Excavations made in Tarragona show that the Temple of Augustus is more than 43 meters in length
Modern day Tarragona was once one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire, Tarraco. The ruins are one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. Tarragona’s Roman Temple of Augustus, which can be found beneath the foundation of the Gothic Cathedral, is currently being studied. The second archaeological excavation concludes with the discovery of several medieval coins, medals and a twelfth-century lamp.
Tarragona (ACN) .- The second round of excavations carried out inside the Cathedral of Tarragona indicate that the shrine located beneath the foundations, dedicated to the imperial cult of Augustus is more than 43 meters in length. Its exact length could not be determined as it descends too far below the current surface of the church. The head archaeologist of the Cathedral Chapter site, Andreu Muñoz, said on Thursday morning it could possibly extend as much as 46 or 47 meters long and 27 meters wide according to archaeological evidence. This latest excavation has also served to demonstrate that the temple was dismantled in the second half of the V century.
According to Muñoz, there is evidence of late-Roman and Visigoth activity on the temple grounds, which suggests that the site was dismantled during an urban transformation of the entire area.
Archeologists have also found two coins of Jaume I and Alfons I, a medal, fragments of a Bishop's clothing, a fragment of a lamp and an Islamic silver plate.
Muñoz said that the results provide a ''wonderful'' clue when piecing back together the history of the site up to the present day. As the director of excavation and research at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC), Josep Maria Macías, believes that the archaeological discovery phase has now been completed and the next step is to make the scientific findings available to the public.
Among the projects that are under consideration, it has been announced that the archaeological team is working on a full report on their results.