Tarraco / Tarragona

Tarraco, modern Tarragona, was one of the main centres of Roman Spain and capital of Hispania Citerior / Tarraconensis. Its archaeological value lies in its walls, provincial forum, circus, amphitheatre, harbour, cemetery and rich epigraphy.

Archaeological complex

The city developed from a Roman military base of the Second Punic War and became a major administrative centre. The upper terrace with its cult-administrative complex, circus, seaside amphitheatre, walls and suburban cemeteries show power, spectacle, defence and harbour setting in one city.

The archaeology of Tarraco is embedded in a multi-level modern city: walls, upper terrace, circus, seaside amphitheatre, harbour zone and cemeteries must be read by sector. Photographs record where Roman structures remain visible and where they are absorbed into later building.

Finds and material setting

Finds from Tarraco include inscriptions, sculpture, funerary monuments, pottery, coins, architectural fittings and harbour material. Cemeteries and epigraphy are especially valuable for reconstruction because they reveal names, statuses, professions, origins and the language of provincial public life.

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:

• walls, provincial forum, circus, amphitheatre and harbour landscape;
• cemeteries, sarcophagi, inscriptions and sculpture;
• building phases from military base to provincial capital;
• Late Antique and Christian-zone material.

Interpretation and limits

Tarraco has a complex multi-level topography and heavy later occupation. It is therefore important to work with specific zones and dates rather than imagine the city as a single open-air museum moment.

Related topics

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

Literature

• Xavier Dupre Raventos (ed.). Las capitales provinciales de Hispania. Tarragona, 2004.
• UNESCO World Heritage: Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco.
• National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona: collections.