Carranque Archaeological Park

Located in the town of Carranque (Toledo), this park is unique because of its beautiful location, monumental buildings and its surprising collection of mosaics as well as for its link with the last Roman emperor, the Spaniard Theodosius the Great.

In the summer of 1983 while he was farming in the place known as Suertes de Abajo, Samuel López Iglesias discovered one of the mosaics that form part of the spectacular set from the villa belonging to Materno Cinegio, a relative and collaborator of the emperor.

The park extends to both banks of the Guadarrama River, between two side streams and a road that today preserves the name of calzadilla. This ancient Roman road is used today to transport agriculture, serving as a route for men and herds of animals. The place is quite near the mythical and sought-after city of Titulcia, cited in Ptolemy's Geography.

Since discovery of the site, numerous archaeological excavations have been carried out continuously that have brought to light a complex formed by imperial buildings from the end of the 4th century A.D.

These remains are on the right bank of the river: Building A - "Basilica," Building B - "Nymphaeum", Building C - "Materno's Villa" and finally, at the river's left basin, other monuments, milling containers, hydraulic structures and part of a possible second villa.

Basilica

The owner of this highly important building, which dates from the time of Theodosius, originally intended to use it to show his power and prestige and in fact modelled it on public buildings like the palaces of the governors.

Very shortly thereafter, the site took on a religious and funerary use. With the Visigoth invasion, it underwent some remodelling and during the period of Arab domination (8th to 11th centuries), the building was still in use, signs of which are seen in the inscription found on one of the columns, the existence of some walls built at this time and the materials.

From the 11th to 12th centuries, the area was known as Santa María de Batres and a monastery or temple abbey was built on the primitive Roman ruins.

In the Chronicles of Philip II (1576), Santa María de Batres appears as a hermitage which at this time only had preserved part of the sanctuary which held the necropolis. Burials took place around the patio and different rooms in marble and carved single-piece granite coffins as well as in plaster coffins and plaster sheet tombs.

Nymphaeum

This building, in the form of an isolated shrine, has been interpreted, because of its location in a high spot, as a monumentalised cistern with a fountain. Its form is reminiscent of the small temples dedicated to the water divinities, the nymphs.

The quadrangular-based construction with a semicircular sanctuary over a podium is raised with a combination of Roman concrete or opus caementicium and baked brick or opus testaceum.

The Villa

This was the first building to be discovered. Since 1985, a series of excavations have been carried out that have uncovered the entire building and restoration has made it possible to preserve the remains.

Late Roman villas served as a form of rural habitat dedicated to fieldwork which the owner used as a place for rest and vacation. They contained different types of buildings that provided all the services needed for daily life: living quarters for the owner or pars urbana, kitchens, pantries and storage rooms or pars rustica, stables, granaries, corrals, tanks, wine cellars and orchards or pars fructuaria.

The building is situated on a slightly inclined hill and its construction is terraced. It covers some 1,200 m2 and is distributed through large rooms built around a central patio or colonnade.

Mosaics in the Villa

The different parts of the Villa were paved with elaborate mosaics made of gravel, marble or pieces of broken stone known as opus signinum from at least three different workshops.

The most outstanding mosaics are found in:

• Cubiculum or bedroom.
• Oecus or main room.
• Triclinium or main dining room.
• The fountain of the God Oceano.

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