Labitolosa: A Roman Municipium near La Puebla de Castro, Spain

Visitor Information

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Country: Spain

Civilization: Roman

Remains: City

History

Labitolosa was established by the Romans as a small municipium—a self-governing town under Latin law—located near the modern municipality of La Puebla de Castro in Spain. Positioned on the southern slope of Cerro del Calvario, this settlement emerged in the 1st century BCE, during the period when Roman influence was expanding throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

The municipium reached its height in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE, a time marked by several construction projects and administrative developments. Its residents, known as the Labitolosani, are known from a Latin inscription discovered in the 16th century. Labitolosa likely developed from the integration of the indigenous Tolosani population into the Roman territories controlled by the Ilergetes, its neighbors to the south. Although the site is absent from classical Roman literature, it may correspond to a location named Tolous noted in ancient route records between major cities Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza) and Ilerda (modern Lleida).

In the early 2nd century CE, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117–138 CE), prominent individuals from Labitolosa rose to distinction. Among them was Marcus Claudius Flaccus, a local notable who attained membership in the equestrian order and served as an imperial official in the province of Moesia Superior, as recorded in inscriptions found within the town’s governing council building. Inscriptions also reveal that Labitolosa’s citizens honored a protective spirit or genius, reflecting typical Roman religious customs that assigned divine guardianship to communities.

Around 200 CE, the settlement was abandoned for reasons not preserved in the archaeological or historical record. The nature of this decline remains uncertain, but the site was left unoccupied thereafter, marking a clear endpoint to its known history under Roman rule.

Remains

The archaeological site of Labitolosa reveals a carefully planned Roman town, organized around a central open area typical of Roman urban design known as the forum. Oriented along a north-south axis, the forum originates from the Augustan period (late 1st century BCE to early 1st century CE) and underwent remodeling shortly thereafter. This public square formed the heart of civic life.

On the northern edge of the forum stands the curia, a rectangular building approximately 18.5 by 11 meters in size, constructed around 120 to 130 CE. It served as the council house where local leaders met and made decisions. Visitors enter the curia through a vestibule leading into a large nearly square hall, which contains honorific pedestals with inscriptions commemorating distinguished citizens. The curia is exceptionally well preserved and remains accessible for viewing today.

Beneath the forum lie two thermal bath complexes, reflecting the Roman custom of public bathing. The earlier baths, dating from about 50 to 60 CE, are the larger of the two, measuring 33.5 by 15.5 meters. Their design includes a frigidarium, or cold room, featuring an apse, a tepidarium, or warm room without an apse, and a caldarium, or hot room, with an apse as well. A spacious terrace to the south functioned as a solarium, a sunbathing area. A sophisticated hypocaust system heated the baths by circulating warm air from a furnace positioned near the northeast corner of the caldarium under the floors and within the walls. The hot room contained a heated pool measuring 5.5 by 1.5 meters on its north side, while a basin for cold water was located in the southern apse. This bath complex is preserved in considerable detail.

The second set of baths, built approximately between 70 and 80 CE, is somewhat smaller and less well conserved. Its layout resembles the older baths, featuring a notably large frigidarium separated by two columns from the apodyterium, the changing room. The apodyterium contains a three-sided bench recess and a pool measuring 2.20 by 3.80 meters. Both bath complexes demonstrate the architectural and engineering skills employed to provide comfort and hygiene in Roman municipal life.

Together, the forum, curia, and thermal baths compose the key public spaces uncovered at Labitolosa. Excavations have also revealed domestic residences and peripheral rural settlements, illustrating the town’s role as an administrative and social center within its region during Roman times.