About the oldest known Christian buildings in the Extreme South of Lusitania: the case of Quinta de Marim (Olhão, Algarve, Portugal)

Abstract

Quinta de Marim (Algarve, Portugal) always aroused the interest of researchers, but the ignorance on this site insists on staying. Although the contingencies, we can confirm much of what has already been written and come up with new interpretations that provide a new understanding of the archaeological site, particularly on the Christianisation of the current Algarve region. The fourth century represents the pinnacle moment in which villae spaces become liable to be Christianized, motivating the construction of religious buildings, including examples found in Quinta de Marim, serving, perhaps, funerary purposes.