Diving into Portugal’s Roman heritage
The Romans entered Portugal in the third century BC. During the approximately 700 years under Roman rule, many new towns were founded, some of which you can still visit today. Others had been vacated and forgotten, until someone dug up the ruins. Conímbriga, situated about 16 km from Coimbra, is one of these places that was buried for years until excavations started in the 20th century.
Most visitors to Conímbriga arrive by car, but if you’re on the camino, you come out of a, in my case very muddy, valley. Climbing up the hill I was surprised the old Roman town was right there next to the trail. The camino goes around the museum building and the parking lot. I quite like history, so I decided to stop and explore the ruins. In the visitor center I was greeted by a super friendly man, who offered me the pilgrim’s discount and said he could watch my bag. An added bonus was that there were real toilets to use, with sinks to fill up my water bottle.
Conímbriga was already a village when the Romans entered Portugal, but it grew it into a prosperous town and was eventually given city rights under emperor Vespasian. It is estimated that around 10.000 people lived here. About 10-20% of the city has been excavated and you may still see people working on the site. You can freely roam around this historical site, stepping onto old Roman lanes, sauntering over the Forum and admiring the precious mosaics from wooden walkways. You can find the remnants of the Roman baths, a domus, the amphitheater, many small houses and shops and the partially reconstructed raised Forum.
There is no right or wrong way to explore Conímbriga, but I recommend saving the gorgeous House of Fountains for last. There is no recommended way of walking, so to see it all you may have to backtrack occasionally. You need some imagination to see what all the rocks represent, although the outlines of the buildings are clearly visible. To get a feel for Roman life, you definitely make some time to stroll through the indoor museum, where many of the items found during the excavations are on display. You can also see some models of the former city. This might help spark your imagination.
The House of the Fountains was my absolute favorite part of the site. It has now been covered to protect it from the elements and walkways are built to allow people to look into the excavations from above. The House of Fountains was a domus and was occupied by an aristocratic family. There is a beautiful inside garden surrounded by colorful mosaics with hunting scenes and heroes. From the walkways you can see the mosaics very well. When I was here, there were still people working on the conservation of the mosaics. This may be an ongoing project, since there are about 569 square meters of mosaics!!!
Some archeological sites are overcrowded and not a pleasant experience. Here at Conímbriga I had all the space I needed to quietly wander around and admire the sights. I wish it was easier to get more information about the individual buildings, I still find it hard to imagine what it would have looked like back then. However, a visit is worth it. The mosaics alone are enough of a reason. When I visit places like this, it makes me think that our current time really doesn’t have any equivalent to the riches displayed in ancient times. Such lavish and grand places are simply hard to imagine these days.
