Trisio is one of those small, fresh and charming towns in upper La Rioja and, although it currently has less than 400 inhabitants registered according to the INE, it has a glorious past in the Roman Empire. To give us an idea, the Romans knew this municipality of Rioja Tritium megalon Because Tricio la Grande was one of the centers of production of Hispanic terra sigillata, the fine tableware that was exported throughout much of the empire.
It was well connected to the road network and the Ebro (from Nazerilla), it had numerous infrastructures and its own isolation of Legio VII Gemina Felix, and it has just been confirmed that, now under a cornfield, there was a large Roman manor house from the 1st century. C. which appeared by chance from a 2009 aerial photograph.
discovery. Since last September 14, a team of archaeological professionals has been excavating an agricultural plot in Tricio at the El Quemão site along the road to Arenzana de Abajo. At this point, the walls of a large Roman manor house from the 1st century AD are exposed. C., a monumental patio of sandstone pillars very close to the surface. Below is a building of Roman conquest, probably made of adobe from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. C. and which were destroyed by fire.
A total of three houses have been discovered so far, research archaeologist José María Barranco told El Día de la Rioja. At the moment they have only found architectural elements, but their great hope is that ornaments such as mosaics will be right in the back house, the most luxurious.
Why is it important?. Because Tritium Magalum was a municipality with a lot of economic activity, since, along with Andújar, it was one of the large pottery factories of the Iberian Peninsula at the time. A villa in that setting is a real treasure for understanding how the local elite lived around the business.
An aerial photograph revealed all. When Cristina Novoa did her doctoral thesis on ancient sites in the region in 2009, she photographed the municipality from the air, and in an agricultural plot of crops she saw traces of what looked like old buildings. Everything remained that way until years later, someone from La Rioja’s government came across his thesis and, based on Tricio’s history and past, became interested in what might lie beneath, leading to a tender for excavation.
What “El Quimao” Hides (For Now). As José María Barranco explains, at this point they have taken four tastes: one measuring 10 x 15 meters and the other three measuring 10 x 10 meters where they have located different Roman houses from different periods: “The largest taste has a house that we believe will be from the year of the conquest, the emigration of the Roman soldiers in 11 BC; on the outside, and they lived on the hill then, in the other taste, there are two houses from the time Tritius delivered Which is from the splendor of the empire. Terra sigillata in the Roman capital.”
To determine construction duration, the team looks at construction techniques. Thus, the oldest house has adobe walls, while the rest show more elaborate construction techniques brought about by the Legion’s engineers.
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cover The pigment is blue
