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The President of the Provincial Council of Alicante, Luisa Pastorvisited this morning the Tossal de Manises archaeological siteHe was able to see first-hand the results of the excavation campaign carried out during the month of July in Lucentum, where he was able to see the results of the excavations carried out in this archaeological park. A total of fifteen volunteersThe project, which has been seen on a daily basis by visitors to the enclave, has allowed us to corroborate, among other aspects, that the city was built during the second half of the 3rd century BC..C. by the Carthaginians.
These works, headed by the technical director of MARQ, Manuel Olcinahave also come to realise that the city was ravaged by a devastating fire at the end of the same century.This was a major event in the history of this enclave, which was not recovered as an urban space until 200 years later.
Pastor stressed that The Tossal de Manises, declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1961, is one of the most outstanding archaeological sites in the Valencian Community due to its important archaeological legacy. Aware of its importance, the Diputación de Alicante promotes research, conservation and restoration programmes that allow us to recover part of the history of our origins and help us to understand the customs of the civilisations that inhabited our province..
In the excavation carried out next to the eastern wall a bucket structure which could be interpreted as a treading or pressing surface for the transformation of agricultural products such as grapes or olives into liquid. In order to find out what was produced inside it, the Alicante museum will analyse the earth it contained in order to detect traces of organic elements.
The work carried out next to the monumental entrance to the Forum Square has revealed that, during the last years of the rule of Emperor Augustus -in the first fortnight of our era, the old forum was modifiedThe new building was created a quarter of a century earlier, with the enlargement of the square, the creation of colonnaded porticoes and the construction of the court building. In addition, access to the architectural complex was changedThe wall that enclosed it to the north-west was demolished and an honorary arch and large altars and pedestals for statues were erected. Also at this time the forum square was paved with stone slabs, sewers were laid out and the first documented thermal baths were erected.
During the rule of the next emperor, Tiberiusbetween about 15 and 25 AD, the sacral area was raisedIt was located in front of the forensic square and separated from it by the so-called 'forum street'. This new architectural complex consisted of a temple preceded by a large raised platform and two other buildings. Given the chronology of this work, we think that the temple may have been dedicated to the deified Emperor Augustus, a cult that developed after his death and spread rapidly throughout the Empire.explained Olcina, who added that This year marks the two thousandth anniversary of the death of Augustus, who granted Lucentum the status of municipality and allowed it to be integrated into the political and administrative system of the Roman Empire..
The forum poll has once again revealed that the absence of urban entity between the pre-Roman city of the Carthaginian period and the Roman municipality created by Augustus. Between the two there was a military establishment that served as a base of operations and defence of the coastal territory, between Cabo de la Nao and Cabo de Palos, during the Roman civil wars of the first half of the 1st century BC.
Despite the fact that the excavation campaign has already ended, the alicantino museum will continue to work over the next few months in conservation and consolidation of the building remains found at the site.
