Location: 2 km (1 mi) South of Condeixa- a- Nova Map
Site:
Open: 15 Mar- 15 Sep: 10am- 8pm daily
16 Sep- 14 Mar: 10am- 6pm daily
Closed: 25 Dec
Museum: Tel. 239 941 177
Open: 15 Mar- 15 Sep: 10am- 8pm Tue- Sun
16 Sep- 14 Mar: 10am- 6pm Tue- Sun
Conimbriga is a settlement established since the Copper Age, which
was an important center during the Roman Republic and which
continued to be inhabited until at least the 9th century.
It
is one of the most extensive and diversified archaeological sites in
Portugal. It is classified as a National Monument, having been the
scene of excavations since the 19th century.
It is located 17
km from Coimbra, in the parishes of Condeixa-a-Velha and
Condeixa-a-Nova, 2 km from Condeixa-a-Nova. The archaeological
station includes the Monographic Museum of Conimbriga, where many of
the artefacts found in archaeological excavations are on display.
Etymology
The origin of the name of the village is not known for
sure, some believe that it would be related to the cónios, people who
lived in the current Baixo Alentejo, according to this hypothesis, with
the addition of quarrel, celtic name, Conímbriga would mean "The fort of
the Conios". . However, linguistic rules would make it Coniumbriga and
not Conimbriga (so Conimbriga is written without an accent). Others
think that the etymology of Conimbriga traces its origins to the very
old pre-Celtic lexeme Kºn, which means "stony high", in this way this
lexeme joined to the fight would mean "city located on a stony high".
Discovery
The existence of Conimbriga is already known to exist
in the 16th century, however, no work would be done until the 19th
century when the first excavations began in 1898, in 1899 the first
important surveys and the scientific study of the find began.
History
Prehistory
The history of this village is traced back to
the Copper Age and the Bronze Age, however, there is a possibility that
it already existed before, in the Stone Age. Remains from the Bronze Age
were found, more specifically from the 9th and 8th centuries BC, among
the objects found we can enumerate several ceramics, a fibula and a
sickle.
oriental antiquity
In the last century, the
Phoenicians, inhabiting what is now Lebanon, established several trading
posts along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. After
crossing the Strait of Gibraltar they did the same on the Atlantic
coast, one of them, in the Baixo Mondego area between Montemor-o-Velho
and Mallorca, the Castro de Santa Olaia, was the one who traded with
Conimbriga. In this market, ivories, combs, crockery and glass were
sold, later on, Greek vases also began to be sold.
Classic
antiquity
The first arrival of the Romans to which we have reference
is from 138 BC, when the troops of Décimo Júnio Brutus, in his campaign
to subjugate the Galicians, passed through the lands of Conímbriga.
Plínio, in his census of the tribes of the west of the Peninsula,
speaks, below the Vouga, of oppida "cities" and not of populi "tribes".
This tells us that the populations below the Vouga were larger and had a
different form of organization, they would not have so many tribal ties
but lineages, of which we are aware of two: the Dovilonici and the
Pintones.
It would only be at the time of Augustus that
Conimbriga would be renovated, the Roman Emperor sent architects to
remodel and adapt it to Roman urbanism. The forum was the first building
to be erected by the Romans. Soon after, the city's thermal baths were
created, taking water from Alcabideque. An artificial wall was provided
to the village, complementing the natural defensive position of the
settlement, of 2 km, the wall line gave more than 23 ha for the
expansion of Conimbriga. The Casa da Cruz Swastika and the Casa dos
Esqueletos, which are next to the wall, with mosaics are from the 2nd
and 3rd century.
The Romans brought with them new elements of
civil engineering: marble, column, stucco, lime mortar and squared
stone. This, together with the arrival of new concepts and methods,
accelerated the growth of the settlement and created an architectural
syncretism between the ancient local tradition and the Roman
contemporary.
Conimbriga grew more and more, during the
government of Vespasiano it became a municipality between 70 and 80. As
a result of this expansion of the city, between 77 and 78 a citizen of
Conimbriga, M. Júnio Latrão, was chosen as a priest of the imperial cult
of Lusitania, this skill would force him to live in Emerita Augusta, now
Mérida, the capital of the province. It is probable that this
designation was made as a tribute to the settlement.
Later,
between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the city entered an obscure period,
from which not much has come to our days. In the middle of the 3rd
century the Empire began to be invaded by barbarian tribes, in 262 they
crossed the Pyrenees and razed the peninsular Levant, there is no
evidence that they reached the western Atlantic coast. In this climate
of instability, Conimbriga's defenses were reinforced and so was the
water system, including the aqueduct.
Middle Ages
Although the
Empire had been under attack for a long time, the threats continued
relatively far away, perhaps due to the geographical position of the
region, however, that calm which the settlement had enjoyed would soon
end, in 409 the Vandals and the Suebi attacked the Peninsula. In the
region of Conimbriga, Lusitânia, the Alans would settle. This was a very
unstable period, in which the barbarians made and broke the agreements
with the Roman government and there was an unfavorable economic
situation, in this climate of unrest, the most influential families of
the cities, took power in these and became their own. gentlemen, in the
case of Conimbriga everything seems to indicate that it was handed over
to the Cantaber family.
The settlement falls in 464 under the yoke of the Suevi, the wife and
offspring of the head of the household of Cantaber are kidnapped by
them. The Suevi would return 4 years later, in 468, to raze the city and
the region. The city will enter a period with little documentary
information.
It is known that the city would not be abandoned
this time (although it was already in decline), since in 561 it was the
capital of a bishopric, its prelate, Lucentio, took part in the First
Council of Braga. It is also noted that he still held the same position,
the same prelate signed, in 572, the summary of the Second Council of
Braga.
In 586 the region definitely fell under Visigothic rule,
after a long time of struggle between them and the Suevi. In addition to
signaling the definitive defeat of the Suevi Kingdom and the political
unification of the peninsular under the Visigothic power, for Conimbriga
it was the end, the bishop and the majority of his neighbors left it and
went to live in Emínio (present-day Coimbra), this being the last
location much more fertile and with a better supply of water, an
essential commodity that was starting to become scarce at that time in
Conimbriga. Thus taking the name of Conimbriga, still today the
inhabitants of Coimbra, already designated as Conimbricenses.
It
is known, however, that the settlement would continue to be inhabited,
at least by some wealthy family, a coin minted in the reign of Rodrigo
in the year 711, exactly the same year as the beginning of the Muslim
Invasion of Hispania. Some coins from the Muslim era have still been
found, which suggests that it had not yet been completely abandoned,
however, before 1086, it would have been definitively uninhabited. The
few people who still lived in it would settle in the neighboring valley
and founded Vila Cova, later Vila Cova da Countess Domna Onega, which
would become the current Condeixa-a-Velha.
Public buildings
It would only be at the time of Augustus that
Conimbriga would be renovated, the Roman Emperor sent architects to
remodel and adapt it to Roman urbanism.
Amphitheater
The
Conimbriga amphitheater, once full of earth, had an oval arena measuring
more than 98 x 86 meters. To enter this enclosure, there were a total of
six tunnels, three on each side. It is currently located in the village
of Condeixa-a-Velha, with only one of the entrances being visible.
Forum (old)
The forum was the first building to be erected by the
Romans. It became the center of life in the city, as it was where the
authorities and commerce were located. On the west side, nine stores
were assigned to merchants for the development of commercial activities.
On the other side, from the east, were the curia and the basilica; the
first was the place of debate between the two or four strongmen of the
settlement, called magistros; in the second, there was the court.
Forum (new)
The new forum was erected as part of the celebration
of the promotion of Conimbriga to municipality. The old forum was
demolished and this one replaced it. This new one would no longer be the
stage for justice or commerce. It was surrounded by high walls and the
statues of recognized men were exposed.
It is known that the new
forum would remain standing until the 5th century when a colossal
cistern was placed in one of its areas.
Square
The entrance to
the square was made through an arch, from there one reached the temple
and a fountain, we can infer that there was a place of worship here; on
the other side, to the west, given the bad preservation it is impossible
to determine its use. The pillars were ornamented with fillets that
divided them in half-cane.
The square had a portico that
surrounded it on three different sides. Ahead there was another portico,
which served as an entrance to the porch of the temple.
Temple
The Conimbriga temple is in a very bad state of conservation, with only
a few stones remaining. The temple was so small that only the divine
statues could fit in it, there would be no space for religious services
to be held. This building was connected to the square by a small side
staircase.
hot springs
The baths also date back to the time of
Augustus. As there was no spring in Conimbriga that could support the
water supply to the hot springs, it was decided to look for external
sources of food. A well was found a little more than half a league away,
which could support the demand.
The building had three divisions
at the entrance for security and changing rooms. The thermal complex of
Augusto is relatively small, but sufficient for the city, which was
growing. As was the Roman norm for baths, there were three tanks; one of
cold water (frigidarium), one of transitional warm water (tepidarium)
and one of hot water (caldarium). Outside the baths themselves, the
complex had a gym, known as Palestra (palaestra).
Houses
The
houses in Conimbriga had a rectangular shape and were aligned, unlike
the old settlements in the current regions of Beira central (Beira alta,
Beira littoral), Trás-os-Montes, Galicia and Minho. Of note are the Casa
de Cantaber, the Casa dos Repuxos, the Casa da Cruz Swastika and the
Casa dos Esqueletos.
Conimbriga Monographic Museum - National
Museum
The Monographic Museum of Conimbriga - National Museum is the
museum in charge of publicizing the findings of the archaeological site
of Conimbriga and is entirely dedicated to this. It was created in 1962,
parallel to the resumption of the exploration activity in the Ruins.
With this new classification, the Museum will be able to benefit
from community funds intended for the exploration and study of the
Conimbriga Ruins, all possible thanks to the Protocol signed with the
DGPC in June 2015 and the collaboration between the Government and the
Municipality of Condeixa-a-Nova through the Infrastructural Development
program of the Conímbriga Museum Program. Investments to enhance the
remains amount to three million euros in total.