J. Beltrán Fortes - M. Heinzelmann - J. Lehmann - D. Romero Vera - A. Schröder, Carissa Aurelia, in: T. Nogales Basarrate (Ed.), Ciudades Romanas de Hispania II (Roma 2022), 253-264 (original) (raw)

The archaeological site of Carissa Aurelia is located in the current province of Cádiz, between the towns of Bornos and Espera. In Roman times it was included to the new province Hispania Vlterior Baetica by the emperor Augustus, and, specifically, to the conventus Gaditanus. Today it corresponds to a deserted site, an old farmstead, whose toponym, Carija, derives from the ancient city's name (Fig. 1). The archaeological artifacts recovered at the site suggest that its occupation was discontinuous, originating during the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic period, as several pit structures indicate, and continuing on to medieval times, as the common inhumations without burial goods reveal. However, the Turdetan phase and, above all, the Roman occupation represent the most important moments of the site. Under the latter, it reached its maximum expansion; at that time the settlement was enclosed by a wall surrounding an approximate area of 18-20 ha, which denotes a highly important urban nucleus and plausible architectural complexity that, as yet, is known only partially and in a nonsystematic manner.