Roman ruins, Digging up Barcelona's past

The Roman Ruins under Barcelona

Walking thru the Born District of Barcelona, you see a lot of walls that look like old roman ruins, just like you would see in Rome itself. And you wouldn't be mistaken. Barcelona was an integral part of the Roman Empire 2000 years ago and many of the churches and buildings in Barcelona today were first built in the 300 A.D. time period.

I have been walking these streets and looking at the beautiful building across from my hotel, which to me look very old and Roman.




Then I found a Piazza of buildings behind the wall I had been admiring, a piazza that included a Roman Archeological Museum and excavation site

 

For your admission (and everything in Barcelona charges an admission) there is a walkway with placards depicting the excavation and what they have found.

I don't understand how, but they have determined that what they are excavating was a city block of that era and the 2 buildings they are uncovering were a public laundry where clothes were cleaned, and also a winery where grapes were turned to wine. The have even established the complete business cycle for running these businesses.

In the 7th century, these ruins were covered up to create the foundation for a church and its because of modern day work on the church, that the ruins were discovered.

I understand that this is a problem with any construction in the city. There is an ordinance, that if you uncover artifacts from the past in doing any construction, that an evaluation of the significance of the site must be done before work can proceed. And of course, it is voluntary to report. Which doesn't always get done.

Barcelona has a very extensive subway system (Metro) and it was during the construction of the metro that many more sites were discovered. And it substantially slowed down the construction process and added greatly to the costs. But the results are amazing, like the Museum of Archeology.

More pictures of the excavation site can be found here:  Roman Excavations