On March 10th, Year 7 embarked on an interpretive tour based on the book “Faro - Geology and urban paleontology guide” by Luís Azevedo Rodrigues and Margarida Agostinho.

The students explored the city with Geologist Stefan Rosendahl as a guide, who showed them the prehistoric geological formations present in the stone used to build several buildings in Faro, and guided them through the eras from which they came.

The students started by having an idea of ??when the Earth was formed, of when the first living beings appeared, then the dinosaurs and finally the human beings. Among other curious observations, the students observed what kind of rocks it is possible to find in the old city walls of Faro, having found the three types of rocks: sedimentary, metamorphic and magmatic.

They then proceeded to Faro Cathedral, where they found galleries and marks left a long time ago by aquatic living beings (ichnofossils) on the stairs and walls. Stefan also drew attention to the different symbols that are engraved on the rocks that make up the external walls of the Cathedral: they represented the marks of the mason who had worked them. The students set out to discover these symbols, having found several - a sign of the number of masons who worked on the construction of the building.

They discovered traces of prehistoric animals in the oldest buildings in the Old Town, and even fossils of rudists on Hotel Faro's outside wall.

The students also found coral and ammonite fossils in various parts of the city.

The students also visited the Municipal Museum of Faro where, under the guidance of Dr. Sofia Mendes, they took a tour of the civilizations that most influenced the city of Faro, that is, exhibitions of Roman and Muslim remains.

This activity was developed as a transdisciplinary initiative of Natural Sciences and History, which gave students the possibility to understand how the natural world and the history of human civilization are deeply connected.

Our thanks to Geologist Stefan Rosendahl and Dr. Sofia Mendes for the enriching experience they provided to our students!