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This paper provides a brief synthesis about the Roman city of Augustobriga. It is located under the medieval town of Talavera la Vieja, which is currently in the floodable area of the Valdecañas reservoir (Cáceres, Spain).
Although since the 16th century many researchers have studied this archaeological site, it was not until the 19th century when, owing to the discovery of a plaque with the inscription: “Senatus Populusque Augustobrigensium", the connection between this site and Augustóbriga ́s name was confirmed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, José Ramón Mélidas research focused on this site. In 1931 Los Mármoles ́ temple and La Cilla' ́s building were declared Historic and Artistical Monuments. During the postwar period, the German Archaeological Institute and spanish archaeologists such as García Bellido carried out the last excavations before the construction of the Valdecañas reservoir in the 1960s. Since then, the Roman city has been subjected to few studies.
However, in 2021 archaeologists from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport have worked on the site and its surrounding area. This paper updates the knowledge of Augustobriga as a result of this new research.
Despite the discovery of archaeological remains from orientalizing period in Augustobriga, in the Iron Age the nearest oppidum must have been in Alija. Also archeological remains from the Roman Republic period have appeared, although the splendor of the city began with the emperor Augustus.
From an urban point of view, Augustobriga was a medium-sized city. A semicircular wall protected an area of 22 ha. In some sections it had square-shaped towers and had, at least, three entrances for the cardus and the decumanus maximus. Inside, blocks formed an orthogonal regular grid, and it has been possible to distinguish up to three decumani with a width of 6 meters. Sewers ran under the streets, although it is still partially known.
The forum, the most monumental space, was in the center of the city, next to the ravine and the baths. In this square is where Los Mármoles ́ temple and Cilla ́s temple were located but it should be noted that, in the middle of the 20th century, both buildings were moved to a higher point to save them from the reservoir. It is possible that there was a third building but nothing has been preserved, only a platform of granite blocks and a pond. Finally, the square was porticoed on three of its sides.
The Roman city had other public buildings, such as its monumental baths, at northeast of the forum. Outside the walls the location of the entertainment buildings, such as the amphitheatre, is still unclear. Future archaeological interventions will clarify it.
What concerns the residential and industrial areas of the city is ambiguous. At southeast of the walls there are remains of suburban villa and the only aqueduct identified at the moment. Finally, with regard to funerary spaces, three necropolises have been identified, all of them close to the original entrances to the city. In the western one, two funerary towers have been documented that would have a height of 2 meters. Unfortunately they are located at a point of the reservoir that is permanently submerged.
Although recent research has produced a considerable advancement, many archaeological questions remain to be solved. In any case, the ability to find the answers lies in the city ́s research, resorting to programs based on geophysical prospection and analysis of archaeological remains.
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- Presentación
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