Ossonoba
About
The largest urban center of southern Lusitania sat where modern Faro now stands, its harbor moving salted fish and garum out to Roman markets along with agricultural goods and minerals. Mosaics of fish and marine life turn up across the surrounding Algarve coast, a sign of how central the salting industry was to the region's identity. By 117 CE Ossonoba anchored a chain of fish-processing sites running the length of the Algarve shoreline.
What happened here
Rows of stone vats sunk into the ground beside the sea, and the smell reaches a long way inland. Small fish and the guts of larger ones are layered with salt and left in the sun for weeks; the liquid that separates off is drawn away as fish sauce and the residue is sold cheaply as paste. Grades run from a luxury sauce that costs more than good wine down to the version bought by everyone else. Tunny is netted in season from lookout towers on the headland, and the fishing, salting, potting and shipping all happen within a few hundred metres. Amphorae are stamped with the maker's name. Towns built on this are rich, and they are built downwind of themselves.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →