Augusta Emerita / Merida

Augusta Emerita, modern Merida, was a veterans' colony and capital of Lusitania. It is one of the richest archaeological complexes of Roman Spain: theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridges, aqueducts, houses, mosaics, temples, roads and cemeteries provide evidence for the city as a whole system.

Archaeological complex

The colony was founded under Augustus for veterans of the Spanish wars. The entertainment buildings, bridge over the Guadiana, aqueducts, forum areas, Temple of Diana, houses and cemeteries are archaeologically important. Merida links veterans, municipal politics, spectacle and water supply.

Merida is especially clear as a monumental urban ensemble: theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts, houses and cemeteries preserve different sides of colonial life. Excavation views show not just individual buildings but the scale of public investment in the capital of Lusitania.

Merida is especially clear as a monumental urban ensemble: theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts, houses and cemeteries preserve different sides of colonial life. Excavation views show not just individual buildings but the scale of public investment in the capital of Lusitania.

Merida is especially clear as a monumental urban ensemble: theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts, houses and cemeteries preserve different sides of colonial life. Excavation views show not just individual buildings but the scale of public investment in the capital of Lusitania.

Finds and material setting

Finds include mosaics, sculpture, inscriptions, architectural decoration, domestic pottery, coins, funerary monuments and water-supply material. For reconstructing provincial elites, houses with mosaics and the relationship between public expenditure and social memory are especially useful.

Visual and archaeological evidence is useful here as a check on the prose: it connects visible walls, layout, finds and museum objects with the historical setting. Main evidence groups:

• theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts and forum zones;
• mosaics, sculpture, inscriptions, houses and burial complexes;
• water supply and public-building material;
• museum finds connected with the urban elite of Lusitania.

Visual and archaeological evidence is useful here as a check on the prose: it connects visible walls, layout, finds and museum objects with the historical setting. Main evidence groups:

• theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts and forum zones;
• mosaics, sculpture, inscriptions, houses and burial complexes;
• water supply and public-building material;
• museum finds connected with the urban elite of Lusitania.

Visual and archaeological evidence is useful here as a check on the prose: it connects visible walls, layout, finds and museum objects with the historical setting. Main evidence groups:

• theatre, amphitheatre, circus, bridge, aqueducts and forum zones;
• mosaics, sculpture, inscriptions, houses and burial complexes;
• water supply and public-building material;
• museum finds connected with the urban elite of Lusitania.

Interpretation and limits

Merida preserves the monumental side of a city well, but its status as colony and provincial capital must be remembered. It is not an average Spanish settlement; rather, it shows the upper level of the Roman urban model in the western empire.

Related topics

• Roman Archaeological Sources
• Roman Empire
• Theatre
• Roman aqueduct
• Roman streets
• Roman temples

Literature

• Walter Trillmich et al. Hispania Antiqua: Denkmaler der Romerzeit. Mainz, 1993.
• UNESCO World Heritage: Archaeological Ensemble of Merida.
• National Museum of Roman Art, Merida: collection catalogues.