Petition calling for the dignification on the archaeological site where the remains of 158 enslaved Africans were identified in the Vale da Gafaria, Lagos

The non-Portuguese citizens undersigned hereby express their support for the public petition by Portuguese citizens calling for the dignification of the archaeological site where the remains of 158 enslaved Africans were identified in Vale da Gafaria, Lagos, specifically through the following steps:

• Non-renewal of the lease agreement for the operation of the mini-golf equipment installed there;
• The creation of a dignified public memorial to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade;
• The initiation of a transparent and participatory process to determine the fate of the human remains currently located in Coimbra, ensuring that communities of African descent are involved.

In 2009, during excavations for the construction of an underground parking garage at a site known as Vale da Gafaria in Lagos, in the Algarve, southern Portugal, the remains of 158 men, women, and children were discovered, having been discarded in a 15th-century landfill. Some showed signs of violence. Subsequent analyses identified ancestry linked to African populations.

This is the oldest and largest known site where enslaved people were discarded on European soil, directly linked to the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade.

Today, this site—which holds historical and symbolic significance unique in the world—is home to a parking garage and the “Pro Putting Garden” mini-golf course. There is no memorial on the site recognizing the victims found there or the site’s significance to the history of Portugal. One of the most compelling pieces of material evidence of the transatlantic slave trade was found here—a crime against humanity whose effects persist to this day, notably in the form of structural racism, social inequalities, and exclusion.

Maintaining a recreational facility on a site marked by extreme violence, dehumanization, and death constitutes an affront to human dignity, to the memory of the victims, and to their descendants, as well as an ethical and political failure on the part of the Portuguese state to fulfill its duty of memory.

Although there is a museum section in the city of Lagos dedicated to slavery, the information available about Vale da Gafaria and its profound historical, scientific, and human significance remains very limited. The dominant public narrative in Portugal tends to downplay the country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and to depoliticize colonial violence, perpetuating ideas such as that of “benign colonialism” and avoiding the recognition of racism as one of its historical legacies.

It is also important to note that the Municipality of Lagos is currently in the process of creating a memorial. However, this process has been conducted behind closed doors and with little transparency, without the effective participation of Afro-descendant communities, as well as researchers, activists, and experts with relevant work in this area.

Regarding the mini-golf course currently installed and in operation at the site, it should be noted that its operation is based on a lease agreement for a portion of the roof of the parking garage. This lease agreement was entered into on September 26, 2012, for a term of 15 years, renewable for successive five-year periods. Consequently, the initial term of the contract expires in 2027. This timeline presents a concrete and imperative opportunity for the Municipality of Lagos to refrain from renewing the contract next year, thereby making the requalification of the site possible, in accordance with its historical significance.

We believe that:
- The existence of a mini-golf course at this location is morally unacceptable and historically irresponsible;
- Vale da Gafaria must be recognized as a memory site associated with a crime against humanity;
- The absence of a dignified memorial perpetuates historical erasure;
- Portugal has historical responsibilities that demand concrete actions of symbolic, educational, and political reparation;
- Vale da Gafaria constitutes an example of “difficult heritage,” requiring public approaches that confront historical violence.

We therefore support the demand for the following actions:

1. Non-renewal of the mini-golf lease and requalification of the site
Non-renewal of the lease agreement for the operation of the mini-golf course, allowing the agreement to expire in 2027 (while also ensuring that no other contracts will be entered into for the purpose of establishing recreational facilities at that site), and comprehensive requalification of the site in accordance with its historical, archaeological, and cultural significance.

2. Protection and official recognition of the site
The formal designation of the site as a memory site, with adequate legal protection at the municipal and national levels.

3. Creation of a public memorial
The implementation of a transparent, participatory, and adequately funded process for the creation of a memorial that:
o Is explicitly dedicated to the memory of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade;
o Recognizes this past as an integral part of Portugal’s history;
o Embraces the memorial as an instrument of historical reparation, with symbolic, educational, and social impact;
o Rejects all forms of diluting or erasing the specific memory of the transatlantic slave trade, as might occur in the creation of a generic memorial “to all victims of slavery”;
o Clearly confronts the contemporary legacies of slavery, particularly racism.
o Reformulates the current process for creating the memorial, ensuring transparency and the effective participation of Afro-descendant communities, experts, and civil society.

4. Human remains: an ethical and participatory process
The establishing of a clear process for the handling and disposition of the human remains currently in Coimbra, ensuring consultation, active listening, and the effective involvement of communities of African descent.

5. Education, Memory, and Justice
The integration of this site into public policies on education for memory, the fight against racism, and the promotion of historical justice, including:
o Accessible educational programs addressing transatlantic slavery and its historical legacies;
o Artistic and educational projects that promote critical reflection on the legacies of colonialism and slavery;
o Coordination with international networks of sites of memory linked to slavery, the transatlantic slave trade, and racism.

The dignity of the enslaved people whose remains were found at Vale da Gafaria cannot continue to be ignored or used as a backdrop for recreational activities. Memory is not an obstacle to development; it is a prerequisite for democracy.

Lagos, as a city that historically played a central role in the early days of the transatlantic slave trade, now has the opportunity and the responsibility to confront this past with truth, courage, and humanity.

Transforming Vale da Gafaria into a true memory site is an act of historical justice, intergenerational solidarity, and a commitment to a more just future.

Without memory, there is no justice.
Without justice, there is no future.

Co-sponsors of the petition:
Empreitada - Associação Cultural do Algarve
Coletivo Tributo aos Ancestrais PT

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