Granada will open an archeology park after new findings | Culture

The last campaign of works in the archaeological site of Los Mondragones, in Granada, has discovered buildings that, according to Angel Rodriguez, archaeologist responsible for the work, show that what was believed a simple Roman villa, "a rural location, a few settlers," he explains, was actually a much larger population. The works of these last three months have brought to light 12 Visigothic tombs, some thermal baths and three buildings, one of them "with three apses, which leads us to think that it is a ceremonial or religious building ".

In addition, according to Rodríguez, Los Mondragones has a certain urban plot that goes beyond what would appear in a rural village. The first buildings of the archaeological complex of the Mondragones were discovered in 2013, while preparatory work was done for a parking lot and a supermarket. It was the remains of a Roman villa of the 1st century. Part of that site was museumized and it was not until 2016 when the Junta de Andalucía promoted a new archaeological campaign to verify the extension and importance of the site.

Ángel Rodríguez estimates that it occupies one hectare, a larger area than initially anticipated. The Board announced yesterday that it will convert the site into an archaeological park, "a space that can be visited and that will help to better understand the history of the city," according to Sandra García, delegate of the Andalusian Government in Granada.

During these three months of work, archaeologists have discovered a street that they consider the main axis of the village, around which two of the three buildings discovered are organized. Also there, reports Europa Press, have appeared the sixth century baths of about 200 square meters, with a hypocaust or heating system of large size and very well preserved and a rectangular construction with three rooms whose function is still unknown. In addition, in the west end of the excavation a third large building has appeared that conserves an elevation of almost 1.60 meters and that was covered with a vault.

In the outer zone has also appeared a Visigothic cemetery with 12 tombs and, under them, an older construction of the 4th century. So far, the works reveal that the latter consists of a head of three apses, greater the central one, of noble or cultural character. After these new findings, experts believe that it is a complex settlement, especially active and dynamic in the centuries of Late Antiquity and in the transition to the Middle Ages.