Roman Camp of Ciadella: A Roman Military Settlement in Spain
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Camp
On this page8 sections
History
The Roman camp of Ciadella is a Roman military settlement in Spain, near Sobrado in A Coruña, active between the second and fourth centuries. It stood on the Via XX, the Roman road linking Brigantium and Lucus Augusti in northwestern Hispania, and housed approximately 500 to 600 soldiers of the Cohors I Celtiberorum Equitata civium Romanorum, an auxiliary unit of the imperial army.
The cohort and the Via XX
The cohort was formed in AD 80 and apparently moved from Mauritania to Hispania in AD 123. By order of Emperor Hadrian, who ruled from AD 117 to 138, it was attached to Legio VII Gemina at León. The unit watched over the Via XX from AD 123 until AD 395, giving the camp a military and administrative role along the road.
The Tessera of Castromao, a Roman-era hospitality tablet recording a formal agreement, preserves a connection between the cohort and the Coelerni community. Caius Antonius Aquilus, prefect of the cohort, made the agreement, while Publius Campanius Lemianus acted as the community’s legate. The camp may also have been the mansio Brigantium, an official stopping station on a Roman road that provided facilities for travel and administration. In 1943, Ángel del Castillo López identified the remains as a Roman camp rather than a mansio.
Abandonment and archaeological investigation
The camp was abandoned in the fourth century when the military unit was transferred to Iuliobriga in present-day Cantabria. Its deterioration began afterward, particularly during the period of Germanic occupation, although the site was reoccupied during some later periods. In the nineteenth century, neighboring areas used its stone as building material, removing part of the ancient fabric.
Official excavations began in 1934 under the direction of Ángel del Castillo López and Sebastián González. The work recovered pottery, glass, iron and bronze implements, and coins dated from AD 86, during the reign of Domitian, to AD 270, during the reign of Claudius II. Most of the objects from Ciadella are permanently displayed in the Archaeological and Historical Museum of San Antón Castle in A Coruña. A substantial part of the camp remains unexcavated, while a protective cover shields one excavated area from erosion.
Remains
The camp occupied a plateau 480 metres above sea level near the Cabalar River and was enclosed by a perimeter wall measuring approximately 172 by 140 metres. The enclosure covered about 2.4 hectares. Rounded corners, an external ditch, four entrance gates, and several watchtowers formed its defensive arrangement. The excavated area is protected by a reused steel-and-glass cover, but the cover extends across less than one-tenth of the historical enclosure, leaving most of the ruins exposed to rain, wind, and vegetation.
Headquarters and command buildings
Principia
The Principia, the headquarters of the Roman camp, had an almost square plan measuring 29.5 by 29.6 metres. It formed one of the principal buildings within the enclosure and stood beside the commander’s residence.
Praetorium
The Praetorium, the residence of the camp commander, measured 38 by 29.6 metres. A broad street separated it from the Principia, defining the relationship between the two central command buildings.
Other camp facilities and finds
Other structures probably included barracks, sanitary facilities, animal stalls, and a canteen. Their identification remains a reconstruction of the camp’s organization rather than a certainty. An altar to Fortuna, an altar dedicated by a signifer, or Roman army standard-bearer, and a vessel are associated with the site’s surviving archaeological material.
