Carranque is a town in the

Toledo province Toledo is a province of central Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Badajoz, Cáceres, and Ávila. Its capital is the city of Toledo. ...

, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is located in the area of the province bordering the

province of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

called the ''Alta Sagra''.

Archeological park

Carranque contains the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

that is protected as an archeological park by the Castile-La Mancha government. There are three main buildings visible by above-ground remains, the ruins of a Roman mill and a modern interpretation building. It is located by the River

Guadarrama Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Its population is 13,032 (winter, according to a 2006 census); the population swells to approximately 60,000 in summer. Its name co ...

, near a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. It seems to be near the lost city of Titultiam The buildings date from the late fourth century and are thought to belong to a "Villa of Maternus Cinigius", the uncle of Theodosius. Theodosius I, Roman emperor, who was born in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

. In 1983 a local peasant, Samuel López Iglesias, found a series of

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floors while plowing in the fields known as ''las Suertes de Abajo''. The interpretation facility exhibits objects found during the excavations

Buildings

Building A: Basilica

A Theodosian-era building that takes as models the governors' palaces. The hall was surrounded with 32

monolithic A monolith is a monument or natural feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock. Monolith or monolithic may also refer to: Architecture * Monolithic architecture, a style of construction in which a building is carved, cast or excavated ...

marble columns from the emperor's private quarries in

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

in Greece (known as or chium) and Iscehisar and

Afyon Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyonkarahisar Province, Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean Sea, Aegean c ...

in Anatolia ( phygium or pavonazzeto marble). Soon it was converted for use in Christian cult and burials. The

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

ic arrival brought some changes. It was also used during the Islamic age. The

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

used it as an abbey or monastery. It appears as the hermitage of ''Santa María de Batres'' in the '' Relaciones de Felipe II'' (1576), with most of the area used as a cemetery. It was used as such until the 17th century. The head of the Roman building, as the hermitage of ''Santa María de Abajo'' ("

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

of the lower side"), lasted until around 1920 when it was dynamited to serve as construction material for the modern town. Its decoration shows the power of the patron. There were plates of marble, red porphyry, and green

serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...

, wall painting, ''

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...

'' and mosaics with glass and golden-leaf tiles. Anecdotally, the footprints of a

caliga Caligae (Latin; singular ) are heavy-soled hobnailed military sandal-Boot, boots that were worn as standard issue by Roman army, Roman Roman legion, legionary foot-soldiers and auxiliaries, including Roman cavalry, cavalry. History Caliga ...

and a dog paw are visible on the mortar. The floorplan, part of the head (the chapel) and some columns are now visible.

Building B: nympheum

Only remains of the floorplan were found. Its location (a little knoll over the river) offers an interpretation as a monumental

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

with a fountain. Its shape reminds of a

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

. It was built with

opus caementicium Roman concrete, also called , is a material that was used in construction in ancient Rome. Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement. It is durable due to its incorporation of pozzolanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. B ...

(stone and mortar) and

opus testaceum ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

(brick). Mosaics covered the floor.

Building C: Villa of Maternus

Remains of the

were the first found. The villa was built in the Theodosian era over earlier production facilities of an agricultural villa. The slope was compensated with a

terraced In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore ...

construction over around 1,200 m² It is shaped around a peristylum patio. The

hypocaust A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...

under-floor heating and running water hint of the richness of the owner that becomes luxury when admiring the mosaics, assembled by at least three workshops, two of which took the unusual pride of signing their work. Other rooms are covered with

opus signinum ''Opus signinum'' ('cocciopesto' in modern Italian) is a building material used in ancient Rome. It is made of tiles broken up into very small pieces, mixed with mortar, and then beaten down with a rammer. Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural Histor ...

(chalk and crushed bricks).

Mosaics

Sleeping room of Maternus

The ''

cubiculum A ''cubiculum'' (plural ''cubicula'') was a private room in a ''domus'', an ancient Roman house occupied by a high-status family. It usually led directly from the ''atrium'', but in later periods it was sometimes adjacent to the ''peristyle''. It ...

'' has a mosaic text in which the worker wishes Maternus prosperity. This Maternus is thought to be Maternus Cinigius, uncle of the emperor Theodosius. The mosaics depict: * Portraits of Athena, Hercules and Diana. * the kidnapping of

Hylas In classical mythology, Hylas () was a youth who served as Heracles's (Roman Hercules) companion and servant. His abduction by water nymphs was a theme of ancient art, and has been an enduring subject for Western art in the classical tradition. ...

by the Nymphs. * Acteon and the bath of Diana. *

Pyramus and Thisbe Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon who occupy connected houses. Their r ...

Amymone In Greek mythology, Amymone (;Ancient Greek: Αμυμωνη means the "blameless" one) was a daughter of Danaus, king of Libya and Europe, a queen. As the "blameless" Danaid, her name identifies her as, perhaps, identical to Hypermnestra ("great ...

and

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

Meeting room

The

oecus ''Oecus'' is the Latinized form of Greek ''oikos'', used by Vitruvius for the principal hall or salon in a Roman house, which was used occasionally as a triclinium for banquets. When of great size it became necessary to support its ceiling with c ...

, where the owner held meetings and banquets showing off his social status, was ended by a raised

exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...

. The mosaic depicts the death of

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

. Two dogs named Leander and Titurus are also represented.

Dining hall

The hypocaust of the

triclinium A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...

was complemented by ceramic tubes in the walls that pulled the hot air upwards. The mosaic depicts the gift of the slave

Briseis Briseis (; grc, Βρῑσηΐς ''Brīsēís'', ) ("daughter of Briseus"), also known as Hippodameia (, ), is a significant character in the ''Iliad''. Her role as a status symbol is at the heart of the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon t ...

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

as narrated in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. A sloped floor formed a semicircular wall fountain with a mosaic of the god

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

, featuring crab antennas and claws and a wavy beard. The water effect was completed by blue-glass windows.

References

Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia ( es, Wikipedia en español) is a Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on March 8, 2006 and 1,000,000 articles on May 16, 2013 ...

br>as of September 19, 2006

(in Spanish).

External links

The Mosaics of Carranque
{{authority control Ancient Roman buildings and structures in the province of Toledo Roman towns and cities in Spain Archaeological sites in Spain Visigothic archaeological sites in Spain Municipalities in the Province of Toledo