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.

摘要
本文呈现了针对里约热内卢港区萨尔石（Pedra do Sal）旧码头仓库开展的考古发掘工作成果，研究结合该区域自18世纪末至今作为城市黑人族群避难所的历史与社会背景展开。该仓库建于19世纪上半叶，距萨尔石（Pedra do Sal）仅100米，距瓦隆古码头（Valongo Wharf）约200米，曾是萨乌德（Saúde）岸线最重要的码头仓库之一，直至被1875年启用的唐·佩德罗二世码头公司（Docas D. Pedro II Company）收购。
该仓库的繁荣有赖于这支黑人族群——他们是后世码头工人的雏形——他们负责货物的装卸与仓储作业。然而，这一浓厚的非洲裔族群活动痕迹几乎未见于文献档案，仅在考古记录中零星留存，且仅存与他们精神信仰仪式相关的少量遗迹。与这些被遗忘的码头工人形成鲜明反差的是，萨尔石码头仓库的多位管理者均有详实的文献记录且为后人所铭记，相关信息得以被发掘整理。
本文呈现本次考古调查的研究成果，旨在为更具包容性地构建里约热内卢港区的部分集体记忆贡献力量。