Discovered a Roman villa in Badalona

The archaeological intervention that is being carried out on the site of the old factory known as the Estrella, located on the Rambla de Sant Joan, has allowed to document a Roman villa of 2,633 m2. It is a great agricultural exploitation, located 500 meters from the city of Baetulo. It have been found several structures of this villa like the main building and different production areas related to agricultural work: a set of silos – used to store cereals or pulses – four deposits – two with a capacity of thousands of liters -, a field of dolia – high capacity ceramic containers that could be used for the fermentation of wine – and a large building that could serve as a warehouse.

Located in the territory of Baetulo, it is logical to think that it is an important wine-growing exploitation that, thanks to the finding of an inscription, we could relate to Marcus Porcius, the great local wine producer who distributed his product for the whole Empire.

The excavation, carried out in an area of ​​4,395 m2, has also uncovered Roman constructive elements that, in the absence of subsequent study, seem to have funerary connotations. On the other hand, ceramic material from the 5th century has been recovered (fine tableware from Gallic origin) that will allow us to elaborate a speech about an era of which we did not have information until now, and a spectacular terra cotta shaped lamp Gladiator, with a very detailed bill, truly exceptional.

In addition to the villa, there have also been documented structures from the modern age, so that we can talk about a continuous human occupation in this area.

This intervention is a preliminary step to the urban execution of the ARE l’Estrella and is promoted by the Consorci urbanístic de les àrees residencials estratègiques de l’Estrella i el Sant Crist, formed by INCASÒL, dependent company of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Badalona Town Hall. The Consortium commissioned INCASÒL to carry out this archaeological intervention, which was awarded to the archeology company ÀTICS, SL and is supervised by the Archeology Service of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Museu de Badalona. It is expected that this archaeological intervention will end in the coming months.

Some of the structures that appeared during excavation works. Photos: Badalona Museum.