In Spain, archaeologists from the Polytechnic University, during excavations in the north of the country, discovered the remains of a Roman military camp and the Celtiberian city of Titiakos, which is more than 2,000 years old.
According to Arkeonews, the find was made in the northern province of Soria. Archaeologists have also found a limestone quarry, which they believe was used to build both the city and a military camp. The lost city of Titiakos is a Celtiberian citadel from the Sertorian War, the university said in a statement.
Celtiberia is a region of the current north-central Spain that has been inhabited since the 3rd century BC. It is believed that mixed tribes of Celtic and Iberian origin inhabited here. Most of the current province of Soria, as well as an important part of the neighboring provinces of Guadalajara and Teruel, were inhabited by the Celtiberians. An analysis of the found structures showed that the city was built before our era. Its antiquity exceeds 2000 years.
The Sertorian War (80-72 BC) went down in history as a military conflict between supporters of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who seized power in Rome, and the Marians, led by Quintus Sertorius. Then military operations took place on the territory of Roman Spain, and on the side of the Marians, various local Spanish tribes took part in it. The lost city of that war was initially discovered on aerial photographs. On them, scientists saw the remains of a road dug into the rocks with preserved wheel grooves. Later field studies confirmed that there was an ancient city here.
“Despite its significance and historical relevance, this place has never been studied and left without attention,” says the mayor of the city of Desa, Vicente Alejandra.
Professor Eugenio Sanz, who led the study, explained that over 2,000 years local structures have “naturalized in such a way that they were considered natural elements of the terrain.” Therefore, no one noticed the remains of the city. However, it has now been established that there was also a Roman military camp here. It was intended to protect the city itself from its most vulnerable side. Sans stressed that during the reconnaissance of the camp, traces of a defensive structure were found, which were “very well done”.
Defensive fortifications end with a cliff. There, the scientists found a large stone block weighing 2.5 tons. The block is “shrouded in mystery as it is unclear why it was built,” the university said in a statement.
