Roman Murcia Art Route

Cartagena is the main Roman enclave in the Region, and the best Roman remains may be found here. The city was founded by the Carthagian leader Asdrubal in 223 b.C. and later conquered by Publius Cornelius Scipio in 209 b.C.

From this time on Catage Nova became a cornerstone of the empire erected by the people from Rome throughout the Mediterranean. From that old splendour we are left with the ruins of the great amphitheatre, on the slopes of Mount Sculapio, on top of which they would later build the bullring, it is today still possible to see the radial buttresses holding the stands under the arena, and the exterior elliptic wall, of tough ashlar work. But above all the spectacular theatre, recently discovered when digging on the hill where the old cathedral lies, and still being excavated. The theatre of Cartagena was one of the largest in Roman Spain, judging by its dimensions, its magnificent stage was in use between the 1st century b.C. and the 1st century a.D. The stalls were excaved in the rock, which is common in Greek arenae, but rather unusual in Roman monuments.

At number 29 of the El duque street, now a savings bank, there are traces of a Roman road, made with large black limestone blocks, and with all its usual elements, such as pavements and sewers. Here there are also remains of houses dating back to between the first century b.C. and the first century a.D. Similar traces may also be found at the Plaza de los Tres Reyes, where the road connecting the port with the Forum emerges again. The shafts for the columns of another public building, found in 1968, were later on erected on this road.

But the Roman presence in Cartagena is largest still. The arcades in the old cathedral keep two white marble columns among their stone secrets, la pretoriana and la de los Mártires, which in their time have withstood the weight of the amphiteathre in the Roman Theatre (discovered in 1987 and still being excavated), as well as a mosaic in opus signinum Augustus.

A little further down, in the clle de la Moreria Baja, we find the remains of yet another great public building, of which we still keep a colonnade with eight plinths of tuscan columns, made of black limestone. These were found when an old building was demolished in 1957. A large number of coins, amphorae, and other interesting objects were also found nearby, and may now be seen in the Archaeological Museum.

On the outskirts of the city, at Torre Ciega, just over jalf a mile from the urban area along the road to San Javier, is an area covering the ancient Via Augusta. A study stone cube appears, almost 4 metres in demension, on top of which was a funeral monument from the first century of our era. On the basis of this monument in Torre Ciega, an inscription which says To Titus Didius son of Publius of the Cornelian tribe.

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