Alicante unveils a Roman villa in La Almadraba, linked to Lucentum, which will be open to visitors

The Alicante City Council is working on the recovery and enhancement of a new archaeological site in La Almadraba, where remains of a Roman villa linked to Lucentum have been found, which was operational between the 3rd century BC and the 4th century AD. The discovery will be turned into a museum for public visits, as confirmed by the City Council this Thursday.

This area had already undergone some archaeological surveys in 2009, which are now being completed as part of the redevelopment project of La Almadraba. As a result of these works, foundations of houses belonging to a Roman villa, abundant ceramic remains, some very well preserved, and coins from the period, as well as an Islamic combustion pool, have been discovered.

The government team specifies that excavation work is still ongoing at the site by the specialized company Arpa Patrimonio, under the supervision of the municipal department of Integral Heritage, so more findings could emerge. "With the discovery and enhancement of this Roman villa, we add a new site of immeasurable value to Alicante's rich archaeological heritage, which we will turn into an open-air museum for locals and visitors to better understand the city's past," highlights Mayor Luis Barcala, after overseeing the excavation work alongside Urban Planning Councillor Rocío Gómez and Culture Councillor Antonio Peral.

Once the tasks are completed, a process of musealization and enhancement of the findings will be carried out. It is planned that the discovered housing structures, of which only the foundations remain at present, will be rebuilt at least in some parts so that visitors can understand what these rooms were like. Additionally, wooden pedestrian walkways will be installed to allow a route that enables close viewing of these structures, as well as panels with information about the findings.

The Roman site will be integrated into the redeveloped and renaturalized environment of La Almadraba, a project currently underway with an investment of 5.1 million euros, municipal sources recall.

The Roman site of La Almadraba, where some archaeological surveys had already been conducted in 2009, has revealed, in addition to housing structures, coins, and abundant ceramic material, sometimes very well preserved, providing valuable information about the site's occupation periods. Campanian ceramics (between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD), painted Iberian ceramics, coins from the period of Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD), 'terra sigillata' of various origins and typologies with chronologies between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, fine wall ceramics from the 1st century AD, and common ceramics of various typologies and origins have been documented, municipal sources detail.

This allows us to deduce that the area experienced a fairly prolonged occupation over time, between the 3rd century BC and the 4th century AD, judging by some of the materials found, with the peak period being the 1st-2nd centuries AD during the Roman High Imperial era, as the most luxurious ceramics are from these times. The site would have a direct relationship with nearby Lucentum, although with a broader occupation over time.

The redevelopment of the La Almadraba area is included in the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, specifically the Territorial Plan for Sustainable Tourism in Destination, funded by Next Generation European funds. In addition to enhancing the archaeological site, the project includes the environmental regeneration of La Almadraba and the creation of new recreational spaces in an area of 25,000 square meters.

Drafted by Grupo Aranea and executed by Mediterráneo de Obras y Asfaltos, the urbanization project foresees various actions to improve mobility, accessibility, and safety features. Additionally, a sustainable drainage system will be created in case of heavy rains to reduce the speed of runoff water, channeling its paths. For this purpose, a 786 m³ cistern will be built to retain rainwater and its subsequent discharge into the network, as well as an open channel to minimize drags to the beach and a filtering channel.

In parallel, landscape restoration and renaturalization of the area are planned to create a more attractive space with new vegetation and conservation of the existing one, while modifying the topography to achieve accessible pedestrian routes. Corbeta and Almadraba streets will be pedestrianized to enhance the park's character by the sea and maintain its essence as a natural space equipped with urban furniture, rest areas, children's play areas, foot showers, fountains, bike racks, wooden and concrete walkways, chairs, and benches. Taking advantage of the project, the existing collector will be renewed.

On the other hand, the kiosk located in the Public Maritime-Terrestrial Domain will be relocated to a green area to activate the generated public space, and the emergency services building of the City Council will be replaced by a semi-buried piece with a green roof.