Ancient Rome has provided two great legacies to today’s world: public works and law. But alongside these are an infinite number of lesser legacies, many of which we are not even aware exist.
Ancient Rome has provided two great legacies to today’s world: public works and law. But alongside these are an infinite number of lesser legacies, many of which we are not even aware exist.
Rome has left a strong influence on today’s world, and modern society is undoubtedly indebted to ancient Rome: the ways of accessing and using power; public services; medicine; forms of entertainment; eating habits, etc. These are all aspects that have left their mark on our society. Over the course of eight lectures, we will look at some of these aspects of the life and customs of the ancient Romans. The upbringing and education of children, the toys and games of chance that the Romans were so fond of, food, jewellery, clothing, places of worship, the organisation of time, political participation and health. All these aspects were part of a society that marked the history of Europe and the world.
It was never easy to return from Troy! After nine years of fierce fighting, the valiant Idomeneo, King of Crete, son of Deucalion and grandson of Minos, will meet his terrible fate on his return to the island, as he will be the cause of his son’s death. The myth will know different versions and will go beyond the frontiers of antiquity until it reaches the 18th century, where numerous recreations will take place, including Mozart’s famous opera, Idomeneo, premiered in 1781.
The discovery and excavation of an Iberian monumental aristocratic complex near Cabra, the remains of a Caesarian battlefield in Montemayor, and the burial of an Iberian chariot of the ‘bastetano’ type in this municipality are opening new perspectives on the Iberian Culture in the Cordovan countryside and the process of Roman conquest between the end of the 3rd and middle of the 1st century BC, all within the framework of the project ‘Iberian cities and aristocratic complexes in the Roman conquest of Upper Andalusia’ (HAR 2017-8806-P). I century BC, all within the framework of the project ‘Iberian cities and aristocratic complexes in the Roman conquest of Upper Andalusia’ (HAR 2017-82806-P).
The mining-metallurgical centre of Cerro de los Almadenes is located southwest of the village of Otero de Herreros and since 2009 several members of the Spanish Society for the History of Archaeology (SEHA) have been excavating at this site.
The archaeological work has located copper mines and a battery of ore reduction furnaces of a type hitherto unknown on the peninsula. The excavations have documented structures and materials dating mainly from the Late Republican, High-Imperial and Late Antique periods, although there are also remains from the 6th century BC. Monetary finds and the sculpture of a seated lady with her head removed also stand out.
In this conference we will deal with a series of Roman constructions that until now have not been analysed with the attention they deserve and therefore have not been well interpreted. The most recognisable remains of these, excavated in the coastal rock, can be found in the northern half of the Alicante coast in the towns of Jávea, Calpe, El Campello and Alicante (the latter next to the Roman city of Lucentum). A new installation of this type has also recently been proposed at Cape Trafalgar (Cádiz), although with less obvious remains than those in Alicante.
Numerous nurseries are scattered along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and there is very little evidence of both types of constructions in the same place. In reality, most of the nurseries were part of sumptuous maritime villas, an element that made them stand out as an expression of maximum luxury and ostentation.
The scarcity and uniqueness of these Roman constructions on the Iberian Peninsula, even with their remarkable monumentality and almost all of them grouped together in a very specific stretch of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, are strong arguments for proposing measures for their conservation. In recent years we have witnessed the partial destruction of some nurseries in El Campello due to marine erosion and others, for the same reason, are in danger of disappearing.
The Roman mining of lapis specularis played an important role in the early Empire, during the 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, among the lapidary materials demanded and incorporated into the architectural programmes implemented, especially in the cities, due to the need for large windows that would allow light and sunlight to pass through, also allowing the exterior to be seen and ensuring climatic comfort. It was at this juncture that specular gypsum made its place as one of the best materials that met the required characteristics, and where the glass mines of Hispania, with greater production, and with a mineral of higher quality and transparency than those of other areas, would impose themselves on the markets, making this resource a versatile and essential product in many of its applications.
Through various national and regional research projects, the “Ager Mellariensis” team of the University of Cordoba (www.uco.es/mellaria) has documented several kilometres of the great connecting artery between Cordoba and Merida as it passes through the territory of Cordoba and Mellaria.
This road was the evacuation channel for the wealth of the famed gold-producing land of Córdoba. Thus, a series of major and minor settlements and production complexes were set up around its course. We begin to glimpse the structure that allowed the financial power of the capital of Baetica in the powerful mining district of which it was a reference point.
Few things define human beings better than the way they feed themselves. In fact, what was once a primary need (to eat was to live) has become an activity that has transformed a large part of the planet’s landscapes, has selected and promoted animal and plant species, has created an immense diversity and cultural, technological and economic wealth around it..
What’s more, eating gives us pleasure just by imagining it… and it can also contribute to or damage our health, depending on our choice. Eating brings us together around a table. It nourishes our bodies and, at the same time, our society.
From the Neanderthal to the supermarket is a series of conferences whose aim is to show what we ate from prehistoric times to what we eat today. A tasty journey that runs parallel to our history and civilisation.
There is no doubt that, in the history of humanity, women have played a leading role, ignored or despised, which we are gradually discovering and highlighting.