Restoration works

In the end of 1995 the restoration works started at Santa Clara a Velha and, five years later, the work is far from complete. The works combine two main tasks: a) the temporary drainage of the site and b) the analysis of the architectural elements and the search for archeological pieces.

On one hand, the quantity, the diversity and the importance of the archeological findings found in the church and the ruins of the monastery required supplementary campaigns, on the other the technical difficulties of the drainage process led to the consideration of three scenarios: keep the site dry, flood it again or fill the site with soil powder and mud, as it was before.
The preferred solution was the first, which implied further delay and investment.

In spite of the drainage and isolation works, the Monastery site was partially flooded in the Winter of 2000/20001, during a few days of heavy rain and excessive water flows at the Mondego river.

March 2001