Funeral monuments discovered in Spain's Segóbriga site

The excavation work on the archaeological site of Segóbriga is nearing completion and two new mausoleums of early Imperial chronology have been located at the foot of the main artery connecting the city with the port of Carthago Nova.

Aerial view of Segóbriga [Credit: Parque Arqueológico de Segóbriga]

The continuing archaeological work in the northern necropolis of Segóbriga has revealed the existence of great funerary monuments erected by private individuals who have found architectural and iconographic influences in Roman models from Italy. Its closest parallels can be found in necropolises in Italian cities, such as Aquileia, Sarsina, Porta Nocera, in Pompeii, Porto, in Ostia, or in the Appian Way of Rome itself.

This research project is directed by Dr. Rosario Cebrián from the Complutense University of Madrid, and also includes the archaeologist Ignacio Hortelano and the Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Trier, Dr. Markus Trunk, who is carrying out the study of the architectural and sculptural decoration of the funerary monuments.

Excavations at Segóbriga [Credit: AIA]

For three weeks, around fifteen students of History and Archaeology from different Spanish universities and also from the German university of Trier have taken part in the excavations as part of an internship programme in Archaeology, which has been carried out in Segóbriga since 2013, with the aim of enabling them to acquire the necessary skills for the future exercise of their profession.

During the period of excavations, the Provincial Council of Cuenca, in charge of the management of the Segóbriga Archaeological Park, has developed, in parallel with the excavations, tours guided by archaeologists as part of the dissemination and leisure activities scheduled for this summer. Under the title `Segóbriga investigates its past', this initiative has allowed the archaeological work to be brought closer to the numerous visitors who, during the summer season, visit and participate in the varied and extensive programme offered by the Park.

Segóbriga or 'Victorious city' was an important Celtic and Roman city, and is today an impressive site located on a hill near the present Spanish town of Saelices.

Source: El Diario [August 25, 2018]