NOVA Home Find out what's coming up on air Listing of previous NOVA Web sites NOVA's history Subscribe to the NOVA bulletin Lesson plans and more for teachers NOVA RSS feeds Tell us what you think Program transcripts Buy NOVA videos or DVDs Watch NOVA programs online Answers to frequently asked questions
Lost Roman Treasure

Damming the Past

 

Lost Roman Treasure homepage

Sites: Egypt |  Portugal  | Iraq | India | China | Turkey

Portugal: Ice Age rock art in the Coa River valley saved
In 1994, archeologists exploring northern Portugal's Coa River valley near the town of Vila Nova de Fozcoa discovered a prehistoric art gallery chiseled into an eight-mile stretch of gorge. Scholars consider the carvings the most important Ice Age art in Europe outside of a cave. Thought to be 20,000 years old, the rock art depicts roughly 150 animals in motion, including horses, ibex, deer, and aurochs, a type of European bison that became extinct in the 17th century.

At the time of the discovery, construction had already begun on a $300 million hydroelectric dam, which by its scheduled completion in 1998 would flood the carvings under 300 feet of water. In an unprecedented show of cooperation, archeologists teamed with a citizens' movement comprised of students, environmentalists, and local wine growers (who feared the dam would alter the area's climate) to block the dam project. Other area residents promoted the dam as a way to boost the local economy, but after lobbying for a year under the slogan "As gravuras nao sabem nadar" ("The engravings are not able to swim"), the anti-dam coalition successfully convinced the Portuguese government in 1995 to abandon the project and instead create an archeological preserve to protect the art.

Back   Next
Portugal

An aurochs etched into the side of a cliff near Vila Nova de Fozcoa.

Enlarge this image
Portugal map


Send feedback Image credits
   
NOVA Home Find out what's coming up on air Listing of previous NOVA Web sites NOVA's history Subscribe to the NOVA bulletin Lesson plans and more for teachers NOVA RSS feeds Tell us what you think Program transcripts Buy NOVA videos or DVDs Watch NOVA programs online Answers to frequently asked questions