The forgotten dockers: archaeology of the Pedra do Sal pier warehouse, Rio de Janeiro, nineteenth century

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of archaeological interventions undertaken in the former pier warehouse of Pedra do Sal, in Rio de Janeiro’s Port Zone, considering a historical and social contextualization of the area, a refuge of the urban black population from the end of the eighteenth century to the present. Built in the first half of the nineteenth century just 100 m away from Pedra do Sal (Salt Stone) and about 200 m from Valongo Wharf, the pier warehouse became one of the most important on the Saúde shoreline until it was absorbed by the Docas D. Pedro II Company, inaugurated in 1875. Its prosperity was sustained by this black population, the seed of the future dockworkers, responsible for the activities of loading, unloading, and storing commodities. However, this strong African presence is virtually absent from the documentary records and only sparsely present in the archaeological record, with only some evidence related to their spiritual practices. In stark contrast to these forgotten dockers, discovering information on the various administrators of the Pedra do Sal pier warehouse, well recorded and sufficiently remembered, was possible. The results of this investigation are presented in this article, which seeks to contribute to a more inclusive construction of part of the memory of Rio de Janeiro’s Port Zone.

KEYWORDS:
African diaspora archeology; Rio de Janeiro’s Port Zone; Nineteenth century dockers; Pedra do Sal