Publicação
The Roman military origins of the Via XVII reaffirmed by the Alto de Espinho Roman camp (Northwest Iberia).
| Resumo: | Via XVII, a strategic Roman road linking Bracara Augusta, Aquae Flaviae, and Asturica Augusta in Northwest Iberia, is traditionally dated to the Augustan period. While it has been generally assumed that major roads were constructed by the army during the Principate, the direct role of the Roman military in their creation remains a specific point of inquiry. This paper explores new evidence from the Roman camp of Alto de Espinho (Montalegre, Portugal) to argue for the direct involvement of the Roman army in the construction of the road. Through an integrated methodology combining remote sensing, geophysical prospection, targeted archaeological excavation, and archaeobotanical analysis and radiocarbon dating, the study characterises the site and establishes a firm chronology. The investigation identified a ca. 1– hectare enclosure with a roughly characteristic playing-card morphology, defined by a prominent rampart and an external ditch, consistent with Roman military architecture. Crucially, radiocarbon dating of a charcoal sample from a sealed combustion deposit yielded a calibrated date range of 119 BC - AD 66. This places the occupation of this site within the range of the initial phase of the construction of the Roman road, later known as Via XVII. The findings suggest that Alto de Espinho functioned as a temporary construction camp, providing logistical and security support to the military units building the road. This interpretation, supported by other similar sites along the route, solidifies the hypothesis of a systematic, army-led infrastructure project and provides a new framework for understanding Roman expansion and territorial organisation in the region. |
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| Autores principais: | Fonte, João |
| Outros Autores: | Vilarinho, Gil; do Pereiro, Tiago; Gambinhas, Bruno; Cardoso, Vanessa; Carvalho, José; Tereso, João Pedro; Gonçalves, José Alberto; Oltean, Ioana |
| Assunto: | Roman Army Via XVII Roman military camp Remote sensing Geophysics Roman Gallaecia Radiocarbon dating |
| Ano: | 2026 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | idioma desconhecido |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | Via XVII, a strategic Roman road linking Bracara Augusta, Aquae Flaviae, and Asturica Augusta in Northwest Iberia, is traditionally dated to the Augustan period. While it has been generally assumed that major roads were constructed by the army during the Principate, the direct role of the Roman military in their creation remains a specific point of inquiry. This paper explores new evidence from the Roman camp of Alto de Espinho (Montalegre, Portugal) to argue for the direct involvement of the Roman army in the construction of the road. Through an integrated methodology combining remote sensing, geophysical prospection, targeted archaeological excavation, and archaeobotanical analysis and radiocarbon dating, the study characterises the site and establishes a firm chronology. The investigation identified a ca. 1– hectare enclosure with a roughly characteristic playing-card morphology, defined by a prominent rampart and an external ditch, consistent with Roman military architecture. Crucially, radiocarbon dating of a charcoal sample from a sealed combustion deposit yielded a calibrated date range of 119 BC - AD 66. This places the occupation of this site within the range of the initial phase of the construction of the Roman road, later known as Via XVII. The findings suggest that Alto de Espinho functioned as a temporary construction camp, providing logistical and security support to the military units building the road. This interpretation, supported by other similar sites along the route, solidifies the hypothesis of a systematic, army-led infrastructure project and provides a new framework for understanding Roman expansion and territorial organisation in the region. |
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