Tarraco Inglés

Tarraco, a little coastal village, was one of the most importants winter location of the romans troops in Hispania. In fact, the first great fight between Romans and Carthaginians in Hispania during the Second Punic War, in the 218 b.C., was near Tarraco. Its great impeller was Cneo Scipio. In the time that Rome conquest the peninsula, it was divided in tow sectors, Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, doing Tarraco the capital city of the first. Towards 45 b.C. Julius Caesar raised it to the rank of colony and later Augustus named it as triumphal city. After a administrative reorganization Hispania Citerior was named Tarraconensis. It was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000.

The amphitheatre was built outside the city, between the wall and the beach. It is a building of elliptical form that has a central zone named arena of 61,5 x 38,5 m where the games take place. It presents subterraneous constructions (fossae) that crossed it longitudinally and trasversally. This fossae where covered with beams and a plane roof that make it invisibles to the spectators. The arena was separated of the gradins (cavea) by the podium, a wall of 3,25 m that guarded the spectators against any danger from the wild beasts. The west cavea was built carved into the stone and the rest of gradins were built with greats boxes of concrete and vaults shuttered.The cavea was divided in three diferent sectors occupied according to social status of the spectators. The total lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipses are 109 x 86 m. that allow to compute a capacity of about 14000 spectators.

Conform an enclosure of polygonal plant, almost oval, that surrounded the highest of the city, without to know where it was closed the circuit in the west, the lowest part. The constructive system used was to raise two parallel walls separated by three and a half meters that were consolidated with little transversal braces each ten meters, stuffed with stone and earth and closed with sun-dried brick. Externally the wall has a clear difference between the socle of gigantics blocks without work, with little stone among, and the lines of hewn stone over it.

This aqueduct kown as Devil's Bridge, was located four km. north of Tarraco city and was used to transport water from Gayá river. It is considered builded en Augustus epoch and was part of a channel of 25 Km, that supply the roman city of water. It is about 200 m length, and 26 m height. The upper tier has 25 arches and the lower 12. The arches haves 5,90 m of light and a distance of almost 8 m. between axes. The upper vaults have a height of 1,85 m.

The circus of Tarraco has reduced dimensions respect to another similar monuments. Its location inside the city, limited their utmost points by the walls, conditioned his shape and surface. Its mesures are 325 m lenght by 115 width, and the arena have 290 by 77, calculating a capacity of about 23.000 spectators. The latest investigations dated it in Domicianus epoch and its rests, between the better preserved of Roman World, are covered by modern buildings. It remain rests of pulvinar or presidential granstand, which can be accessed by the provincial governor through a passageway that comunicated with the forum.

The named Scipio's Tower is one of the most importants mortuary monuments with form of tower built in Hispania. Its name came of the tradition that identify it with the tomb of brothers Cneo and Publius Cornelius Scipio, who died in 212 year b.C. fighting against Carthaginians. This monument that could be built at latest of I Century or beginnig of II, was located in a well selected area, near the Via Augusta and well visible from the coast. Tough the upper part has disappeared the rest is in well state of preservation. It presents a quadrangular structure with a base (podium) a little more wider than the rest of the monument. In the second part appear two human figures in raised work that were supposed to be the ../imagen/fotos of the mentioned romans generals.

This monument was placed 20 Km. northeast of Tarragona on the ancient Via Augusta. The arch is honorific, not triumphal and was built by testamentary disposition of "Lucius Licinius Sura" important personage during the princedom of Augustus. The arch has a central body, placed over a high podium, decorated with falses striated pilasters that ended with corinthians capitals. The falses pilasters framed the arch, decorated with platbands in the archivaults and the imposts. The arch was built with greats local hewn stones, joined with wooden olive-tree staples. Its height is today 12,28 m. Its front has 12 m and the sides 3,7.