Conímbriga (16 Km from Coimbra)

http://jorgetavares.tk/

http://jorgetavares.planetaclix.pt
http://tourtransfer.no.sapo.pt

others: http://www.portuclip.eu http://video.google.com/
http://www.metacafe.com/channels/jorgetavares/

Although Conímbriga was not the largest Roman city in Portugal, it is the best preserved.

Conímbriga is one of the largest Roman settlements in Portugal, and is classified as a National Monument. Conímbriga lies 16 km from Coimbra and less than 2 km from Condeixa-a-Nova. The site also has a museum that displays objects found by archaeologists during their excavations, including coins and surgical tools. A restaurant/café is in the museum, which also has a gift shop.

The name Conimbriga derives from an early, possibly pre-Indo-European element meaning "rocky height or outcrop" and the Celtic briga, signifying a defended place.

Although Conímbriga was not the largest Roman city in Portugal, it is the best preserved. The city walls are largely intact, and the mosaic floors and foundations of many houses and public buildings remain. In the baths, you can view the network of stone heating ducts beneath the now-missing floors. Archaeologists estimate that only 10 percent of the city has been excavated until the early 2000s.

Like many archaeological sites, Conímbriga was built in layers. Some of the earliest layers date back to the first Iron Age in the 9th Century B.C. The Romans arrived in 139 BC, Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus was the general who lead the Roman legions in the conquest of western Iberia after the death of Viriathus, conquering the Celtic inhabitants and establishing a city that grew, flourished, and then fell victim to barbarian invasions until Conimbriga's residents fled to nearby Aeminium (now the city of Coimbra) in 468.

J.T. (2008)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• jorge
• tavares
• conímbriga
• coimbra
• portugal
• ruínas
• romanas
• roman
• city