More than 2,000 years ago, a major highway crossed the territory that today is Fuente Obejuna, in Córdoba. It formed part of the Corduba-Emerita route, one of Hispania’s great networks that connected directly Corduba, present-day Córdoba, with Emerita Augusta, present-day Mérida.
Recently, archaeologists have precisely identified 1,160 meters of its course in the ancient city of Mellaria: a discovery that is part of a project by the University of Córdoba and the City Council of Fuente Obejuna that began in 2022 and is enabling researchers to reconstruct how people, goods, and wealth moved through this part of the Peninsula.
A road that connected two capitals and moved the wealth of Hispania
The Corduba-Emerita had something that made it especially important: it was the only Hispano-Roman road that directly connected two provincial capitals, although between the capitals there were several key sites such as Mellaria (the surroundings of present-day Fuente Obejuna), Artigis (area of Higuera de la Serena) and Metellinum, present-day Medellín. The University of Córdoba places its configuration around the 2nd century BCE and notes that it remained in use at least until the 4th century CE.
The route of this road also traversed a territory particularly rich in mining resources. Specifically, Mellaria was located in Alto Guadiato, a zone linked to the exploitation of Sierra Morena resources, so the road was a fundamental piece for extracting those raw materials and connecting them with other centers of power and production. The University of Córdoba itself defines the route as a genuine channel of wealth between Córdoba and Mérida.
The importance of Mellaria, the current Fuente Obejuna, is even better understood with one of the most recent discoveries: a study published in May analyzed 8,839 ceramic fragments recovered during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns and found that among them there are pieces arriving from Italy, Gaul, and North Africa, in addition to productions from workshops in Baetica. The map drawn by these remnants is that of a mining city perfectly integrated into the major commercial routes of southern Hispania.
But the road was not merely a line linking two points on the map; it organized Mellaria itself. In the excavations, researchers have been able to trace its urban route and verify how the buildings and streets were arranged taking its alignment into account. Already in the first 2022 campaign the original paving slabs appeared, together with several later renovations that led to a sedimentation of almost two meters.
Moreover, researchers have discovered that when the road reached Mellaria, its margins became a veritable funeral showcase. In the eastern sector, about 450 meters of road have been documented flanked by monuments and buildings, following a Roman practice widely observed of placing necropolises along the access roads to cities. Anyone arriving at Mellaria thus encountered a road that also displayed the power and memory of its inhabitants.
One of the discovered groups covers almost 30 by 30 meters, about 1,000 square meters. Inside appeared an edicule or shrine and fragments of a marble statue larger than life. Two klinai (stone recliners used for ritual banquets in honor of the deceased) have also been recovered, while geophysics has allowed detecting two more. No urn or associated tomb chamber has been located, so researchers consider that the space had mainly ceremonial and commemorative purposes.
Archaeologists are also studying how that infrastructure was built and how it was maintained: to this end, they have combined excavations with aerial surveys and geophysics, in addition to techniques such as photogrammetry, laser, and radar. A strategy that allows reconstructing buried structures without having to uncover the entire site, thanks to which by 2024 23 hectares of the site had already been surveyed.
For the moment, it is known that the story of this road did not end with Rome: the University of Córdoba has documented that the route was reused in the Andalusian era to supply Qurtuba (the Córdoba of the Caliphate) albeit with modifications to its path and to the pavement. It is a good example of how the great transportation routes could continue to shape mobility long after the system that built them had disappeared.
Images | University of Córdoba
