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J. M. L.
Friday, 29 November 2024, 11:41
A team of researchers is looking for relatives of the Romans who inhabited the archaeological site of Noheda in Cuenca no less than 21 centuries ago. To be precise, they are after the direct descendants of those who lived in the excavated Roman villa in the town between 1st century BC and 6th century AD.
The research will be based on the skeletal remains of nine bodies found in four tombs in a small necropolis discovered during last summer's big dig. With the help of DNA it will be possible to establish a phylogenetic relationship with the current inhabitants of the villages located around Noheda in the Serranía de Cuenca and La Alcarria in Cuenca, those villages being Villar de Domingo García, Sacedoncillo, Valdecañas, Torralba, Bólliga and Bascuñana de San Pedro.
"If anyone in this area thinks they may have Roman ancestors, they are invited to come back in January," says archaeologist Miguel Ángel Valero, who has led various digs at the site.
The Noheda site, located just 18 kilometres from the city of Cuenca, is known among archaeologists around the world for housing the most spectacular mosaic of the Roman Empire, filled with figures, and it is also the largest mosaic to be discovered of Roman Hispania. The mosaic was found in a huge hall of 960 square metres, the largest documented in the Roman Empire and built with 29 different types of stone and brick. This type of hall - called the triclinium - was used for meetings, which also suggests the villa owner was a person of great standing in those times.
In addition, this summer they excavated other finds: a fragment of a bronze sculpture corresponding to a foot that forms part of a sculptural ensemble (the largest yet found in all of Hispania and Gaul), a vitreous-enamelled necklace from Egypt and marble from different parts of the Mediterranean.
Such decorations show the purchasing power and the commercial relations and influence that the villa owner must have had because, at that time in history, trade in the Mediterranean was threatened by piracy and yet the owner still managed to import marble from elsewhere.
Based on what has been found in this villa, it is known that its owner was a wealthy Roman citizen since, in addition to the fine building materials used to build and decorate it, the residential complex had thermal baths and two swimming pools. In fact, during the excavations this summer, the sewer that served as a drain for the two pools was discovered, "an absolutely exceptional find to which must be added that of six coins that fell into the drainage system, the latter being in a good state of preservation", said Valero.
All these discoveries will give us an insight into how the inhabitants of this town lived during the Roman Empire. Perhaps they will also discover a DNA link and find that they are the ancestors of the current inhabitants of this part of Cuenca. The villa, now an archaeological site, can be visited with prior reservation (very limited numbers) and a guide, and admission is free until 31 December.
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