Islamic necropolis discovered in Portugal 24-07-2004
Portuguese archeologists said they have discovered the largest Islamic necropolis in the country, and possibly in the Iberian peninsula. Around 35 skeletons have so far been found at the cemetery, at Santarem, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Lisbon and which was the capital of an independent kingdom in the 8th century when Muslims from North Africa occupied the Iberian peninsula.
The site covers 3,400 square meters, making it the largest of its kind in Portugal, said Antonio Matias, the archeologist in charge of the site, quoted by the Lusa news agency. The largest necropolis ever found in the Iberian peninsula is in Spain, where around 500 people are buried. But Matias said Santarem could be even larger. The necropolis was discovered last week following municipal work at the site. The bodies were interred in tombs dug into the rock and pointing toward the Muslim holy city of Mecca, each covered in a veil, according to Islamic tradition, said Matias. “It still remains for us to find the mosque, but we already have some idea where it is,” he said.
Wow… see how fast Islam spread all over the world. This is why Islam is the only true religion for whole of the mankind and it didn’t just come for a certain civilisation or a state like all others.