Illeta dels banyets

L'Illeta dels Banyets is one of the archaeological sites in Alicante that has been known and excavated for a long time.

It is located in the municipality of El Campello, some 9 km from the city of Alicante. It is an old peninsula that was separated from the coast due to an earthquake, at an uncertain date, in which the part that joined it to the land was destroyed and eroded. In 1943 it was reattached to the land to form a natural spit, using dynamite and destroying a large part of the prehistoric necropolis.

Currently, l'Illeta dels Banyets is a long, narrow promontory with a surface area of 10,000 m², of which approximately 4,000 m² make up the archaeological site, with its highest point at 7.8 m above sea level. It is in the process of consolidating the constructive structures found in the excavations and of making it a museum with the aim of allowing it to be visited.

Despite its small size, this site is of great importance due to its extensive cultural sequence, as remains from the Bronze Age have been identified, in addition to the presence of an Iberian settlement and the remains of a Roman village, as well as the presence of an Iberian settlement;Bronze Age, which were previously part of an Iberian settlement and those that remain of a Roman village, as well as the presence of Islamic materials that speak of a sporadic occupation in the Middle Ages. All this shows that l'Illeta dels Banyets was an important commercial port, from which both the sea routes and those leading inland were dominated.

The first evidence of occupation dates back to prehistoric times and more specifically to the Eneolithic period, when the inhabitants lived in oval-shaped huts of which some remains have survived. Later, in the Bronze Age, two large cisterns were built, partially excavated in the rock, around which there are remains of burial mounds and dwellings. In the tombs there are metal points and punctures, arms, arms and buttons made of ivory, and some ceramic drops.

The next level corresponds to the Iberian period, from the 4th and part of the 3rd century BC, a period in which an important settlement was developed, only part of which has been excavated. It is possible to observe, on one side and on the other, a street running along the longitudinal direction of the village: two temples, magazems and dwellings, some of which are of great architectural complexity. This nucleus, given the uniqueness of the buildings and the richness and variety of the buildings found, can be interpreted as a emporiumThe site is an outstanding place of commercial trade. A terra ferma, next to the tower of the modern era, a pottery for the manufacture of Iberian amphorae has been discovered, from which several forges have been excavated.

When we descend from the peat bog, the route is reprised through a street, "el carrer dels llindars" from which we can see the remains of houses built with masonry of stone and tiles, cisterns and a magnificently preserved domestic wall. The first signs of occupation can also be seen in constructions that confirm the existence of a city built through Punic influence or participation. At the end of the street and attached to the wall of the first phase is the "House of the triangular courtyard". This construction reveals this Carthaginian influence.

From here we can go to the most important urban road for its length, 100 metres excavated, the "Popilio" street. Along this street we can visit: the "Termes de la Muralla", a large public building, for the construction of which it was necessary to demolish a section of the wall. The baths were buildings that combined cold and hot baths with massages and physical exercises, around which the social meeting centres were set up. These establishments consisted of several rooms: the changing room or apoditerium, heated room or caldarium, sala freda o frigidarium i heated room o tepidarium. L'aire calent que provenia del forn (preafurnium) passava per baix del pis de les salts calenta i tèbia.

The highest level corresponds to the Roman period, between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. On the foundations of the abandoned Iberian settlement, a Roman villa was built, with a small annexed terrain. Very little remains, although it is possible to distinguish perfectly the owner's living area (pars urbana) and another one related to agricultural activities (pars rustica). S'ha trobat també un edifici termal molt simple en una estreta nau en la qual s'alinien el forn, la sala calenta, el tepidarium i the frigidarium-apodyterium. The remains of a basin carved into the rock and connected to the sea by means of ramps corresponding to a fish tank also date from this time.

One of the most important activities of this part of the Roman Empire was the exploitation of the resources of the sea and more specifically the preservation of fish and fish farms. There are several fish preservation factories in the province, the most important of which is the Portus Ilicitanus.

The vivers that are preserved at L'Illeta dels Banyets, are very eroded by the action of the sea. They are made up of four interconnected basins. The largest of all, measuring 8.7 by 3.10 metres, receives water from the sea through two channels located at both ends; the other three, smaller ones, are aligned perpendicularly to the largest one. The communication between them is carried out by means of vertical channels carved into the rock, which were used at the same time to facilitate the opening and closing of the gates.

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