Petavonium was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Legionary Fortress ''( castrum)'' of the

Legio X Gemina Legio X ''Gemina'' ("The Twins' Tenth Legion"), was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. There are still records of the X ''Gemina'' in Vienna in the begi ...

, and later a Roman city formed from the

canabae A (plural ) was the Latin term for a hut or hovel and was later (from the time of Hadrian) used typically to mean a town that emerged as a civilian settlement () in the vicinity of a Roman legionary fortress (). A settlement that grew up outs ...

, or civilian camp. It was located in the valley of Vidriales in an area of the modern Santibanez de Vidriales and its hamlet Rosinos de Vidriales, in the

province of Zamora Zamora () is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, León, Valladolid, and Salamanca, and by Portugal. The present-day province of Zamora w ...

(Castilla y Leon). The legion was located here during the war against the Astures and Cantabrians to control the routes that connected this area with Gallaecia and with the rest of the valley of Douro and

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 ...

, including those used for transportation of gold from the mines of Las Médulas o Cavenes. The archaeological evidence shows a camp of about 20 ha, many ceramic remains, coins, remains of weapons and other metal objects, and building materials stamped with the legion's motif. The departure of the legion in 63 AD must have been a setback for the town but it began to recover in the Flavian dynasty, probably under

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

, when

Ala Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, Seydu ...

II Flavia Hispanorum Civium Romanorum was stationed in the old barracks of X Gemina. The new fort, a ''castellum alae'', was a rectangular walled enclosure of about 4 ha built inside the former camp. Around this camp emerged a ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

'', or town, of about 80 ha. The legion's presence attracted large numbers of people, Hispanics and Italians, who created a dense network of rural settlements in the Vidriales valley and which became the future city of Petavonium. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD it became one of the largest cities in Asturian territory. Remains are preserved of the gates, especially the ''praetoria'' double gates, of the ''principia'', or headquarters, and of the ''valetudinarium'', or hospital. Also found were numerous coins of the 1st to 4th centuries, weapons, ''

terra sigillata Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of t ...

'' and ceramics, along with building materials such as bricks sealed with motifs of the Ala and

Legio VII Gemina __NOTOC__ Legio VII Gemina (Latin for "The Twins' Seventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was raised in AD 68 in Hispania by the general Galba to take part in his rebellion against the emperor Nero. "Gemina" means the legion w ...

with which legion it had collaborated in Africa and in northern Portugal, near

Aquae Flaviae Aquae Flaviae (or ''Aquæ Flaviæ'') is the ancient Roman city and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) of Chaves, a municipality in the Portuguese district of Vila Real. History The northwest peninsular region is an area of ho ...

(Chaves). In the later Empire, possibly from

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, the resident unit became the Cohors II Flavia Pacatiana, still active at the end of the fourth century according to

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

. The civil nucleus is mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

as a

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

on the road linking Asturica Augusta (Astorga) with Bracara Augusta (Braga). Numerous inscriptions are embedded in the houses and churches in nearby villages. The city was abandoned in the 5th century as a result of the barbarian invasions.

References

{{Authority control Roman fortifications in Hispania Tarraconensis Roman legionary fortresses in Spain