Finding Rome on the Atlantic: an informal guide to some of the visible remains of Rome in Southern Portugal and South west Spain

David Johnson

Introduction

I have always been fascinated by the legacy, both physical and intellectual, left to us by the Roman Empire. Until the formation of the European Union, membership of the Empire was one of the few common experiences that united a substantial part of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The successor states were bequeathed a cultural framework – the Latin language and literature, together with its access to Greek culture, codes of Law, and the physical structures of an urban society including cities, roads, bridges and complex systems of water distribution, some of which are still in use.

Latin was transformed into the many Romance languages which still exist on the continent and it also had an influence on the development of neighbouring Germanic languages such as English and German. Roman law is still the basis of the legal systems of large parts of Europe.

The Islamic world was also deeply influenced by the culture and technology of the fragments of the empire it took over in the 7^th and 8^th centuries.

Although Portugal was one of Rome’s more distant provinces, it became very much “home from home” to a large number of Roman settlers –veritably “Rome on the Atlantic” to quote Martin Page in his book “First Global Village – How Portugal changed the world”[i]. It retains a rich heritage of remains from the Roman period, albeit unexcavated in many cases due to a lack of resources. It is also the case that much remains to be discovered. 

The purpose and scope of this article

We have had a house in Tavira since 2001, and one of the many pleasures of coming to Portugal has been the opportunity to search out the evidence of the Roman past which remains – “search out” being the operative words, since I quickly found that there was no single source of information about the sites. This state of affairs has improved lately, particularly with the publication of “Walking the Roman Paths of the Algarve” by the University of the Algarve (details below), but this leaflet does not include the near Alentejo or the important remains just over the border in Spain. Nor does it give much description or comment about the sites. 

To fill this gap, I intend to provide readers with a list of the principal Roman sites in the Algarve, with some coverage of the Alentejo and the nearer part of Andalusia and Extremadura in Spain. In each case, I will give a brief description, together with a commentary based on my own reactions to the sites. The list is not exhaustive – I have omitted some sites which are small, and I have not included the “Roman bridges” which are named on maps (Paderne, Tór etc) because I think that, while they may be on the alignment of a former Roman bridge, the present structure is almost entirely medieval or later. 

Brief history of the Roman period in Portugal and South West Spain

The Romans came to conquer Iberia as a consequence of the second Punic war against Carthage. The Carthaginians had been a leading power in Iberia since the 3^rd Century BC, but many of the tribes, particularly in the north of what was to become Portugal, remained hostile to any foreign army.

When the Carthaginian leader Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 AD, the Roman Senate sent an army under Gaius Cornelius Scipio (subsequently given the title Scipio Africanus after his great victory over Hannibal at Zama in North Africa) to cut off Hannibal’s source of reinforcements and money. Having overcome the Carthaginian forces in eastern Spain, they gradually occupied the whole of Spain, completing the process in 19 BC.

After victory over Carthage was secured in 201 BC, in 197 BC the Romans moved into present day Portugal. They encountered fierce resistance from the Lusitanian tribes in the centre of Portugal. It took many years for this resistance to be overcome, and in effect Roman administration was limited to the area south of the Tagus until the governorship of Julius Caesar beginning in 61 BC. Caesar succeeded in subduing the Lusitanians, at least in the south, and he authorised the founding of the city of Pax Julia (now Beja) in 48 BC on the spot where a peace treaty between Rome and the Lusitanians was signed.

Settled conditions now prevailed in the area which became the Algarve and the Alentejo, and the Roman province to be known as Lusitania began to be organised. Roman Lusitania included Portugal south of the Douro as well as Spanish Extremadura and parts of Castile. It was initially governed from Olisippo (Lisbon) until 25 BC when Emerita Augustus (Mérida) was founded. In the Algarve and the Alentejo, cities were founded by the Romans or developed from existing settlements. They include:

Roman name	Modern name
Ebora	Évora
Murtilis	Mértola
Mirobriga	(nr) Santiago do Cacém
Baesuris	Castro Marim
Balsa	(nr) Luz de Tavira
Ossonoba	Faro
Portus Magnus	Portimão
Lacobriga	Lagos

 

The settlement of Baetica, the nearest province in present day Spain, preceded the settlement of Lusitania by many years. Baetica was governed from the great city of Corduba (Córdoba). The first Roman town to be founded in Baetica was Itálica (Santiponce near Seville) in 205 BC by Scipio Africanus.

These provinces remained part of the Roman Empire for nearly five hundred years, developing and changing as the fortunes of Rome rose and fell. When the end came, the empire did not disappear overnight – rather, it fell apart from a mixture of internal decay and external pressure over nearly a century. The first break came when the Vandals, the Suebi and the Alans forced the Roman defences on the frozen Rhine on 31 December 406 AD. These barbarian tribes pillaged their way south through Gaul, reaching the Pyrenees in 409 AD. The Suebi (combined with the Alans) conquered present day Galicia and northern Portugal as far south as Coimbra. The Vandals reached Andalusia (some historians believe that the Vandals bequeathed us the name which the Moors later changed to Al-Andaluz) and the Algarve, taking Ossonoba in 418 AD. No significant Roman forces remained in Iberia, so the Romans decided to turn to the Visigoths, a more Romanized group who had initially settled in southern Gaul. By the middle of the 6^th Century, Iberia was divided between the Suebi in the North West and the Visigoths in the remainder of the peninsula except for a section of South East Spain, Southern Andalusia and the Southern Algarve which were in the hands of the Byzantines until (in some places) 624 AD. The Byzantines left few tangible signs of their presence, although three of the towers of Faro’s town wall are said to be of Byzantine origin. By the end of the 6^th century Visigothic domination of the peninsula was established and the scene was set for the Moorish invasions and the establishment of Spain and Portugal – but that, as they say, is another story.

Finding the sites – helpful references.

Area	Name of publication	Publisher	Comments
The Algarve	Leaflet: Walking the Roman paths of Algarve	University of the Algarve/Comissão de Coordenação da Região do Algarve (CCRA)	I found a copy of this useful leaflet which includes a map of the Algarve with many sites identified, in the Museum at Faro
Sites in the Algarve and the Alentejo	Booklet: Archaeological Routes in the Alentejo and the Algarve	Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage (IPPAR)	This booklet lists 11 sites ranging from the Stone Age to the Islamic period. I obtained a copy from Milreu (see below) which is administered by IPPAR.
Évora & Beja	Michelin green guide to Portugal	Michelin	The Green guides probably contain the best information on Roman remains. For Évora, the guide includes a plan of the town. Beja has a useful description in the guide, but the local tourist office can provide you with an excellent plan of the town and its surroundings.
Itálica & Mérida	Michelin green guide to Spain	Michelin	See comments above with regard to Green guides. The guide is excellent for Merida, but the coverage of Itálica (under Seville) is rather cursory. In both cases local information is available from the sites.

 

The sites: A. Faro & the Eastern Algarve.

This section covers the area from the Guadiana to Vilamoura, starting in the east.

1. Castro Marim Castle contains the remains of pre-Roman fortifications.[ii] 

2. Cacela Velha was a fortified settlement known as Castellum. Remains include a Roman dam, and oven and nearby the remains of a villa at Quinta da Manta Rota. Unfortunately all of these are on private land[iii]

3. Tavira was not a significant Roman settlement. The “Ponte Romana” in the town is actually dated to the 13^th Century, and is therefore of Islamic origin with much later repair. It is likely, however, that there was a bridge on this site in Roman times since we know that Roman road from Baesuris to Pax Julia crossed the Gilão here.[iv]

4. Balsa, which was situated on the shore of the Ria Formosa close to Luz de Tavira, is truly the “lost city” (cidade perdida) of the Algarve. Having been deserted at the end of the Roman period, it was used as the source of building materials for surrounding settlements, notably Tavira, in the Middle Ages. There were, nevertheless, substantial remains left underground until the 1990s when part of the site was destroyed before excavation could take place. The Campo Arqueológico de Tavira published a major piece of research on the history of the town in 2007[v] based on the artefacts that remain, together with aerial photography, which reveals the full extent of the loss. The book is beautifully produced and well worth browsing for the copious information it brings together in map, plan and reconstruction form to give a clear image of the town and its inhabitants. An English language website compiled by the author of the book gives very useful background[vi]. Balsa was the largest city on the Algarve coast with an area of 47 Ha compared to 22 Ha for Ossonoba (Faro), 23 Ha for Beja and 12 Ha for Évora. It played a major role in the trade routes between Portugal, Roman Africa and the Mediterranean. It is well worth going to the shore of the Ria Formosa at Torre d’Aires (signposted off the N125 just to the west of Luz de Tavira) to gain a sense of the site – I believe that the tower is not Roman, but part of the coastal defences of (probably) the 17^th century.

5. Moncarapacho has a Parish Museum[vii] which houses an antiquarian collection of objects from many periods and sources, including Roman and Visigothic work from the area. Close to Moncarapacho (Vale da Serra) there is a stretch of Roman road with original paving showing wheel ruts[viii] .

6. Near Estói lies the important villa site of Milreu[ix]. This villa was the centre of an agricultural estate owned by a rich family on this site on a Roman road close to Ossonoba (Faro) and near a crossing of the Rio Seco. There were several phases of building, starting in the 1^st century AD with a simple farm building of rammed earth which is yet to be excavated. In the 2^nd century a new building with a peristyle[x] and atrium[xi] was constructed next to the agricultural part of the estate including servants’ quarters and an oil press. At the end of the 3^rd century the villa was extensively remodelled to include an interior garden around a water tank overlooked by an elaborate triclinium[xii] with an apse[xiii]. An extensive range of Roman baths was then added next to this section of the house.

In the 4^th century the villa was further embellished with high quality mosaics of fish and other marine creatures – these have survived well and are very fine. At this time a temple was added to the villa. The remains of this temple are impressive, standing as high as the start of the vaulted ceiling. The entrance to the temple also features marine mosaics.

In the 6^th Century the temple was converted into a church, with the addition of a font. Christian, and later Muslim, burials took place in the area next to the temple. Islamic funerary inscriptions from the 8^th and the 10^th centuries reveal that the settlement continued to be used until the vaults collapsed at the end of the 10^th century. The site was then probably abandoned.

In the early 16^th century a farmhouse was built on the abandoned ruins. Visitors can visit this house, the interior floors of which have been beautifully excavated to show both the 16^th century rooms and the underlying Roman structures.

The site has an excellent small exhibition room which contains finds from the excavations together with very clear interpretation of the structure. A detailed booklet about the site is also available from the reception desk[xiv].

7. In the Quinta de Marim nature reserve near Olhão there are the remains of Roman salt pans[xv] used for the preservation of fish and for the making of garum, a fermented (some would say rotted!) fish sauce much enjoyed by the Romans. The nature reserve, which includes some pleasant pine woods, two areas of water with hides to observe wild birds, and kennels where a delightful group of Portuguese Water Dogs are kept for breeding purposes, is a pleasant ½ day visit.

8. In Faro the Museum in the old town is much to be recommended. It contains a superb 3^rd century mosaic of Oceanus surrounded by the four winds which was discovered in the course of building work near the Railway Station. It also holds two of the busts unearthed at Milreu – one of Agrippina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius and the mother of the Emperor Nero, and the other of the Emperor Hadrian. It has recently re-organised a collection of dedicatory and funerary stoneware into a very impressive interpretative exhibition entitled “Paths of the Roman Algarve”[xvi]. The Museum holds other collections of historical and artistic objects and it is housed in a former convent, which is a fine building.

The present walls of the old town are mainly Islamic in origin, although remodelled in the medieval period, but they almost certainly rest on Roman foundations. There are three towers on the seaward side of the town which are thought to have been built by the Byzantines during their occupation of the southern Algarve in the 7^th Century 

The sites: B. The Algarve west of Faro.

9. At Quinta do Lago there is a trail around the edge of the lagoon and the Golf course on which you will find another set of Roman salting tanks used in the making of “garum”. The walk also includes the chance of seeing a rare bird, the Purple Gallinule, which nests here.

10. Cerro da Vila[xvii] in Vilamoura is another example of Roman agribusiness combined with luxurious living. The site, close to the modern Marina in Vilamoura, includes the villa dating from the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD together with a set of public baths. There are also the remains of smaller houses, funerary monuments and a port area. The villa has the remains of two hexagonal towers which may have been for defensive purposes at this site directly on the sea coast. The living areas of the house are decorated with mosaics which, although not of the outstanding quality of those at Milreu, are striking, with mainly geometric patterns.

The site also has an area of stone tanks which were either used for the salting of fish and the making of “garum” or for the dyeing of fabric using the purple dye extracted from the Murex shell.

The small museum is well laid out and has good interpretation of the finds from the excavation. Work seems to be continuing on the Port site.

11. The museums at Loulé, Albufeira and Silves all hold Roman collections. I cannot comment on them at this point, not having visited them. I am also aware of that Caldas de Monchique is of Roman origin, but despite having visited the spa I do not know whether any remains are visible. 

12. The new museum at Portimão contains an excellent permanent exhibition devoted to the history and development of the town[xviii]. This includes a section on the Evolution of Human Occupation from Mesolithic times to the immediate past. The Roman collection is small but well displayed, and establishes the context of Roman occupation within a wider world centred on the Mediterranean. 

The geographical area around Portimão, between the Ria de Alvor and the Arade, contains several villa sites including particularly Abicada which is a large site to the west of Portimão. The mosaics from here are of high quality. Unfortunately the site is not open to the public and that it is somewhat neglected at present. I have not been able to find a clear description of the villa, although it is clear from oblique references in other publications that it is regarded as similar in scale to Milreu and Cerro da Vila.

 

13. Lagos (Lacobriga) has a regional museum which has an antiquarian collection of Roman remains from the surrounding area. This includes a bust of the Emperor Gallienus from Milreu as well as a section of mosaic flooring and painted wall from the villa at Boca do Rio (q.v.). It is now thought that the original remains of Lacobriga do not lie under modern Lagos but rather in a nearby area known as Monte Molião[xix] - many finds have been made in this area. I have seen it suggested that this area declined at the end of the 1^st Century AD and that it was then succeeded by a settlement on the site of present day Lagos. There is evidence of a fish salting industry in Lagos itself, and of a villa at Meia Praia. The booklet reference I have given is well worth reading to get a clearer picture of the complexities of the settlement pattern– I found my copy at the Lagos Museum.

14. In Praia da Luz the remains of Roman baths and fish salting tanks were re-excavated recently and are open to the public.

15. At Boca do Rio another significant villa was excavated in the 19^th Century. Some of the finds are on show in the Lagos Museum, but the site itself has suffered from erosion and treasure hunting. Nevertheless Boca do Rio is well worth a visit to sample the atmosphere of what is probably the furthest south western outpost of the Roman Empire.

The sites: C. The Guadiana & the Alentejo, including the Alcoutim area on the Guadiana.

16. Along the Guadiana (Anas Fluvium). The road from Castro Marim to Alcoutim closely follows the former Roman road. Along this road, particularly where it runs close to the river, there appear to have been a significant number of buildings from the Roman period supporting both agriculture, and trade moving up and down the river from Merida and Mértola to the sea. Still visible is the villa/settlement at Montinho das Laranjeiras (next to the road) which is well preserved and interpreted. The site includes the foundations of an early church dated to the 6^th/7^th Century and thought to have been constructed during the Byzantine occupation of southern Iberia. The original construction of the church was in the form of an equal armed cross which is characteristic of the Greek tradition. Interestingly, the church was fitted in to the remainder of the site which suggests continuity of occupation from the Roman period into the early Middle Ages, through the Islamic period and into the Christian re-conquest in the 13^th Century.

In the village of Alomo, the remains of a Roman dam can be seen blocking the Formalha creek.

Lastly at Alcoutim the Castle museum has an interesting collection of remains from the surrounding area. On the Spanish side of the Guadiana lies the small town of Sanlucar which was probably the site of the Roman port of Praesidium. I am not aware of any remains on the Spanish side of the river, but it is a pleasant, sleepy town well worth the 5 minute ferry ride.

17. The road continues into the Alentejo and on to Mértola (Murtilis). This town justifies an entry to itself. Mertola describes itself as a museum town, and this description is fully justified. The town occupies a spectacular site at the confluence of the Guadiana and Oeiras rivers. It is dominated by its castle (of Moorish origin) which stands at the top of the hill, but the town below has as many surprises as the onion has layers. Next to the Castle lies an area of excavated Islamic buildings below which are the remains of the Roman forum. Part of the forum was supported by a cryptoporticus[xx]which was later used by the Moors as a cistern.

The main church in the town is a converted mosque, with many Islamic features including the Mihrab or prayer niche. There is an excellent Islamic museum in the old town with many beautiful artefacts which gives a real sense of continuity between the time of the Moors and the present day.

When the town hall was being reconstructed in the 1960s the remains of a Roman villa were discovered beneath the later building. The site of this villa (in a cellar beneath the new town hall) has been preserved and turned into a museum of Roman artefacts. This has an excellent coverage of the town in the Roman period.

On the side of the Guadiana below the town stands the remains of the Roman port. These are substantial, and must have remained in use well into the mediaeval period. It is well worth climbing down to the water and walking through the internal tunnel which ran down to the river. 

In addition to these sites, an early Christian basilica has been discovered in Rossio do Carmo square, and this is now another museum. Graves with epitaphs from the 5^th to the 7^th Centuries were discovered here.

There also exist the remains of the old town wall from the Roman era. There are also substantial stretches of Roman roads towards Serpa, towards Alcoutim and towards Beja. A beautifully produced book[xxi]available from the tourist office describes all aspects of the town with excellent photographs. If you have not visited Mértola, it should be high on your list for a visit.

18. Beja (Pax Julia) is a large city on a “monte” on the plains of the Alentejo. Details of the regional museum (including a Visigothic collection in the Igreja de Santo Amaro, which is itself of Visigothic origin) together with other features of the city are given in the plan of the town[xxii] available from the tourist office. The town walls are medieval, but they include two arches (Portas de Avis and Portas de Évora) of Roman origin.

19. Signposted off the Aljustrel road out of Beja you will find the Villa site of Pisões[xxiii]. This villa was discovered accidentally in 1967 on agricultural land and is on an isolated sloping site in the middle of the countryside. It is typical of the large number of villas in the Alentejo, most of which remain unexcavated, which are based on supplying food and drink to the markets of Beja and other towns as well as the army. It has some good mosaics, but for me the main interest was the substantial remnant of the dam which was used to supply water for the house including its baths.

20. If you take the IP2 from Beja to Vidigueira, and then take the EN258 towards Alvito you will come to the site of the villa at São Cucufate (Villa Áulica). This is a very interesting site since parts of the building survive up to first floor level. The site had been occupied during the 1^st and 2^nd Centuries successively by earlier villas, but late in the 2^nd Century the existing villa was demolished on order to build the magnificent villa the remains of which are present today. 

The IPPAR guide[xxiv]provides an interesting trail through the surviving ruins. The villa was abandoned in the middle of the 5^th Century, but the buildings remained in alternative uses, partly as farm buildings, and partly as the monastery of São Cucufate. The monastery was again abandoned during the Christian re-conquest, but it was restored in 1255 AD. It remained in church hands until the 18^th Century. Perhaps because of its chequered history little remains of the mosaic floors. 

There are the remains of a temple in the grounds which are reminiscent (but on a smaller scale) of the temple at Milreu. As at Milreu, this temple became a church in the 5^th Century.

21. Mirobriga[xxv] is to be found off the N120 road from Santiago do Cacém to Grândola. The site is large and probably represents the remains of a municipium which acquired this status in the 1^st Century AD. There are the remains of a temple dedicated to Venus on one side of the forum. Other buildings surrounded the square which may be the “public” buildings of the province (basilica and curia). To the south the remains of shops have been identified. The town has a large and well preserved spa. The site is crossed by a Roman road which leaves the site by a single arched bridge. The road probably leads to the hippodrome, the site of which on the outskirts of the town is still visible. A visit to Mirobriga is highly recommended.

22. The last site in the Alentejo is the incomparable city of Évora (Ebora)[xxvi]. Rich in the remains of all periods of its history, there are three particular reminders of its Roman past: 

i) The Templo Romano next to the Pousada in the centre of the city. The temple was probably dedicated to Diana, and has been preserved because of its use as a fortress in the Middle Ages

 

ii) The traces of the Roman walls between the Paço dos Duques de Canaval and the Paço dos Condes de Basto.

 

iii) The remains of the Roman baths under the Câmara Municipal.

Évora must be experienced as a whole to appreciate its atmosphere. Like Mértola, it is composed of many layers of history.

The sites: D. Further afield – Itálica and Mérida

I make no apology for including these two Spanish sites in my list. Itálica is close enough to the Algarve since the opening of the E01 for a day trip, while the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano in Mérida is well worth a longer visit to this city which was the capital of Roman Lusitania.

3. Italica[xxvii] is to be found adjacent to the modern village of Santiponce 10 kms to the northwest of Seville on the N630 towards Merida. It is said to have been founded by Scipio Africanus in 205 BC as the first Roman town in Spain, and by the first Century AD it became very influential in the Roman world after two of the “five good emperors”, Trajan and Hadrian were born there. Hadrian took a particular pride in his native town and embellished it with many of the public buildings whose remains can be seen today. The undoubted star of the site is the amphitheatre which is in a good state of preservation. It had a capacity of 25,000 spectators and I challenge anyone who visits it not to be affected by the atmosphere as you walk along the tunnels once used by gladiators, wild animals and those sentenced to execution in the arena.

Nearby in the village of Santiponce the Roman theatre is also well preserved.

Many of the mosaics remain on the site, although some have been removed to museums and houses in Seville. Well worth a visit despite some poor restoration work in the past.

24. The Museo Nacional de Arte Romano at Mérida (Emerita Augustus) is an amazing place[xxviii]. The building itself was completed in 1985 to the design of the architect Rafael Moneo Vallés. It is entirely in Roman style brick which is ideal for the display of the many pieces of marble within. In the basement the original excavation site over which the museum is built contains the remains of villas and tombs.

Visitors to the museum leave into the area which contains the Theatre and the Amphitheatre. Both are very well preserved, the theatre particularly so. It dates from 24 BC and was built at the orders of Augustus’s son-in-law Agrippa. The wall at the back of stage was decorated in Hadrian’s reign.

The Amphitheatre is smaller than the one at Itálica, holding a mere 14,000 spectators. 

The site also contains the remains of the Roman villa known as the Casa Romana del Anfiteatro.

In the town of Mérida itself, you can see the remains of a Temple of Diana as well as two Roman bridges and sections of the aqueducts which brought water to the Roman city.

This is a feast for those who are interested in the legacy of Rome.

Conclusion

I hope that this rather lengthy article will be of use to you. I would be delighted to receive any comments, corrections or additional information that some of you will undoubtedly have – my email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . In the course of writing this article, I came across three very useful websites which you may wish to look at. They are:

The Algarve Archaeological Association: http//www.arqueoalgarve.org/index.html

The British Historical Society of Portugal: http://www.bhsportugal.org/

Campo Arqueológico de Tavira: http://www.arkeotavira.com

 

References