard of coins of Claudius Gothicus (268-270 CE) discovered in a bath sewer.
Imported terra sigillata and glassware form a continuous series between late Augustan wares (early Hispanic) and late African D, late Gallic and Focean, with the latest pieces dated from the 7th century. The overwhelming volume peak corresponds to South Gallic wares of the 1st century CE but the studied material is much limited topographically.
Fish preserve industries are well documented in the town and neighbourhood, as well as amphorae factories. Six garum
Garum
Garum, similar to liquamen, was a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavour in Ancient Roman cooking, the supreme condiment....
producers are known in BALSA by their industrial brands: AEMHEL, OLYNT, LEVGEN, IVNIORVM, IMETVS F and DASIMVSTELI
Urbanism and territory
Several testimonies describe the existence of very extensive and dense Roman building remains before 1977. The archaeological terrain has been being heavily destroyed since then to the present days (2008) by agricultural works and the building of suburban villas.Archaeological exploration has been very limited to two necropolises, two bath buildings, three fish factories and a few structures. The larger part has been done in the 19th century, with pre-scientific standards. On the other hand, a total of sixty places with Roman findings are known in the archaeological perimeter of BALSA.
Archaeotopography revealed important and extensive urban structures: a theatre, a pier and internal harbour, a hippodrome, large hippodamic quarters and several others.
The urban centre had an extraordinary size for a municipal town without a capital status: the urban limits spawned no less than 116 acres (46.9 ha) and the peri-urban area occupied at least 266 acres (107.6 ha). Its plan reveals a double town, or a massive development juxtaposed in two urban moments.
The civitas territory corresponded to modern Eastern Algarve, bordering the province of Baetica and with an approximate area of 585 square miles (1,515.1 km²), mostly occupied by hills then rich in forests and minerals.
Significant remains of Roman agrarian centuriations can still be traced in modern surveys, limited to the littoral plains where olive groves, vineyards and dry orchards are historically best adapted. The coast was formed by lagoons and estuaries, whose agro-maritime capacities were extensively exploited in Roman times.
The major fluvial road of river Anas (modern Guadiana
Guadiana
The Guadiana , or Odiana, is an international river located on the Portuguese–Spanish border, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve...
) was controlled from BALSA territory along its better navigable part, draining several mining districts south of Myrtilis (Mértola
Mértola
Mértola is a municipality in southeastern Portugal next to the Spanish border. It has a total area of 1,292.87 km² and a total population of 8,712 inhabitants . In terms of land area, it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. The resultant population density of 6.74 persons/km² is the...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
).
Several better known villae or vici like "Pedras d'el-Rei", "Paul da Asseca", "Cacela", "Manta Rota", "Vale do Boto", "Álamo", "Montinho das Laranjeiras" and many others belonged to the territory of BALSA.
Archaeology and Heritage
Archaeological collections of BALSA are scattered by several museums and private collections. The best preserved objects are from funerary spoils (good collections of sigillata, glassware, lucernes and personal objects such a complete surgeon kit), a female bust from the Antonine epoch, 17 civic and funerary epigraphed stones, statuettes, coins, architectonic elements, etc.In the present day there is practically nothing to be seen of BALSA. Almost all land became fenced private property, cutting most accesses to the public lagoon-shore, and the few known and visible archaeological remains are kept more or less hidden. With the present total lack of protection and real menace of total destruction it is better they remain like that for the time being.
However, notwithstanding the brutal destructions of the last 30 years, BALSA still has a major archaeological potential: the foundations of about 1/5 of the town extension, including maritime suburbs, ought to be still basically preserved, either buried, silted or submerged.
Public museums in PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
with collections of BALSA
Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
Museu Municipal de Faro, Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
Museu Paroquial de Moncarapacho, Moncarapacho
Moncarapacho
Moncarapacho is a freguesia in the municipality of Olhão ....
(Olhão
Olhão
Olhão , or Olhão da Restauração, is a city and a municipality in the Algarve region, in Southern Portugal. It is located near Faro, which is the district's capital and the capital of the Algarve. It is mostly a fishing port city...
)
Images
A large collection of pictures, graphics and maps of BALSA, its territory and the most important archaeological findings can be browsed at the on-line bibliographical references below, marked with (PIC).Synthesis studies
Vasco Gil Mantas: 1990, “As cidades marítimas da Lusitânia”, in Les Villes de Lusitanie romaine, CNRS, ParisVasco Gil Mantas: 1997, “As civitates: Esboço da geografia política e económica do Algarve romano”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Vasco Gil Mantas: 1997, “Os caminhos da serra e do mar”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Jeannette U. Smit Nolen: 1997, “Balsa, uma cidade romana no litoral algarvio”, in Noventa séculos entre a serra e o mar, IPPAR, Lisboa
Vasco Gil Mantas: 2003, “A cidade de Balsa”, in Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C. M. de Tavira, Lisboa
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2005, Tavira Romana, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2007, Balsa, cidade perdida, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira e Câm. Mun. de Tavira, Tavira (PIC)
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2008, Balsa, cidade perdida, Exposição. Campo Arqueológico de Tavira e C. M. de Tavira, Tavira (PIC)
General
Sebastião Estácio da Veiga: 1866, Povos balsenses, Livraria Catholica, LisboaAugusto Teixeira de Aragão: 1868, Relatório sobre o Cemitério Romano encontrado próximo da cidade de Tavira, Imprensa Nacional, Lisboa
Abel Viena: 1952, "Balsa y la necrópolis romana de As Pedras de el-Rei",Archivo Español de Arqueologia, 25, Madrid, p. 261-285
Maria Luísa Estácio da Veiga A. dos Santos: 1971-2, Arqueologia Romana do Algarve, Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, Lisboa
Maria Maia, Manuel Maia et alii: 1977, Relatórios de prospecção e escavação, Arquivo do Instituto.Português de .Arqueologia., Lisboa
José Fernandes Mascarenhas: 1978, Alguns subsídios arqueológicos sobre a antiga cidade de Balsa, Por Terras do Algarve, Ed. Autor, Lisboa
Cristina T Garcia.: 1989, Estação arqueológica da Luz (Tavira), Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, Olhão
Numismatics
Rosa V. Gomes e Mário V. Gomes: 1983, “Novas moedas hispânicas de Balsa e Ossonoba”, Nummus, 2.ª Série, Vol. IV a VI, Soc. Portuguesa de Numismática, PortoAlexandre V. Cesário: 2005, Moedas de Balsa, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Materials and objects
Raúl da C. Couvreur: 1958, Ensaio de estudo de uma Balança Romana, Arqueologia e História, 8ª séria, VIII, Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, Lisboa: p 111-129Vasco de Souza: 1990, Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani. Corpus der Skulpturen der Römischen Welt. Portugal, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra. Balsa: 115, 119, 125. Balsa territory: 113, 114, 118
Jeannette U. Smit Nolen: 1994, Cerâmicas e vidros da Torre de Ares (Balsa), Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisboa
José Luis de Matos (coord.): 1995, Inventário do Museu Nacional de Arqueologia. Catálogo de esculturas romanas, Lisboa: Several references
v.v.a.a.: 2002, Exhibition catalogue. Loquuntur saxa. Religiões da Lusitânia, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia; Lisboa: Several references
v.v.a.a.: 2003: Exhibition catalogue, Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C.M.Tavira, Lisboa: p 268-291
Catarina Viegas: 2006, A cidade romana de Balsa (1) A terra sigillata, C. M. de Tavira, Tavira
Luis Fraga da Silva: 2010, "Séries Temporais de Balsa. Da classificação de materiais arqueológicos à conjuntura socioeconómica do passado romano", Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira
Alimentary industries
L. Lagóstena Barrios, La producción de salsas y conservas de pescado en la Hispânia Romana (II a. C.-VI d. C.), Barcelona 2001: many referencesPre-Roman
Maria Maia: 2003, “Fenícios em Tavira”, in Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C. M. de Tavira, LisboaMaria Maia: 2003, “O culto de Baal em Tavira”, Huelva Arqueológica (20). Actas del III Congreso Español de Antiguo Oriente Próximo, Huelva
Maria Maia: 2004, “Tavira Turdetana, porto do ‘Círculo do Estreito’ nos finais do séc. V a.C.”, in Conferencia Internacional: Historia de la Pesca en el Ámbito del Estrecho, Puerto de Santa Maria
Epigraphy and social studies
CIL: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, BerlinIRCP: José d’Encarnação: 1984, Inscrições romanas do Conventus Pacensis, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra
E. Hübner: 1887, "Monumentos de Balsa (perto de Tavira)", Revista Archeologica e Histórica, Lisboa, p.33-38
José d’Encarnação: 1987, “A população romana do litoral algarvio”, in Anais do Município de Faro,XVII, C. M. de Faro, Faro
Maria Alves Dias: 1989, “A propósito de duas inscrições romanas da Quinta deTorre d’Ares (Luz, Tavira)”, in O Arqueólogo Português, IV s. n° 6/7, Lisboa
José d’Encarnação: 2003, “Quão importantes eram as gentes!...”, in Tavira, Território e Poder, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia/C. M. de Tavira, Lisboa
Archaeotopography
Luís Fraga da Silva: 2005, Atlas de Balsa e Metodologia arqueo-topográfica, Campo Arqueológico de Tavira, Tavira (PIC)Luís Fraga da Silva: 2011, de Balsa Romana. Apresentação, Blog imprompto.blogspot.com (PIC)