This Cave Shouldn't Exist

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"The Norse were here, too" feels like an archaeology meme at this point.

Just a note that Columbarium also means dovecote, roman's named the style of tomb after their word for a dovecote because of the obvious resemblance

You should've look for prof Félix Rodrigues when in Terceira island. He's a physicist professor at the Azores University and been studying those "anomalies" as an hobby for years now. He was the first one proposing a pre portuguese presence in the archipelago and the first identifying and studying that "columbarium" you talk about there and hundreds other sites scattered all over the island.

The caves may be pottery drying shelves, the other cave used to fire them. If they were using the island as a waypoint it would make sense to have the ability to carry more water, food and other sundry items in pottery.

I was in the US Navy for 20 years. To this day, even in powered ships, we still sail past the Azores. This is weird, though. The amount of carving that would be required for the Phoenician-styled caves would take more than a season. I agree the stuff is certainly not Portuguese. Your right; this needs more research.

It would be interesting to see a follow up that explains what specifically ties the second set of caves to the phoenecians or the punics. Evan said that they were closest aligned culturally but also said they weren't studied that well. Would go a long way to confirm.

Amazing video! I'm Azorean (from São Miguel) and this video popped up in my feed and I decided to watch it just by the title and was so surprised to see that, not only it's about the Azores, but also this isn't just another travel vlog, but about something I find so interesting and I wish it was talked about and researched more. Back in school, we are taught that the Portuguese discovered the islands (still I don't think it gives the right to some Lisbon boomer to be offended lmao), but I do recall teachers mentioned it was actually more like a "rediscovery" but they never went in-depth - maybe nowadays they do, not sure. As a tourist guide, I occasionally get asked about the (re)discovery of the islands and I'll definitely be recommending this video - so thanks for it! I hope in the future further and proper research into this is done. :)

"Don't let anybody think for you; most people can barely think for themselves." Love it. The one I came up with is lots wordier. Some people feel thinking is a pleasure. Others feel it's a chore. Most, having never tried it, have no feel for it at all.

I'm currently studying history at university and the thing that fascinates me about it all is that nothing is static and that even tiny pieces of archaeological evidence can turn our whole view upside down.

My last vacation was on the Azores (Sao Miguel, to be precise), they are beautiful. The Norse were there for sure, there are too many bits and pieces to ignore. It's absolutely possible that other people discovered the islands before the Norse when trying to get back to Europe or North-Africa.

Oh man, no point on arguing with old portuguese men! 😅 Take it from a portuguese woman! As a history afficionado I got to say that Norse people were probably EVERYWHERE before any other European nation. Norse and early Polynesian explorers are often ignored and to me were truly a few of the first great explorers of the world. And I got to read more about the Phoenicians that was really interesting! Wonderful video! You got a wonderful way with words! Edit I got to say, as someone who is somewhat acquainted with the archeology scene in PT, it's not that "no one cares" about this particular site but more like lack of financial aid and government interest in the field of history and science. Conservation, studying and protection of heritage as well as scientific research lack a LOT of financing. I've heard researchers complain that in PT they have to count each cent. Things got a bit better now days but it still lacks and most of the focus is on the mainland as usual. The islands are often forgotten.

I've been watching all of your videos this week, and I must say that what you've done here is perhaps the most impactful thing that I've watched in a long time. You have a remarkable ability to show things from the other side, and my perspective has benefitted from discovering you. Thank you for what you do, it's important. ❤️

I am an anthropology student right now, and I do study portuguese, so I will keep this in mind. Thanks.

Im portuguese and i did not yet know about this. At first i too was a bit offended, the discovery archipelagoes were in a way the begining of the discoveries, however your video is compelling. On top of that, i know our country either doesn't care or doesn't have the monetary funds to explore ruins. There are ruins of a massive roman fish paste farm in Troia's caldera that are still mostly buried, by mostly i mean 80-70% if i recall correctly, might be exaggerating. Its a beautiful place and you can see bits of the ruins along the river beach, you might enjoy visiting it while you're visiting portugal. But my point is, we've known of them since forever and still leave them mostly ignored. (There's a museum with guided visits that explores one of the tips of the factory, but i havent gone there in years and dont remember how far it extends, looking from outside, not very far) (** This is "somewhat" wrong ****)This is even worse in Tavira. If i recall correctly, (i hope i do) there are buried ruins of, pre roman, large cities (and one roman too) belonging to at least two different peoples next to current day Tavira. Those ones i think haven't ever been excavated in any way, yet they could be quite historically significant, (possibly very important on an Iberean scale, i was made believe). (****) (** this too ****)It is with sadness that i say these things. Im fond of our history, and that my own country seems to not care (anymore) is disappointing. (****) Thank you very much for recording a bit of our land's history and for disseminating it. You have done a good deed, and im very thankful for it. Correction: There's a house in Tavira whose owner wanted to build a pool. Sadly for him, his house happened to lay atop layers upon layers of different cities' ruins. Because said ruins are legally protected, they have to be excavated before the owner can build his pool, however i think they're still being excavated. My meager internet research didnt have many results, but i remember not being able to see the bottom of the pit. Many different civilizations had built upon that same place, phoenicians and greeks included, i believe. Curiously, the romans settled a bit farther from the current Tavira. So it was wrong of me to use this as an example of us not caring... I still regret Troia's ruins not getting more funding, but i cant say Tavira's aren't explored.

Having lived on Terceira for a couple of years in the 1960s, and as a student of both Atlantic weather and currents, I can easily believe the theory that the Portuguese were not the first visitors. I have also visited caves on the island in which one can find truly strange carvings and constructions.

I’m soooooo glad to see a new video from you …..and also the great performance/views it’s getting!! Your channel is one of the best things on all of YouTube

As a portuguese I found this video extremely interesting. Not offended in any way and may have some extra bit of info that might surprise some. We hear very often people say the Açores were deserted islands with lush vegetation but no people. However if we read the original account of the discovery there are indigenous people mentioned. It's a small detail that was/is not convenient to point out for many I guess. Other issues came up also when a genetic analysis was conducted on the islands with the most notorious surprise coming from the east asian marker(s?) found in Corvo and Flores population. Hope you get to make a follow up on this one in some years time. Best regards

I'm not Portuguese, nor am I Scandinavian, but I literally found out about the Norse discovery theory of the Azores one day before you posted that video. I don't even know whether to call it YouTube algorithm...

I think this helps make ancient trans-atlantic travel that much more believable. I could see this being a small populated point between two destinations.