The quiet town of Estoi, a 10-kilometre drive from Faro city center, has some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the Algarve. Excavations began at the site of Mellaro in 1877, and the oldest part of the Roman ruins found is believed to date back to the 19th century. 1st or 2nd AD, with a large villa and temple from the 3rd century AD, and water mosaics suggest that the temple may have been dedicated to a sea god.