THE ROMAN COLONY OF EMERITA AUGUSTA

(present day Mérida) was founded in 25 BC

by Octavius Augustus, to resettle emeritus

soldiers discharged from the Roman army from

two veteran legions of the Cantabrian

Wars: Legio V Alaudae and Legio X Gemina.

The city was the capital of the Roman province

of Lusitania.

Today the Archaeological Ensemble of

Mérida is one of the largest and most extensive

archaeological sites in Spain and

aUNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

ROMAN THEATRE.The theatre was built from 16 to 15 BC and dedicated by

the consul Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was renovated in

the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, possibly by the

emperor Trajan, and again between 330 and 340

during Constantine s reign, when a walkway around the

monument and new decorative elements were added. With

the advent of Christianity as Rome's sole state religion,

theatrical performances were officially declared immoral:

the theatre was abandoned and most of its fabric was

covered with earth, leaving only its upper tiers of seats

(summa cavea). In Spanish tradition, these were known as

"The Seven Chairs" in which it is popularly thought that

several Moorish kings held court to decide the fate of the

city.

ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE . The amphitheatre was dedicated in 8 BC, for use in gladiatorial

contests and staged beast-hunts. It has an elliptical arena,

surrounded by tiered seating for around 15000 spectators, divided

according to the requirements of Augustan ideology; the lowest

seats were reserved for the highest status spectators. Only these

lowest tiers survive. Once the games had fallen into disuse, the stone

of the upper tiers was quarried for use elsewhere.

ROMAN CIRCUS.The circus of Emerita Augusta was built some time around

20 BC, and was in use for many years before its dedication

some thirty years later, probably during the reign of

Augustus' successor, Tiberius. It was sited outside the city

walls, alongside the road that connected Emeritus in Corduba (Córdoba) with Toletum (Toledo). Like most

circuses throughout the Roman Empire, Mérida's resembled

a scaled-down version of Rome's Circus Maximus

ROMAN BRIDGE OVER THE GUADIANA.The bridge can be considered the focal point of the city. It

connects to one of the main arteries of the colony,

the Decumanus Maximus, or east-west main street typical of

Roman settlements.

The location of the bridge was carefully selected at a ford of

the river Guadiana, which offered as a support a central

island that divides it into two channels.

“LOS MILAGROS” AQUEDUCT.The aqueduct was part of the supply system that

brought water to Mérida from the Proserpina

Dam located 5 km from the city and dates from the

early 1st century BC.

The arcade is fairly well preserved, especially the

section that spans the valley of the river Albarregas.

It is known by this name, because it seems a miracle

that it was still standing.

TEMPLE OF DIANA.This temple is a municipal building belonging to the

city forum. It is one of the few buildings of religious

character preserved in a satisfactory state. Despite its

name, wrongly assigned on its discovery, the building

was dedicated to the Imperial cult. It was built in the late

1st century BC or early in the Augustan era. Later it was

partly re-used for the palace of the Count of Corbos.

Rectangular, and surrounded by columns, it faces the

front of the city's Forum. This front is formed by a set of

six columns ending in a gable. It is mainly built of granite.

TRAJAN ARCH.An entrance arch, possibly to the provincial forum. It was located in the Cardo

Maximus, one of the main streets of the city and connected it to the municipal

forum.

Made of granite and originally faced with marble, it measures 13.97 meters

high, 5.70 m wide and 8.67 m internal diameter. It is believed to have a

triumphal character, although it could also serve as a prelude to the Provincial

Forum. Immersed in the maze of modern construction and masked by nearby

houses, this arch stands majestically and admired by travelers and historians

of all times. Its name is arbitrary, as the commemorative inscription was lost

centuries ago.

MITHRAEUM HOUSE.This building was found fortuitously in

the early 1960s, and is located on the

southern slope of Mount San Albín.

Its proximity to the location of

Mérida's Mithraeum led to its current

name. The whole house was built in

blocks of unworked stone with

reinforced corners. It demonstrates

the peristyle house with

interior garden and a room of the

famous western sector Cosmogonic

Mosaic, an allegorical representation

of the elements of nature (rivers,

winds, etc.) overseen by the figure

of Aion. The complex has been

recently roofed and renovated.

“LOS COLUMBARIOS”.The Columbaria are two roofless funeral buildings, part of a

necropolis outside the walls of the Roman city. Both are the

best examples of funerary constructions in Emerita. The

materials used for manufacturing of the building are

unworked stone and granite for the seating. Both buildings

have preserved their identifying epigraphs of the original

families who owned them, (the Voconii and the Iulii).

Recently the area has been arranged as a promenade and

park about the relation to death of Mérida inhabitants.

Quotations ofEpicureists and Stoics are displayed in

panels, and tomb remains and trees are mixed with panels

explaining Roman funeral rites. Two Roman mausoleums

are also on the same site. During the 1970s this was the

slum dwelling of a tin-worker's family.

The area is accessed through the House of the Mithraeum.