Down the coast a few miles from Tarifa are the ruins of a Roman City: Baelo Claudia. It is one of the best preserved Roman cities in Spain, and also one of the most complete. Here you can find a Forum, temples to various gods, administrative buildings, market, theatre, baths, city gates, and even the remains of ancient aqueducts. Archaeological investigation is on-going here, and there is also a nice museum which details the original city as it is known, historical information about the site, and artefacts.
From investigation, archaeologists have determined that the original Roman city was constructed in the 2nd century B.C. A commercial city, it is believed that the main industry here was fish salting and, while Baelo Claudia was never a huge thriving metropolis, it was a fairly prosperous city for it's time. Scientists don't know why or how the city was destroyed although there is some degree of speculation that earthquakes, common in this part of Spain, were responsible at least in part for the demise of the city about a century after it was first begun.
There were a series of 3 different aqueducts to bring fresh water into the city from the surrounding hillsides. This city had fountains, cisterns for holding water and at least one nice Roman bath for it's residents to use.
 |
| The Basilica of Baelo Claudio |
The Basilica would have been the place where local magistrates oversaw small civil and mercantile cases. It is one of the largest and most grandiose buildings in the city. In the Basilica stands a reproduction of an original statue of Trajan, a great Roman Emperor.
 |
| Emperor Trajan |
 |
| It was a bit of a windy day along the seacoast! |
 |
| Columns along a residential street |
 |
| Part of the fish salting factory |
 |
| Part of the Baths |
 |
| Steps to the Forum |
 |
| The theatre |
 |
| A passageway inside the theatre ruins |
The countryside in and around Baelo Claudio was just beautiful! Here are some pictures of the area....
 |
These wildflowers were growing around the ruins of one of the
ancient aqueducts |
From investigation, archaeologists have determined that the original Roman city was constructed in the 2nd century B.C. A commercial city, it is believed that the main industry here was fish salting and, while Baelo Claudia was never a huge thriving metropolis, it was a fairly prosperous city for it's time. Scientists don't know why or how the city was destroyed although there is some degree of speculation that earthquakes, common in this part of Spain, were responsible at least in part for the demise of the city about a century after it was first begun. 
No comments:
Post a Comment