Rob Horgan
ONE of the Roman empire’s most important settlements could lie under the soil in Andalucia.
Archaeologists have begun digging in Jimena de la Frontera where they think a Roman ‘nerve-centre’ could be waiting to be discovered.
Originally uncovered by retired archeologist Hamo Sassoon when he retired to the Campo de Gibraltar, the excavation work could re-write the history books.
A complex series of walls, strategically placed castle and layout of the town were ‘obvious giveaways’ to Sassoon.
Early excavation work uncovered Roman coins stamped with Oba, supported his early findings.
“At first sight the impression is of visiting an Arab castle on top of a hill,” lead archaeologist Miguel Angel Tabales said. “But the moment you take a critical look and analyse what you are actually seeing you quickly realise that this is nothing other than the remains of a very important Roman city.”
Excavationists estimate the dig will take up to six months to complete.
The dig mentioned in this article is estimated to cost some €2,000,000 and there is little hope of getting much of it covered via grants or subsidies. At the moment, there is no digging going on, contrary to what your (and the BBC, Telegraph, etc.) article implies. I am presently translating the BBC article for use by Jimena Council, as it seems the Spanish media haven’t picked up on it much, if at all.