King Alfonso V by Cornelis Galle the Elder (1621)
A thousand-year-old treasure was found next to a dumpster, in Figueira da Foz. He had documents prior to nationality.
There for “2015 or 2016”, Mario Rui found, in Figueira da Foz, several bundles of newspapers stacked next to a garbage container.
The papers were in good condition and tied with string. Mário never imagined they would be there documents that are a thousand years old.
As he tells the newspaper, the Figueirense worker took the artifacts to a warehouse and never remembered them again – until 2019when he had to leave that space.
Just there, Mario looked at the packs for the first time with ‘eyes to see’untied the strings from the bundles and leafed through the newspapers for the first time – A Capital, República, Diário de Notícias, Diário de Lisboa and O Século, dated 1974, 1975 and 1977 and with several references to the post-April Revolution.
In the middle of the newspapers, found loose papers, with indecipherable letters and strange textures – but always without suspecting that they were historical documents, some from 11th century, older than the founding of Portugal.
“They were royal and ecclesiastical documents, donations, sentences, civil records, wills, leases, transfers, processes, certificates, inventories, records of assets and tithes, records, maps, disputes and private letters”, from the 11th century to the 20th century, detailed Público.
Place where the treasure was discovered
Letter from King D. Afonso V
Mário Rui decided to put for sale on OLX one of those scrolls.
The very next day, he was contacted by Rosa Azevedodirector of the Description, Technical-Documental Treatment and Acquisitions Division of Torre do Tombo, which changed the course of events (and the life of Mário Rui).
“I still had doubts: ‘Is this a joke?’ But then I Googled her name and a report immediately appeared. And I was thinking ‘Torre do Tombo?’ For them to be interested is because this is really good”, he said.
After all, the “old and beautiful” paper that Mário had put up for sale for €400 was, after all, a letter from King D. Afonso V, dated December 26, 1480 – a year before the monarch’s death.
That letter – like the rest documents – ended up being acquired by Torre do Tombo, for non-detailed valuesafter a year of analysis.
“To the [documentos] larger ones I rolled them into straws after they were very dry and clean. Everything was organized, they were correct, the doctor [Rosa Azevedo] I even said: ‘You did a good job’“, praised Mário Rui, who, in the meantime, left the factory where he worked and owns a cafe in Figueira da Foz.
