Segóbriga, Spain
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Even if there weren´t a buried city underneath, this hill would be a nice place to climb for the view. A creek runs on one side and beyond that is the original evergreen oak forest. The rest in every direction is rolling farmland.
Segóbriga´s heyday was the time of Christ. That theater and the amphitheater (where gladiators fought) were built just during Christ´s life, when the economy was booming in Hispania.
See how the earth and grass have grown over the ruins? They have made a nice rounded hump of her, with a fur of fine little grass that in winter dries brown and looks like lionskin.
People lived here for about A THOUSAND YEARS!
The ground is strewn with pottery fragments, most of them as small as postage stamps. That is the sure sign of an ancient town or settlement. After just a little bit of observation and book study you can date the fragments. Every culture has its own style. In the case of Segóbriga there´s pottery from the Celtiberians, the Romans, and the West Goths.
Rome declined and fell. Then the barbarians came and settled here. They were Christians and Segóbriga was one of the first dioceses. There are 300 years of bishops on record (and at least one saint) and the ruins of a very early basilica where some of them were buried.
Finally the Arabs invaded Spain, came through with fire and sword, and Segóbriga was destroyed and abandoned. That was the end of her. The only thing left of any interest to anybody were the many squared stone blocks that were part of the Roman buildings and walls. They were carted away and used to build a nearby castle or two in the Middle Ages. New cities were built up and new roads led to other places. Segóbriga was by-passed and forgotten. Completely. By the 18th century scholars were arguing about its possible location.
Like Segóbriga there are dozens of buried cities in Spain. Most of them are still unexcavated. They are wonderful to wander around. Segobriga itself can now be visited with guides.
See the next posts for some very curious things about Segóbriga.
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