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An archaeological excavation at Cambedo, a small village on the border between Portugal and Galicia, sheds light on a little-known episode from the aftermath of the Spanish civil war. According to a study published by Durham University, the team led by Rui Gomes Coelho uncovered the ruins of a house bombed in December 1946 by the Portuguese army, as punishment for the villagers' solidarity with refugees and anti-fascist fighters.
A border village at the heart of solidarity
Cambedo is a small village on the border between Portugal and Galicia. During the Spanish civil war (1936-1939), its residents discreetly sheltered refugees and anti-fascist fighters crossing the border, often at considerable personal risk.
This clandestine hospitality took place in a region where people fleeing the conflict crossed the border frequently. The village had very few resources, but its inhabitants had made helping people in distress a collective rule that poverty did not override.
The bombing of December 1946
In December 1946, the Portuguese army surrounded the village to punish this solidarity. Troops fired mortar shells, damaged homes and carried out arrests among the inhabitants.
These events, long poorly documented, are resurfacing today thanks to the combination of written sources and material remains. The repression aimed to deter any assistance to opponents in a Portugal then under authoritarian rule, and shows how far the state was prepared to go to silence solidarity.
Excavating a destroyed house
The research team excavated the ruins of a house hit by the bombardment, which had belonged to Albertina Tiago. The archaeologists found everyday objects there, as well as fragments of mortar shell debris.
These material traces provide direct testimony that complements written sources. In historical archaeology, this approach makes it possible to study very recent events through material culture, ordinary objects and layers of destruction, which reveal how inhabitants lived before and after the attack.
A lesson for today
For Rui Gomes Coelho, lecturer and researcher in historical archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, the site goes beyond the local context. It invites us to reconsider how we imagine communal life in Europe, through a history of ordinary engagement.
The work also recalls that people in flight still face violence and danger at borders today, from the Mediterranean to the English Channel. The research has also inspired the play "Cambedo 1946" by Teatro de Balugas, which received international recognition at the Spanish national amateur theatre awards, Escenamateur Juan Mayorga.
Results published in a specialist journal
The work is published in the journal Historical Archaeology, which includes two articles by Rui Gomes Coelho and his colleagues: one devoted to the discovery at Cambedo in 1946, the other to the archaeology of guerrilla warfare in Europe.
These publications belong to a research trend that studies 20th-century conflicts through their material traces, particularly sites of refuge and resistance, and that renews understanding of these periods by giving voice to modest communities.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the village of Cambedo located?
Cambedo is a small village on the border between Portugal and Spanish Galicia. It was in this border area that its residents sheltered refugees during the Spanish civil war.
Why was the village of Cambedo bombed in 1946?
The Portuguese army surrounded the village in December 1946 to punish the inhabitants for helping refugees and anti-fascists. Homes were damaged and people were arrested.
What did the excavation at Cambedo uncover?
The archaeologists uncovered the ruins of a bombed house, with everyday objects and mortar shell fragments. These remains bear witness to the life of a modest rural community.
Who led the research on Cambedo?
The research was led by Rui Gomes Coelho, lecturer and researcher in historical archaeology at Durham University. The results were published in the journal Historical Archaeology.
Sources
- Excavation reveals history of Portuguese village shelled after sheltering Spanish refugees — Phys.org
Original summary written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, checked automatically, then translated from the French original. Information and quotations belong to their authors. Read the French original.
