In the south of the province of Soria we found one one of the most interesting Roman sites on the Iberian Peninsula. A Roman city that in its time of greatest splendor between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. it could house more than 3,000 people.
But the most striking thing about this city is its constructive form, which makes it truly unique within the peninsular panorama of Roman times. This technique, called "rupestre", consists of excavating the city directly on the rock. This construction technique was possibly initiated by its first settlers, the Celtiberians. But the arrival of Romanization, with new methods and tools, gave the city its physiognomy, which we can see today when walking through the site.
One of the areas of the site, where the direct excavation of the stone can be seen.
A brief history of Tiermes.
The area where the Roman city is located has been occupied since at least the Neolithic, since there is evidence of this in the vicinity of the place. Especially in some shelters located a few hundred meters away, where some cave paintings have been located.
About the 5th century BC. the first evidences of occupation of the hill appear. Some Celtiberian group became a creditor of it, even using the burial urn necropolis, located about 800 meters from it. But it will be from the following century, when it can be affirmed that a Celtiberian city existed in the form of the classic Oppida of this culture. We can also add that historiography has assigned this Celtiberian people the denomination of the Arevacos ethnic group.
Later the city must have become one of the most important in the area, especially as a livestock center. This form of economy will be the main one throughout the history of the city. Good proof of this fact has been documented in classical sources. Which describe us, that in the so-called Celtiberian wars during the Roman occupation of the peninsula, the consul of Rome, Quintus Pompey reached an agreement with Tiermes in the year 141 BC.
This agreement contained a kind of pact, by which the Celtiberian city had to deliver to Rome 9,000 coats for the Roman troops, 3,000 ox skins, 800 horses, and all the weapons . Presumably the first parts of it were fulfilled by the Tiermes authorities, but not the last, as uprisings continued until 98 BC. Final date of the capture of the city by the Roman legions.
The only archaeological remains found of a Roman road in Tiermes
A few years later, around 70 BC. the city already appears fully Romanized. Although it will have to wait until the time of Tiberius (14-37 AD) to become a de facto Roman municipality, attached to the Roman province of Hispania Citerior Tarraconense.
Walls from the 3rd century AD. that show the decline of the city.
The Roman site of Tiermes.
The title of this section is expressly stated to affirm that what we can see today at the site is exclusively from Roman times. The undersigned went to it with the curiosity of finding Celtiberian remains, but it was not so. Since these have practically disappeared under the Roman city, and due to the continuous plundering initiated in the Visigothic and medieval times, such as for the construction of the Romanesque hermitage of Tiermes.
Excavations of the upper part of the Tiermes forum.
But as I have already mentioned, it is really striking to find a city carved out of stone, so the visit cannot disappoint anyone. It should be noted that this visit is free, the site is outdoors and without any enclosure. But in times of more tourist activity, specialized guides come to it, who carry out guided tours.
From this point we begin a tour of the most interesting parts of it.
Flavio's forum.
Around 70 AD. the construction of a new forum begins, on the remains of a previous and primitive one. One of the things that most attracts attention is its location, despite the fact that it is typical of Roman constructions, therefore in the center of the city. Consequently, it is located at the top of the hill and therefore, in Roman times, it could have been reminiscent of the ancient Greek cities around an acropolis.
Lower area of the Forum, where the remains of the Shops area can be perfectly observed
On the other hand, regarding the buildings, comment that they were located in a double plane, the upper one was occupied by the main buildings of the city, while the lower plane was occupied by the stores of it. Lastly, it should be noted that we found the only stretch of Roman road that has been located in the entire site, which is perfectly distinguished by the different composition of the stone compared to the reddish base of the entire site.
Roman aqueduct.
Carried out during the time of Tiberius. It is one of the most significant constructions of the site, although there is no great evidence of the rest, in Roman times the water was extracted from the Pedro River, located about 3.5 kilometers from the city. But when it reached the city, a large number of conduits were dug that distributed the water throughout it. Thus, it is known that the entire Roman town of Tiermes had public water.
Aqueduct dug directly into the stone.
House of the aqueduct.
On one of the terraces offered by the orography of the land, we will find the remains of an ancient Roman domus of 1,800m2. Its construction itself does not differ excessively from the typical Roman villas of the imperial era, an atrium with a peristyle around which the rooms of the house are located. There is no lack of private rooms, nor public rooms where a kind of store possibly existed, nor those dedicated to service.
General view of the House of the Aqueduct, where you can see its impressive views.
Like the rest of the site, the highlight is its constructive form, since its pavements rest directly on the rock. Which serves as both the foundation of the house and the base of the walls that were placed directly on the rock of Tiermes.
Pool of the atrium, like the rest excavated on the stone of Tiermes.
Its construction took place between the I-II century AD. This dating has been possible thanks to the discovery of some remains of mural paintings, from that time, in the noblest parts of the house. Finally, highlight another aspect that denotes the high economic position that its inhabitants must have had. It is a direct entry of water into the house to feed its swimming pools, which is extracted directly from the city's public aqueduct.
The image perfectly shows the entrance of the water from the aqueduct to the house, in addition to the stone as a tap, and a settling pond.
Complex of dwellings.
During the entire southern area of the site there are various dwellings excavated directly on the stone. The gaps left by the wooden beams are clearly visible, an unmistakable symptom of multi-storey houses. As I have said, there are several houses that you can enter, for example one called Casa de Pedro, with a central staircase that leads to the different rooms of the house.
The image perfectly shows the gaps left by the floor separation beams.
Another of them has been called the House of Niches, due to a series of holes excavated in the walls, of which we do not know their function. One of them could be a strange oven, but without smoke outlet. It should also be noted that it is on the south wall of the aqueduct town that there are samples of dwellings that could belong in one way or another to the great Roman domus.
Photograph taken from inside one of the rooms.
Finally, note that a large part of them were abandoned from the third century AD. In its place are some defensive walls that show the decline of the Roman city of Tiermes.
Home separation stairs.
Sun Gate.
Carved on the same rock, it was the entrance and exit door to the large pastures of the region. It is necessary to remember that livestock was the main livelihood of this town, both in Celtiberian and Roman times. It is precisely thought that it could have been carved by the Celtiberians themselves, but it was in Roman times when a large door was placed to close access to the city. In addition to placing the Roman road on the rock, not without first making the drains to extract rainwater from the city.
Entrance of the sun, the marks of both the door and the city drains are perfectly observed.
Apart from the entrance and exit of the cattle, it could have been the main gate through which the merchandise arrived in the city, without going any further, as soon as you enter there are numerous silos excavated in the rock. These could contain the grain in a kind of warehouses intended for this purpose.
Exterior stands.
I leave for the end, the construction that can attract the most curiosity of all those that exist in the Tiermes site, given its originality within the peninsular framework. It is located right next to the Puerta del Sol, but in the outer part of the city. At first glance it may seem like the Roman theater of Tiermes, but this assumption was discarded when a kind of cavea was created in the northern part of the city.
Therefore these stands, excavated directly on the rock of Tiermes, are thought to have been used for the main activity of the city, the cattle fairs. In reality, buyers and sellers were able to share this grandstand, while the different cattle circulated through the 200×80-meter esplanade that is located in front of it. This is the most accepted version of the use of this facility, this does not prevent it from also having been able to serve as a sports center. Finally, note that some experts point to the possibility that it was carried out in Celtiberian times, and that its function was religious ceremonies led by Celtic druids.
The esplanade in front of the grandstand, where the cattle supposedly paraded to be bought.
Before finishing a couple of paragraphs; The first is that the excavations continue although at a very slow pace, the next projects are located in the Roman baths and the aforementioned theater. In addition to another great domus that has emerged after the House of the Aqueduct. Secondly, recommend a visit to the museum located before arrival at the site, especially to friends of the Celtiberian world.