Cara: A Roman Road Station and City in Navarre
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Iron Age, Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- City
On this page12 sections
History
Cara was a Roman city at Santacara in Navarre, Spain, established beside an earlier settlement during the first century BC in connection with the Sertorian War, a Roman civil conflict in Hispania. Its position helped control the Aragón River valley, and the city later developed as a road station and regional center.
Pre-Roman settlement and Roman foundation
The earlier community probably belonged to the Vascones, an ancient people whose territory included parts of present-day Navarre and western Aragón. Its first contacts with Rome date to the second century BC, and Romanization took place relatively early in the Aragón River region. The Roman oppidum, a fortified settlement or town, was created over the earlier community and eventually extended across much of the ground beneath modern Santacara.
Cara functioned as a mansio, an official road station where travelers could rest and care for transport animals, on the route from Caesaraugusta, modern Zaragoza, through Segia and Cara to Pompaelo, modern Pamplona. Several milestones found nearby indicate that the city was probably an important junction in the road network.
Administrative role and prosperity
Pliny the Elder, a first-century Roman author whose work included geographical and administrative information, classified Cara as a stipendiary city in the Caesaraugustan district of Tarraconensis. Such communities paid tribute and supplied troops while retaining limited internal autonomy under the provincial governor. Pliny mentioned the people of Cara together with those of Andelo and Pompaelo, while inscriptions identify Cara’s inhabitants as Karenses. Claudius Ptolemy placed the city in Vasconian territory without naming it.
Cara reached its greatest extent and importance during the first and second centuries AD, when it covered nearly 18 hectares. Postumia Nepotiana, an important flaminica, or female priest in Roman religion, was a notable citizen of Cara who lived in Tarraco.
Decline, abandonment, and rediscovery
The city began to decline in the third century, when its population decreased, and it was abandoned in the fourth century. The modern name Santacara derives from the Christianization of the Roman name Cara.
Roman remains were known before systematic excavation through seventeenth-century milestones, ashlar blocks, and other Roman-period elements incorporated into houses in Santacara. Ceramic and monetary remains also point to the earlier pre-Roman occupation. Seven excavation campaigns took place between 1974 and 1982 under María Ángeles Mezquíriz, with Amparo Castiella, Inés Tabar, Mercedes Unzu, and Carmen Jusué associated with the work. The excavations exposed numerous remains, although only part of the ancient city has been uncovered. Cara was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest by the Government of Navarre on 26 December 1994 and entered the Spanish heritage register under reference RI-55-0000464.
Remains
The archaeological zone covers approximately 16 to 18 hectares, broadly corresponding to the extent of the Roman city. Beneath the modern town, Roman remains occupy the area of the earlier settlement, whose pre-Roman walls survive alongside Roman and later walls. The earlier community covered approximately seven or eight hectares and was among the largest Iron Age communities in Navarre.
Civic and public spaces
Forum and acropolis
The excavated public areas include a forum and an acropolis, the high or fortified part of an ancient city. These spaces form part of the civic core revealed by the archaeological work and help define the organization of Cara as a Roman urban center.
Temple and necropolis
A temple and a necropolis, or burial area, are also among the excavated remains. Their presence represents the religious and funerary components of the city’s built environment. Inscriptions preserved in their original locations, together with fragments of bronze and marble sculptures, add evidence for the public and religious life of Cara.
Streets and domestic buildings
Main street
The site contains a well-preserved section of the city’s main street, along with a sample of its pavement. The surviving road is part of the urban layout associated with the route station and the wider network connecting Caesaraugusta, Segia, Cara, and Pompaelo.
Large Roman house
A large house dating to the first century AD has been excavated. Its remains include an atrium with a drainage installation, showing the arrangement of a domestic building and the provision made for managing water within it.
Walls and archaeological finds
The surviving walls represent several phases of occupation. They include a pre-Roman wall, walls from the Roman period, and late-period walls that reflect changes in the settlement after its earlier development. Ceramic material, coins, bone tools, and fragments of bronze and marble sculptures have also been found. Sculptural fragments and other objects from Cara are displayed in the Navarre Museum.
