Most Recent Visit: July 2022
Prior to the arrival of Roman power in Northern Spain, the future site of Colonia Caesar Augusta and it’s modern counterpart Zaragoza (a corruption of the Roman name), was occupied by an oppidum called Salduie or Salduba and also referred to by the Romans as Salluie. The settlement was situated alongside the Iber (modern Ebro) in the territory of the Sedetani, not to be confused with the Edetani as some interpretations have done. Little is known about Salduie prior to Roman contact and few remains of a pre-Roman settlement have been found. Salduie is known to have minted coins. The location of Salduie was at a unique intersection point of Celtic, Iberian, and Aquitani cultural regions. It also held an important position along the Iberus, with river connection to the Mediterranean. It helped to control both overland and river access through the Iber valley and was located at the southern end of the Gallicus (modern Gállego) river valley.
The Sedetani seem to have come under Carthaginian hegemony prior to the Second Punic War sometime in the 3rd century BCE. They likely then came under Roman hegemony at some point in the 2nd century BCE, though the exact timing is unclear. In the early 1st century BCE, an auxiliary cavalry unit named after the oppidum, and possibly made up of inhabitants of the settlement and region, the turma salluitana, distinguished itself under Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (father of Pompey the Great) at the Battle of Asculum in 89 BCE during the Social War. As a result of their actions at the battle, the members of the unit were awarded Roman citizenship on December 17th of that year, according the Bronze of Ascoli tablet. Another bronze tablet dating to May 15, 87 BCE (Tabula Contrebiensis) records the intervention of a local judiciary apparatus based in Contrebia Belaisca (modern Botorrita) as well as the proconsul Gaius Valerius Flaccus in a territorial and land use dispute between Salduie and neighboring Alaun.
Augustus passed through on his way to Segisama (modern Sasamón) to supervise the Cantabrian campaigns circa 26-25 BCE. It was on his trip home through the Iberus valley that he fell ill after a near lighting strike. The date of the foundation of Colonia Caesar Augusta is somewhat unclear, with it perhaps being founded during this trip, or about a decade later following the conclusion of the Cantabrian Wars. In either case, a colonia inmunis was established with Cantabrian Wars veterans from Legio IV Macedonica, Legio VI Victrix and Legio X Gemina. The status of colonia inmunis allowed it tax exemption and the ability to mint coinage. The location and presence of veterans helped to secure the important routes through the Iberus and Gallicus valleys and deter further unrest in the region. The colony was incorporated as part of Hispania Tarraconensis and became the administrative center of the largest of the seven districts into which the province was divided; the conventus juridicus Caesaraugustanus. Citizens of the city were enrolled in the Aniense tribe.
Colonia Caesar Augusta quickly became the most important river port and center through the Iberus valley, particularly with regard to the route from the gold mines of Mons Medullius around Asturica Augusta out to the Mediterranean. Under Augustus, it was the most prolific mint in Hispania and by the middle of the 1st century CE, Pomponius Mela would describe it as being among the most important cities in the interior of Hispania. The city continued to flourish and grow through the 1st century CE. In the 2nd century CE, there seems to have been a period of ruralization as some of the urban population shifted into the areas around the city with increased presence of rustic villas and latifundia around Colonia Caesar Augusta.
In the 3rd century CE, the city remained prosperous due to its location, but the population seems to have started shrinking with increasing abandonment of areas of the city. The walls of the city were rebuilt and fortified during the 3rd century CE, likely as a response to the incursion of the Franks along the west coast of Hispania around 258 CE. This continued through the 4th century CE and the abandonment of select residential areas of the city contrasted with an increased wealth of some remaining areas. The city was still noted as one of the most important cities in Hispania, though. By the beginning of the 5th century CE, increased instability in the region due to Germanic migrations and raids saw the population of Colonia Caesar Augusta swell again as the rural population sought safety within the robust walls of the city. Public buildings stopped functioning in their intended purpose and were re-appropriated as living spaces. Around 449 CE, Hydatius writes that the Suevic king Rechiarius ravaged the lands of Colonia Caesar Augusta, but did not capture the city. Not long after, the city was captured by the Visigothic king Euric in 466 CE and remained relatively intact.
Getting There: Zaragoza is the fifth most populous city (not counting metropolitan areas, which it is tenth) in Spain and is relatively well connected to other cities in Spain (and even to France) by train. For example, there are hourly direct departures from Madrid costing between 30 and 80 Euros (averaging about 50 Euros) each way and taking about an hour and a half. Zaragoza has a modest airport with connections to select cities in Europe. Public transport options are ample in Zaragoza and the remains of the ancient city are within a walkable radius in the historic center.
One point worth starting at is the Museo de Zaragoza, which is located a bit south of the historic center, outside the ancient walls of the city. The museum is located at Plaza de los Sitios 6. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing, the museum is closed for renovations. Renovations started in November of 2023 and were scheduled to run until the end of 2024. But as of early 2025, it has still not reopened. Normally the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 20:00 and on Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. Mondays the museum is closed. Admission is free.
The museum is not solely an archaeological museum, but rather a general art museum. In addition to the archaeological collection are other art collections including a painting collection that is heavy on Francisco Goya, who was born in a nearby town. The archaeological collection takes up a wing of the ground floor of the museum. The collection is not especially large but is packed with great and interesting artifacts. The ratio of mosaics to other artifacts in this collection is very high. Among them are a very nice and relatively complete mosaic of Orpheus among the animals from the appropriately named Casa de Orfeo (which supplies many of the nicer mosaics in the museum), which was located near the present-day Plaza de César Augusto. Another mosaic from the Villa Fortunatus (near Fraga) depicts Venus and Eros.
Aside from mosaics there are several statues, a collection of coins minted in Colonia Caesar Augusta, some fragments of wall painting with figural representation and a small collection of terracotta and other small finds. One of the highlights of the collection is a chest with bronze fittings and appliques of figures such as Mercury and Eros. The triclinium of a local domus has been reconstructed with a combination of original and reproduction mosaics and wall paintings. All the information in the museum is in Spanish only. I spent about 45 minutes in the ancient collection and maybe another half an hour to 45 minutes in the rest of the museum.
A few blocks west down Calle de Joaquin Costa, which runs on the south side of the museum, is the Basílica de Santa Engracia. Engratia was reputedly martyred at this site in 303 CE and a tomb for her was constructed at the spot, which was functioning as a necropolis, shortly after. A series of churches and other religious buildings occupied the site in subsequent centuries. There are a few relevant things from antiquity located in the crypt, which is entered separately from the main church on the west side of the basilica at Calle de Tomás Castellano 1. The crypt is open daily to tourist visits from 18:00 to 18:50 and admission is free. Located in the crypt, beneath a glass floor at the bottom of the stairway, are apparently some remains from the 4th century constructions on the site. In the adjacent nave, which wasn’t accessible when I visited because of some sort of ceremony going on, are a couple of sarcophagi decorated with Christian scenes dating to the mid-4th century CE as well as a jasper sarcophagus that held the remains of Engratia’s fellow martyrs that dates to the Roman period.
An 850 meter walk to the north/northeast from the basilica is the Museo del Teatro de Caesaraugusta. The museum and archaeological area is located at Calle de San Jorge 12. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 21:00, and is open on Sundays from 10:00 to 14:30. It is closed on Monday. Single admission is 4 Euros, but there is also a combination ticket with the river port, baths, and forum (as well as the Pablo Gargallo Museum) for 9 Euros.
Like most of the Roman sites in Zaragoza, the theater is a combination of an archaeological area and an attached/integrated museum. The theater is unique in that the archaeological remains of the theater aren’t completely enclosed in a building, though they are covered by a roof. The theater was originally constructed in the 1st century CE, likely being started during the reign of Tiberius and finished under Claudius. At the end of the 1st century CE, the theater was heavily renovated and expanded; increasing the seating capacity and adding monumentality with freestanding structural support. By the end of the 3rd century CE, however, the theater had fallen out of use and had begun to be quarried for material, perhaps to aid in the construction of the reconstructed walls of the city. Capacity is estimated to have been about 6,000 spectators.
The entrance area of the site is occupied by the museum, which overlays a quadriporticus that was attached to the north side of the theater during the late 1st century CE expansion. Some remains of this structure are visible; some of the column bases along what would have been the south portico, paving from the inner courtyard and some of the elements of the foundations of the interior wall between the portico and courtyard along the north and west sides. The museum features two levels with artifacts not just associated with the theater (such as marble and architectural decoration from the building), but from wider Colonia Caesar Augusta. Many of the small finds that weren’t exhibited at the Museo de Zaragoza seem to have found their way to this collection, including some later period items. There are some models, reconstructions, and a lot of information, though like many of the Roman sites, it is predominately in Spanish only.
The theater is accessible through a series of walkways that lead through some of the corridors of the theater. Periodic signs (in Spanish) along the route note particular features of the theater, such as the water channel on the west side of the orchestra, points of ingress/egress for the theater. One diagram breaks down the various geographic origins of the remaining pavement marble in the orchestra of the theater. They also illustrate reconstructions of various elements of the theater. I spent a total of about an hour at the theater and museum.
Continued In Colonia Caesar Augusta – Part II
Sources:
Beltrán Lloris, Francisco (ed.). Zaragoza: Colonia Caesar Augusta. Rome: l’Erma di Bretschneider, 2007.
Grant, Michael. A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.
Hydatius. Episcopi Chronicon, II.25.
Isodurus Hispalensis. Historia de Regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum, 34.
Pliny the Elder. Historia Naturalis, 3.18-24.
Pomponius Mela. Chorographia, 2.88.
Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Walton & Murray, 1870.
Stillwell, Richard, William L. MacDonald, and Marian Holland. McAllister. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U Press, 1976.
Strabo. Geographica, 3.2.15, 3.4.10-13.