Carmona: A Roman Archaeological Site in Spain

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Country: Spain

Civilization: Roman

Remains: City

History

The archaeological site of Carmona lies near the town of Carmona in Spain and was developed under Roman influence. It served as an important burial ground and entertainment center during the Roman Empire, particularly from the 1st to the 2nd centuries AD.

The site was first uncovered in 1868 during road construction, which led to looting before formal investigations began. From 1881, Juan Fernández López and George Bonsor conducted systematic excavations, acquiring ownership of the land and founding the Archaeological Society of Carmona in 1885 to oversee the area’s preservation and study. Their efforts helped to protect the necropolis and reveal its significance.

In 1930, the site was donated to the Spanish State by Fernández López and Bonsor. The government recognized its cultural value by declaring it a Historic-Artistic Monument the following year. Further work during the Spanish Civil War disclosed the presence of an amphitheatre, adding to the understanding of the site’s role in local Roman life. In 1992, responsibility for Carmona’s care passed to the regional government of Andalusia, which established the Carmona Archaeological Complex as an official administrative unit.

The necropolis functioned as a communal burial area, primarily for the cremated dead, with ashes sometimes placed in collective mausoleums. Its funerary customs highlighted strong religious influences from the eastern Mediterranean, especially the worship of Cybele and Attis, which reflected enduring cultural connections between Carmona and those distant traditions. The discovery of the Tomb of Servilia, dating back to the Augustan age, points to the presence of an affluent Roman family. This tomb’s design was inspired by Hellenistic houses, indicating cultural exchange and the social status of its occupants.

Remains

The necropolis of Carmona extends over approximately eight hectares and offers a diverse collection of tombs reflecting Roman burial practices. Constructed mainly from rock-cut chambers and ashlar masonry, these tombs range from simple mausoleums to elaborate funerary complexes, all remarkably well preserved.

One of the most notable monuments is the Mausoleum Circular, a solid circular structure featuring a rectangular funerary chamber carved into rock and covered by a barrel vault. This tomb includes eleven niches and stands out for maintaining part of its original roof and external walls, providing rare insight into Roman funerary architecture.

The Tomb of the Elephant is a large sanctuary hewn from rock, distinguished by an expansive courtyard paved with finely cut stone blocks. Surrounding chambers served various functions such as funerary rites, food preparation, and storage. Its outer courtyard showcases remnants of stucco decoration, and the site preserves a symbolic elephant sculpture that relates to the eastern cults of Attis and Cybele, represented by a sacred oval-shaped stone called a betilo.

Another prominent complex is the Tomb of Servilia, which combines rock-cut and ashlar construction to recreate the feel of a Roman domus or house. It includes a large porticoed courtyard and an underground gallery leading to a trapezoidal vaulted main chamber topped by a domed ceiling with an oculus. Additional underground chambers house sarcophagi and mural paintings, including a depiction of a female figure holding scales. Noteworthy sculptures from this tomb include those representing Servilia herself and an infant, attesting to the tomb’s commemorative function.

Several other tombs contribute to the site’s architectural variety. The Tomb of the Four Departments is a shaft tomb rock-cut into the earth, featuring a central corridor that leads to four rectangular chambers. Each chamber has benches and multiple niches for ashes or offerings, with much of its original white stucco still intact. The Tomb of the Garlands is a large chamber with thirteen niches arrayed around a bench and was decorated with painted reddish garlands. It contains a large circular opening in the ceiling connecting to an external structure now lost. The Tomb of Postumio includes a rock-cut courtyard with evidence of cremation pyres and an altar, and contains inhumation burials with frescoes signed by the artist C. Silvanus, linking art and ritual in the funerary context.

The amphitheatre at Carmona is recognized as the earliest of its kind in Spain. Its design incorporates underground seating tiers (known as the ima and media cavea) carved directly from local Alcor rock. Above ground, the summa cavea forms the outer section of the stands. The eastern façade features a grand entry ramp and vomitoria, or exit passageways, reached by corner ramps, facilitating crowd movement. The amphitheatre’s seating and surrounding vestibules were likely covered with roofs and contained niches that held statues honoring emperors and distinguished local individuals, illustrating the integration of political and entertainment functions.

Carmona’s burial customs involved cremations on pyres cut into the rock surface, with ashes collected and placed in graves sealed by stone slabs, bricks, or tiles. Memorial markers identified these graves, while larger collective mausoleums were accessed by shallow stairs cut into the rock and included chambers with benches for offerings and niches for urns. Some tombs were secured with stone doors or slabs, reflecting the importance placed on protecting the resting places.

The exceptional preservation of both the necropolis and amphitheatre offers an invaluable window into Roman-era burial practices, religious life, and architectural innovation on the Iberian Peninsula.