Bracara Augusta
Bracara Augusta was an ancient city in what is now Portugal . It's modern Braga .
The city's founding date is uncertain. The region was established between 27 and 24 BC. It was incorporated into the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus . An inscription from the city dates from 4 to 2 BC. BC, so that Bracara Augusta, which initially belonged to Hispania Tarraconensis , was probably founded shortly before. So far there is no evidence of pre-Roman settlement. Inscriptions, especially on tombstones, suggest that the city was primarily inhabited by locals. Most of these inscriptions date from the Flavian and Antonine periods. In the latter epoch the city reached its greatest extent with about 48 hectares.
Emperor Diocletian probably made the city the capital of the newly established province of Gallaecia in late antiquity . In the fifth century it became the capital of the Suebi , who invaded the Iberian Peninsula from Germania .
The city was built on a chessboard plan. The insulae were square and 44.4 meters long, which is about 120 Roman feet. However, this plan was not followed consistently. Many streets had porticoes on at least one side . The oldest parts of the city were found on the Alto of Cividade , the highest point in the city. The city was already expanding in the Julio-Claudian era .
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Only a few public buildings have been proven with certainty. The remains of a theater were found in the west of the city. Right next to it, the well-preserved remains of a bath could be excavated. Both buildings date to the beginning of the second century.
Directly south of the ancient city is the Fonte do Ídolo , a Roman spring sanctuary from the 1st century AD. The ruins may once have been part of a larger temple complex.
literature
- Emil Huebner : Bracara Augusta . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 1, Stuttgart 1897, Col. 802.
- M. Martins: Bracara Augusta. A Roman town in the Atlantic area . In: L. Abad Casal, S. Keay, S. Ramallo Asensio (eds.): Early Roman Towns in Hispania Tarraconensis , Portsmouth, Rhode Island 2006, ISBN 1-887829-62-8 , pp. 213–222 ( full text) .
