When A 2000-year-old Drowned Portuguese Village Emerged From Water

Drought conditions in Portugal have been garnering attention for almost two years, exerting pressure on production and water scarcity in major areas of the nation. In a rare occurrence in Portugal’s Minho region, a 2000-year-old village, Vilarinho da Furna, once emerged from beneath the water to reveal the shattered walls of the place that got destroyed by a Portuguese Electric Company.

The village was submerged in 1972. It became a tourist destination for travellers after the municipality of Terras de Bourno built a museum in São João do Campo in 1981. With a collection including clothes, agricultural tools, and paintings depicting daily life in the village, the museum was built with stones from two houses of the drowned village.

According to the report on the Atlas Obscura, the village of Vilarinho da Furna in northern Portugal got submerged due to the construction of a dam at the Rio Homem River. It began in 1967. A huge hydroelectric project was planned in the area through this dam, which would supply electricity to the area. Vilarinho da Furna was situated near the downstream of the river. During the construction, the village had almost 300 inhabitants in 57 families who were spread over 80 houses. Take a look at the drowned village that emerged due to dry conditions in Portugal.

When the people of the area protested against this, the Portugal Electricity Company offered some money to the villagers to leave their houses. This money was so little that even their needs could not be met. As per reports, it is believed that the villagers received a total of 20,741,607 escudos (the currency of Portugal at the time).

The hydroelectric company scared the villagers by telling them about the possible aftermath of releasing the water from the dam. Frightened by the outcome, the villagers started leaving Vilarinho da Furna daily. When the water level rose, the remaining villagers fled the village overnight and took whatever they could get their hands on. In 1971, the last resident of this village vacated the village.