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Javier Almellones
Malaga
Tuesday, 1 October 2024, 16:38
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Two thousand years ago, it was a rural villa mainly focused on agricultural production, and is believed to have been inhabited from the 1st to the 5th century AD. It was discovered just over fifteen years ago during the construction of the AP-46 toll motorway out of Malaga, not far from the village of Villanueva de Cauche, near Antequera, and relatively close to the significant Roman villa of Arastipi and the modern town of Casabermeja.
It was found on the Robledo hill, but had to be moved to another site for its conservation. Stone by stone, in painstaking work, it was moved to its current location (about four kilometres away), in the main rest area of this stretch of motorway. This means that you must use this road to visit it. It's advised to stop when heading towards Antequera, just after paying the toll. While there is an option to visit from the opposite direction, you would need to walk underneath the motorway, as car access is restricted.
This archaeological site, known as the Roman villa of Cortijo Robledo, is important not only for its antiquity but also for preserving one of the oldest olive oil mills found to date in the province of Malaga. In fact, the 'pars frumentaria', the name used by the Romans for the area of the villa that was dedicated to the production and storage of olive oil, stands out in particular. The structure is incomplete, suggesting that it was originally quite large. The walls are still visible, standing at just over half a metre high and relatively thick.
Other areas of the rural villa can also be seen in this complex, such as the 'pars rustica', where the rooms for the workers and stables were located, and the 'pars urbana', a residential space. This type of villa was fundamental to the socio-economic structure of Hispania. It revolved around olive oil, which was very important in Roman culture, as it still is today for a large part of the Mediterranean Arc. This enclave next to the AP-46 is surrounded by olive trees today, just as it would have been nearly two thousand years ago when the villa was built.
Today, this archaeological site spans around 500 square metres and is fenced off, although it is generally open to the public except during certain busy periods in the summer when there is a lot of traffic on the motorway. Unfortunately,there are some individuals that disrespect the site, using the area to dump their rubbish or walk on what remains of its walls. To help preserve the site, it is often closed to the public on certain days during the peak season, whilst it is typically open for the rest of the year. Many visitors are pleasantly surprised to find it.
The site, relocated and developed by Nerea Arqueología, now features information panels in both Spanish and English that highlight the significance of the archaeological site and describe each of the rooms that have been preserved. An interesting feature of the Roman villa in Cortijo Robledo is the construction of an artificial hill, created to be as similar as possible to the original site.
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