Magnetic survey finds probable Roman roadside station in southern Spain

In brief 3 key points

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• A large buried Roman building was mapped without digging.
• Few Roman roadside stations are securely known in the Iberian Peninsula.
• Its date and use need further investigation.

Archaeologists from the University of Córdoba have found a large buried Roman building near the ancient town of Mellaria in southern Spain. They think it was a mansio, an official stopping place where travellers, soldiers and government officials could stay and get supplies. The team mapped it with a geomagnetic survey and did not excavate.

The building lies near Fuente Obejuna in Córdoba province, just outside the ancient city. It is close to a major Roman road between Corduba (modern Córdoba) and Emerita Augusta (modern Mérida). The results are published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Many stopping places along Roman roads are mentioned in historical sources. Relatively few roadside stations have been securely identified by archaeologists in the Iberian Peninsula, however. The new building's location, size and internal layout are similar to those of known mansiones elsewhere in Europe.

Eight rooms, a larger room and an open area

The building is 48 metres long and covers 1,290 square metres. The survey shows a rectangular plan divided into regularly arranged rooms, with a large open area inside.

There appear to be eight rooms of similar size, each about 3.6 by 4 metres. Their repeated layout is comparable to barrack-style rooms at other Roman roadside stations. Examples include Carnuntum in Austria and Vindonissa in Switzerland.

At the western end is a larger room of about 44.8 square metres. It is similar in size to the bathing facilities at a Roman roadside station in Rottweil, Germany. What the room at Mellaria was used for has not been established.

An open area about 11 metres wide may have been a courtyard for animals, carriages or the temporary storage of goods. The building's position outside the town would have let travellers, animals and vehicles stop without entering the main streets.

The researchers suggest the relatively simple arrangement of rooms fits a working roadside station. Grander lodgings for high-ranking officials could have heated rooms, decorated interiors, baths and formal courtyards. The precise function of the Mellaria building and the status of its occupants remain uncertain.

On the road between two provincial capitals

Corduba was the capital of the province of Baetica, and Emerita Augusta the capital of Lusitania. The road between them is Route XI in the Antonine Itinerary, an ancient list of Roman routes and distances. It was part of a wider network used for military movements, commerce and official messages across Roman Hispania.

Mellaria began as a military post around the middle of the 2nd century BC. It later grew into a Roman town with mining, metalworking and farming. The Antonine Itinerary places it 52 Roman miles from Corduba.

The building's location fits this route. It may have been part of the cursus publicus, the empire's official transport and communications system. Roadside stations provided lodging, replacement animals and supplies at intervals along major roads. The building's official status has not yet been confirmed.

For the survey, the researchers used a cart-mounted system with four magnetic gradiometers and precision satellite positioning. The instruments measure small changes in the Earth's magnetic field, which let the team map buried features. Earlier work at Mellaria used aerial photography, thermal imaging, near-infrared sensors and lidar to study the town and trace the road.

Because nobody dug, the remains are still preserved in the ground. The survey cannot give the building's construction date. It also cannot confirm how each space was used. The identification as a mansio is provisional.

The survey picked up further anomalies around the main building, which may be more buried structures. The researchers suggest these may belong to a larger roadside complex. Further archaeological investigation would be needed to establish the building's date and function.

Sources (1)

Peer-reviewed paperfrom University of Córdoba

• Archaeologists discover major Roman roadside station (HeritageDaily)

Edited by Guiseppe Weijermars

Spotted a mistake? Tell the editor about a spelling error or a fact that is wrong. We correct stories openly.

roman roadsmansiohispaniageophysicsbaetica

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