The Roman city of Cáparra is located in the north of

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) in the valley of the

River Alagón A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

. In Roman times it was in the province of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...

within the Conventus Iuridicus Emeritensis, whose capital was Colonia Augusta Emerita (modern day Mérida). It was approached via the Roman road known as the

Vía de la Plata The Vía de La Plata (Silver Way) or Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route) is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of Spain from north to south, connecting Mérida to Astorga. An extended form begins further south in Seville ...

and is now permanently abandoned. It is said to have been a pre-Roman city, although this remains unconfirmed and has been questioned by some authors, on the grounds that the flat location did not meet the defensive requirements of a pre-Roman town and only a few pottery remains have been found. The walled city covered an area of approximately 15-16

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

, although it is known that in the area northwest of the city there were many houses, so that the settled area is thought to have been much larger than the walled area. The city was smaller and less important than some other Roman cities of the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, but was among the main population centres between the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

river and the

Sierra de Gredos The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in central Spain that spans the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Cáceres, Madrid, and Toledo. It is part of the much larger Sistema Central of mountain ranges. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at 2,5 ...

, along with Caurium ( Coria), Augustobriga (

Talavera la Vieja Talavera may refer to: Battles * Battle of Talavera de la Reina, Spain, an 1809 battle of the Peninsular War * Battle of Talavera de la Reina (1936), during the Spanish Civil War People * Talavera (surname), list of people with this name * Tala ...

) and

Egitania Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old") is a village in the civil parish (''freguesia'') of Monsanto e Idanha-a-Velha, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova (Idanha "the new"), central eastern Portugal, and the site of ancient Egitânia, a former bishop ...

(

Idanha-a-Velha Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old") is a village in the civil parish (''freguesia'') of Monsanto e Idanha-a-Velha, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova (Idanha "the new"), central eastern Portugal, and the site of ancient Egitânia, a former bishop ...

). Its urban organisation corresponds to an orthogonal plan, with the Vía de la Plata as the principal axis, passing through the city in a north-south direction. The name of the city is not originally

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, but pre-Roman, probably Veton, just as the origin of the settlement. The name has several variations, such as ''Capara'', ''Capera'' and ''Kapasa''. Possibly its significance derives from those roots which could indicate a centre for exchange, bartar, and trade, inasmuch as the position of Cáparra is at the meeting of two roads, one leading to El Jerte through the Puerto de San Gamello and the other to the Roman bridges over the Ambroz and the Pontoon in the Alagón.Rio-Miranda, J. 2011

Notes

Bibliography

* Cerrillo, E. "(2000): “Capara, municipio romano”, ''Sociedad y cultura en Lusitania romana'' (Actas de la IV Mesa Redonda Internacional), Mérida, 2000, pp. 155–164. * Río-Miranda Alcón, J. (2011), ''La ciudad romana de Cáparra. Municipium Flavium Caparense'', Cáceres, pp. 15–340 * Río-Miranda Alcón, J. (2012), ''La ciudad romana de Cáparra. La Cerámica'', Cáceres.

External links

The Roman city of Cáparra. Municipium Flavium Caparense

E. Cerrillo. ''Municipium Flavium Caparensis'' in the virtual library of Miguel de Cervantes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caparra Roman sites in Spain Roman amphitheatres in Spain