Medieval treasures unearthed in Portugal's dustbin discovery
In Portugal, in the city of Figueira da Foz, medieval manuscripts were discovered in a dustbin. Upon examination, the oldest of them is over a thousand years old.
An extraordinary discovery was made in the Portuguese city of Figueira da Foz. A collection of medieval manuscripts, the oldest of which is over a thousand years old, was found in a dustbin. The newspaper "Público" reported on the matter. The case was solved because one of the medieval letters was put up for sale online.
The seller was unaware that the document originated from the 15th century and was authored by King Afonso V of Portugal. Initially, it wasn't even suspected that the document put up for sale was authentic.
Thousand-year-old documents in the bin
The manuscripts' owner was the proprietor of a café in Figueira da Foz. In his possession were documents from the 15th century and older ones dating back to the 11th century, a time preceding the formation of the Portuguese state. The authenticity of the documents was confirmed by historians from the Portuguese National Archive in Lisbon, known as Torre do Tombo.
Mário Rui, the café owner, admitted that after listing the letter for sale at 400 euros, he received an inquiry from the National Archive regarding the manuscript. It was then he realised that he might have discovered very valuable documents.
It was revealed that the letter posted for sale was written by King Afonso V on 26 December 1480, shortly before his death. Rui explained that he found the documents near the dustbin, wrapped in newspapers from the 1970s, after the Carnation Revolution.
Rui handed over all the documents he found to the state archive of Portugal, for which he received financial compensation. This discovery is of great historical importance and was made possible due to the accidental posting of one of the documents for sale online.
