Archaeologists have discovered 57 ancient Roman settlements and created map of hidden empire in Spain

Archaeologists have discovered 57 ancient Roman settlements and created a map of the hidden empire in Spain. New Roman settlements were discovered in Spain. A research team from the University of Cadiz explored the central Guadalete River valley in hopes of finding ancient settlements. The team made extensive use of ground-scanning cameras and LiDAR technology to discover 57 new Roman-era settlements.

The first site the team focused on was a Roman villa on Bornos, which included walls that marked both the living and working zones within the settlement. According to scholars, this is the first case of such a comprehensive analysis of a Roman settlement.

In addition to plans to further study the settlements, the team hopes to understand how trade routes in the region were interconnected. The research team started the project in 2023. They also wanted to understand any potential connections between multiple finds. Ground research also helped bridge the gap between discoveries from decades ago and today. The team managed to catalog finds from the 1980s and 1990s that were not further explored after their discoveries, adding even more new sites and objects, expanding our knowledge of the Roman presence in the river valley. The team believes that this effort will help them “better understand the fundamental aspects of these features located in the mountain region and the relationships at various levels with other city-settlements”.