Roman Ruins Carteya, Guadarranque

Carteya

Geographical and Historical setting: Around the year 600 B.C. a commercial phenomenon of enormous cultural repercussion began popularly known as colonizations. The Canaanites came from the eastern side of the Mediterranean and founded a permanent settlement, probably a factory, on a small hill near the old Guadarranque river estuary.  At present, this place is known as Cerro del Prado. This is how a slow but consistent cultural process started twenty-eight centuries ago which is still happening, i.e. the development of urban society in the Bay of Algeciras. Without a doubt, we could call Cerro del Prado “Old Carteia”, a strategic position located in the centre of the bay controlling a vital point for trade.

The Straits of Gibraltar and the route to Gadir , ancient Cadiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Over the centuries, due to its precise situation and the increasing volume of trade made the port facilities insufficient and led to expansion. The need for larger and more advanced trade facilities meant the inhabitants had to move to a higher location nearby, half way between the two bays that originally made up the Bay of Algeciras.Thus in 600 B.C.was the beginning of the new stage in the demographic history of the Bay of Algeciras, the founding of what is known as Carteya today.

Carthaginian Carteya.

The Carthaginian walled city made up nearly three hectares, almost twice the original surface area. The settlement was surrounded by walls from the beginning following the guidelines of any settlement of its time. The progressive growth over the years led to a significant urban remodeling which followed the original lay-out and gave place to the construction of notable monuments. Consequently, a gate was built on the south side with hewn stones carefully laid down. The wall lay-out was remodeled adding vaults between the main walls and thus shaping a new casemates wall. At the same time, several monumental constructions were undertaken using stones from local quarries. All this was part of a clearly Punic urbanization programme, inspired by the Hellenistic style, the prevailing fashion at that time in the whole Mediterranean. Nowadays, the Roman forum intentionally placed on top of the Punic city, makes it difficult to appreciate its former glory, but the remains that have been uncovered so far on the south side of the site, clearly demonstrate its importance without a doubt.

Roman Carteya:

After Rome’s final victory over the Carthaginians in about 200 B.C., the uncertain future of the inhabitants of Carteya was left in the hands of the Romans. Although Carteya was very soon to become the first Latin colony outside of Italy, setting itself alongside the most privileged cities in the Roman Empire. Titus Livy wrote about an embassy of citizens born in Hispania, who were by then more than four thousand. They were the offspring of Roman soldiers and Hispanic women who could not legitimately marry. They therefore acquired the condition of servants. The Senate improve their status by granting them the condition of free citizens, although with certain limitations in comparison with native Romans. They were to settle in the city of Carteya and they were to have the same rights of citizenship as its inhabitants. Due to their condition as liberated people, “libertini” the city would be called “Colonia Libertinorum Carteia”.

The Roman city did not drastically change at the beginning of this era in comparison to its Punic predecesor. Although in 100 B.C., the city went through notable changes with the construction of an impressive temple and with time it gradually lost its previous appearance to become a completely Roman city. After the construction of the forum, the city’s main civic centre, work was started on building a theatre. This was built at an early period, at the end of the Republic and the beginning of the reign of Augustus, and then, in 100 A.D. thermal baths were also built. Houses with porticos, new entrances with steps, nymph fountains and stores, “tabernaes”, all of these aspects gave the city of Carteya a consistent urban splendour, linked to its economic strength. The city’s development prevailed despite political setbacks, due to supporting Pompei in the Civil War that took place on Hispanic soil at the end of the Republic. From 200 A.D. and with the development of the Late Ancient Period, a new and important transformation took place on the forum area as a result of the intense occupation of the Low Empire. A large quantity of pottery, building material, and the existence of an ancient burial-place near the basilica made the importance of this city clear since that age.  Although its urban surface area and economic development has still to be studied. During Byzantine times Carteya appears as a significant commercial centre on the Iberian Peninsula.

Carteya in the Middle Ages:

Due to Arab scripture, we know that an advance party of Muslim army under Tariq ibn Ziyad, landed in 711 on the western side of Gibraltar, after a frustrated attempt to take the actual city of Carteya. After the conquest of this area, the same texts describe a mosque built in the old city, the first one in Al-andalus and where pilgrims used to go to pray for rain. There are no remains of this mosque but it was probably built using the site of an old Byzantine basilica, which was the usual practice at the beginnings of Islam. It would not be until the fall of the Almohade power, after the disaster at the Battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212, when other important arquitectural remains appeared. The “Almenara” watchtower was probably built by the new “Nazari” Moorish kingdom of Granada for the surveillance of its southern border. Later on, with the arrival of “Merini” troops from the North Africa, the old watchtower became the base of a small fortress called “Hisn Qartayana”. It was a quadrangular structure leaning on the tower’s northern corner, the L-shaped access was placed in the south eastern vertex, the south western corner had a Moorish “albarrana” tower and in the south it had an advanced barbican wall. This fortress was held by the “Merini” people until the mid 14th century when it was conquered, after a two-day siege, by  King Alfonso the 11th ‘s troops.