Archaeologists from the universities of Marburg, Vienna and Cantabria believe they are revealing the intense commercial flow that existed with southern Hispania
“It was a surprising discovery.” This is how archaeologists describe their new finds in Regina. At the beginning of September, the excavations returned to the hands of experts from the universities of Vienna and Marburg (Germany), who returned to the Roman site of the South Campiña to determine the perimeter of the city and the area controlled by the ancient Roman city, located in Casas de Reina. Until now it is known that as an administrative city it controlled a vast area with numerous villas.
In search of the boundaries of the urban fabric in the southeast, the archaeologists of this international project, in collaboration with the University of Cantabria, conducted a survey measuring 4 by 7 meters. They did it where they “discovered interesting anomalies in the ground through electrical resistance” last season.
Based on previous data, “perimeter demarcation structures such as a wall or a defensive moat were expected to be found.” As the excavations progressed on a site that has been looted several times, walls of remarkable dimensions have emerged that belonged to a building whose nature is still unknown. Over the days, the experts have found answers to many of the doubts posed by these structures.
«An important series of fish-salting amphorae has appeared that can be dated to the 2nd century AD. They would come from southern Hispania, especially from the Cadiz area. According to the archaeologists’ initial findings, “these findings reveal the important commercial relationship of an inland Roman city with the coastal regions to the south.”
Now it is time to analyze the remains found, accurately date the chronology and establish the typology of the amphorae and other excavated remains. It is one of Extremadura’s greatest historical-cultural assets. In recent times, groups such as Regina Viva have denounced the “precarious situation” in which, they believe, the Roman site is found.
The goal is to know if we are facing a shop or a tavern on the city limits. “Once we have the conclusions, we will propose a more defined hypothesis about the nature of the building,” says Felix Teichner, professor at the University of Marburg (Germany).
Last Saturday, this building, with walls over two meters high, was re-roofed for its protection pending future interventions.
At the same time, another smaller survey was conducted, the results of which are also bearing fruit. There, hydraulic pavement-covered structures were found belonging to a Roman house located next to the maximum decumanus, the main street of the city. “It can be some kind of impluvium or a swimming pool. The depth, but also the quality of the work and the materials used are surprising,” says Teichner. The excavated remains are in a very good state of preservation.
During the three-week work, surface surveys were also conducted at several locations in the Regina controlled area. At this stage of the project and led by Günther Schörner, professor of archeology at the Institute of Classical Archeology at the University of Vienna, work has expanded to areas around Regina, such as the nearby Sierra de San Miguel, where new deposits associated with mining in times of Roman occupation. Surface works have also been carried out on a large number of plots in the municipality of Casas de Reina and other nearby towns. A dozen new deposits have been found that have not been catalogued. In addition, it has been possible to refine the chronology and functionality of the deposits already known. Schörner emphasizes that Regina had « an intense agricultural activity in the pre-Roman and Roman times, the remains show this. It is an ideal place to explore. There is much to discover and much to study.
Likewise, geophysical surveys have been conducted in areas close to the deposit to determine the possible farm buildings from which the work of the land was monitored. These investigations together with the superficial ones form the fundamental basis of this project which also has the fundamental support of the University of Cantabria by the archaeologist Jesús Ignacio Jiménez Chaparro. The process begins with the superficial location of materials. Once the deposit is located, geophysical prospecting is performed and, as a final step, specific excavations can be performed to confirm the data.
As a novelty in this phase of the project, paleobotanical tests were conducted to find out what was grown in Regina. Two paleobotanists from the University of Emilia Romana were responsible for collecting pollen samples from different time periods in different parts of the site.
Víctor Martínez Hahnmüller, one of the project directors, assures that «all scientific objectives have been achieved in this phase of the project. Now it is time to analyze and study all the collected data.” It should be noted that the project also has a didactic character.
Students from the universities of Vienna and Marburg participated in the excavations and gained their first experience of fieldwork in Regina. A total of 32 people took part in the work completed last Saturday, which has received significant logistical support from the Casas de Reina City Council.
The Roman Studies Foundation and the National Museum of Roman Art are also collaborating on the project.
A new phase of this project will start next spring, which will last until 2024 and which aims to reveal how the city of Regina was articulated with the territory it controlled.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
