EMERITA
AUGUSTA MMVI
200
- 19 B.C. The Romans gradually conquered Spain and
Portugal, defeating various Iberian and Celtiberian tribes, and the
Greeks and Carthaginians living along the Mediterranean coast.
25
B.C. Augustus
had just become the first emperor of Rome. Mérida was founded by
the general Carisius, who was under orders from Marcus Agrippa, the
son-in-law of the emperor Augustus.
The war to conquer the last
part of Spain, Gallicia, was just ending, and a town was needed to give
the soldiers of the Vth and Xth Legions a home. The town was called
Augusta Emerita, because the Latin for retired soldiers is 'emeriti'.
Soon afterwards the Theatre and
the Amphitheatre were built. Mérida became the capital of the
province of Lusitania.
About A.D.400
The Romans lost control of Spain, as tribes from the north, such as the
Visigoths, invaded. The Visigoths became Christians.
A.D.713
Mérida came under Arab/Moorish control. The
people of Mérida were mostly Christians and were unhappy to be
ruled by the Arabs in Córdoba. The Arabs therefore built the
Alcazaba to protect themselves. (This was built on top of Roman houses
and roads. In order to be able to get water without going outside the
walls, they built the cistern or aljibe.)
Questions to
answer after the explanation.
Listen to
what is said to you, and use your eyes!
ALCAZABA
from
here we will see the Roman bridge, and we will also see some
Roman houses and an Arabic cistern or aljibe - for getting water.
Which people built the Alcazaba - the Romans,
the Visigoths or the Arabs?
What can you see below ground level
over quite a large area of the Alcazaba? (i.e.
What was it built on top of?)
They
used Roman stones to build the defensive walls. There is one
type of stone
which can be seen in the walls and is very distinctive. (You
will see stones like this in
other places.)
What had these stones been used for by the Romans before they
were moved and put in the walls?
ALJIBE
Which people built the aljibe or cistern -
the Romans, the Visigoths or the Arabs
What could they get from it?
Why was the aljibe
necessary?
How many staircases are there when you go
down inside?
Why? One
for
and one for
What type of column
was used to decorate the outside of the entrances?
Which people made these
decorations - the Romans, the Visigoths or the Arabs?
Did they arrive in Spain
before or after the Romans?
Did they arrive in Spain before or after the Arabs?
Why were the steps going
down made so large (and uncomfortable for humans)?
ROMAN BRIDGE /
PONS ROMANUS NOTISSIMUS
How long is the
bridge?
metres
How many arches does it
have?
Do a quick sketch of the five
arches nearest to the Alcazaba.
Which two parts of the design
were to make the bridge stronger if the river should
flood?
i)
ii)
The bridge was cut twice. When and why?
i)
ii)
What is the name of the river?
Which sea does it flow into?
Where does it flow into this sea?
HOUSE BY THE PLAZA
DE TOROS (The House of the Mithraeum)
Cosmos Mosaic
a) What kind of things are shown in the
mosaic called 'Cosmos'?
Which colours do you notice most?
What is the most valuable material used to
make the mosaic?
Walls of house (not where the
mosaic is)
b) How high above the ground are most of the
surviving walls in this house?
Describe some plaster (yeso) you
can still see on a wall that used to be inside. (what colours and
patterns are used)
Peristylium (near to the road)
c) Do a quick plan (a bird's eye view) of the
large peristylium.
Make sure you show where the columns
would have been.
Is the place where water was stored
in the house (very near to the road) above or
below the original ground level of the house?
Was it originally covered?
Where did the water come from?
What may the downstairs
rooms have been used for?
i)
ii)
AMPHITHEATRE
(cavea=seating; summa=top; media=middle;
ima=lowest)
Draw a rough plan (a bird's
eye view). Include the place where the governor (the ruler of the
province) sat, and the place where the man who paid for the games sat,
where the animals
were kept, where the gladiators entered.
How many people could watch shows there in
Roman times?
How did members of the audience reach their
seats?
What were naumachiae?
What two pieces
of evidence suggest that the amphitheatre was used for
naumachiae?
a)
b)
Other information?
THEATRE
Sketch (very quickly) the stage
building.
(Show where the columns and
statues were.)
A lot of marble has
disappeared from the stage-building. How was it fixed on to the walls?
i)
ii)
Why did people take it away?
How many rows /
lines of seats survive? (Some of the rows are in a very bad state!)
How many people could watch
plays here in Roman times?
Did a Roman theatre have a curtain?
Which part of the Theatre has not fallen down
since Roman times?
Most of the theatre was buried.
What was the belief about the part that was never buried?
INSCRIPTION
Who is mentioned in an inscription above the
entrance for the audience?
Marcus
PERISTYLIUM
What was the purpose of the large
peristylium behind the theatre?
What was found in the little chapel
in this peristylium?
OTHER THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
THE ARCH
OF TRAJAN
Who was Trajan?
The first emperor born in
.
He reigned from AD to .
Did the arch always look so
boring?
THE TEMPLE (OF DIANA?) / THE FORUMS
Why is it likely that this is where one
of the Roman forums was?
i)
ii)
Can you see why the temple has not
fallen down over the last 1500 years?
Do a drawing of one
of the columns, and say what type of column it is.
Why were there two forums in
Mérida (and in Corduba and Tarraco)?
Why/Where have they recently found evidence
for the other forum?
AQUEDUCTS AND
RESERVOIRS
Most of the way the aqueduct from
Proserpina's Lake goes along at ground level. How
long is the whole aqueduct?
How far is the reservoir from
Merida?
What two reasons are there for the
aqueduct being on arches high above the ground
as it gets near to Mérida?
i)
ii)
Draw one of the arches of
the Acueducto de los Milagros, showing what it was made
from and how it was made.
Why is one of the two Roman
reservoirs called Proserpina's Lake?
HOUSES BY THE AMPHITHEATRE
a) An aqueduct
ends near these houses. Where did it begin?
b) What is the Latin name
for the tower where the water was filtered (cleaned) and then
allowed to flow on to other parts of the town?
c) In one house you can
see a kitchen. How can you know it is the kitchen?
d) In another house, there
is a mosaic with a large number of examples of a certain type of
food which must have been expensive in Emerita Augusta. What type of
food?
THE CIRCUS
Draw a diagram to
show its shape.
How long was the spina? metres
Why was the right hand side (the side further
from the main road) a little wider?
How many people could watch the chariot races
here?
What was the name of the man who won the most
races ever in the Rome?
How many did he win?
Which province was he born in?
What was the capital town
of this province?
MUSEUM
Ground floor
1. Wall-painting from the amphitheatre - what
does it show?
The head of Octavian / Augustus - where was
it found? What is unusual about it?
Why do many statues have heads or hands
missing?
a)
b)
c)
Inscriptions - why do many
have DM or DMS on them?
Both floors
Jewellery - what different materials were
used?
First floor
Olive-oil lamps - how many flames would most
have?
A strigil - how long is it?
Some golden thread - where was it
found?