On May 7, the pre-defined project Water World - Capacity building and skills for the conservation and management of Underwater Cultural Heritage, funded by the EEA Grants mechanism through the Culture Programme, celebrated its Final Event with the opening of the exhibition Water World. Passado Submerso, at the National Centre for Nautical and Underwater Archaeology (CNANS) in Lisbon.
The exhibition brings together around 40 underwater archaeological objects - including Roman amphorae discovered off the coast of Peniche, pirogues that once sailed the Lima river, a spoon, a ship's lighthouse and many other testimonies from the past - collected from aquatic contexts from the north to the south of the country, from the Lima river in Viana do Castelo to the Arade river estuary in Portimão and Lagoa.
As well as showcasing part of the CNANS collection belonging to Património Cultural, I.P., the exhibition highlights archaeological research sites developed over the last 15 years, both at sea and in rivers and coastal areas, revealing Portugal's vast and valuable submerged cultural heritage.
The opening ceremony was attended by the President and Vice-President of Cultural Heritage, I.P., João Soalheiro and Ana Catarina Sousa, representatives of the National Management Unit of EEA Grants Portugal and the Deputy Head of Mission of the Norwegian Embassy in Lisbon, Karina Asbjørnsen, among other personalities from the cultural and scientific sector. The event also featured a musical intervention by baritone Rui Baeta, accompanied on the piano by Paulo Pacheco.
The exhibition Water World. Passado Submerso is now open to the public with free admission, from Wednesday to Sunday, between 2pm and 6pm, at CNANS.