Roman Circus Discovered in Northern Spain Could Host 5000 People

A large Roman venue hosting horse-drawn chariot races in antiquity has been found in northern Spain at the Iruña-Veleia site. Situated 10 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz, it was found to contain a Roman circus measuring 280 meters (approximately 920 feet) in length, capable of seating around 5,000 spectators! This finding, revealed by the excavation leaders using remote sensing techniques, highlighted the outlines of the stands and the circus.

Iruña-Veleia: Roman Circus Town?

The discovery suggests that Iruña-Veleia was more significant than previously believed. This announcement was made by Basque institutions and Arkikus archaeology company leaders, brothers Iker and Javier Ordoño, who first identified signs of the circus in 2020 using aerial photographs and helped by their color blindness, reports Arkikus, who’re carrying out the investigation .

The researchers explained that:

 “It gives an idea of the importance that Iruña-Veleia had. Not just anyone had a circus like this, with 280 meters it's like having three soccer fields lined up one behind the other.”

The discovery was enabled through "surface remote sensing of the site via historical and modern aerial photographs, LiDAR laser scanner mapping, and drone images."

The circus, in terms of shape and size, draws parallels with the one in Segóbriga (Cuenca). The Roman circus found at Iruña-Veleia is the third known example from the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, historically referred to as Hispania. The other two circuses in this region are located in the ancient settlements of Tarraco (the capital of Roman Hispania Citerior, now Tarragona) and Calagurris (now Calahorra).

Beyond the circus, remote sensing revealed streets, houses, arcaded areas, and the path of Iter XXXIV, the Roman road from Astorga to Burdeos. The significance of this discovery is enhanced by its preserved original layout, unobscured by modern buildings, unlike the other Roman circuses in Tarragona and Calahorra, reports The Newsweek.

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Basque Country: Major Roman Urban Hub

The project also identified streets, public squares, residential neighborhoods, potential religious buildings, and infrastructure related to water supply and sanitation. These discoveries underscore the significance of Iruña-Veleia in antiquity as a key stopping point along the Roman road connecting Astorga (Spain) to Bordeaux (France), and as a major urban hub in what is now the Basque territory.

“It is advisable to excavate, study it, publish findings, promote it for cultural and touristic purposes, but I am not sure if it is convenient to excavate it entirely, as all excavation is also destructive,” stated the chief archaeologist of the Provincial Council, Javier Fernández Bordegarai.

The next phase involves confirming the remote sensing findings with ground-penetrating radar, followed by field surveying, boreholes, and test pits. However, archaeologist Javier Ordoño noted that fully excavating these circuses is impractical due to the substantial costs and maintenance required, reports La Vanguardia.

The Basque Autonomous Community is home to the Basque people, whose language, Euskara, is considered a language isolate, meaning it has no direct links to any other known language family. Basque is believed to be the last surviving descendant of the "Paleo-European" languages, which predate the Indo-European languages brought to the continent during the Bronze Age by migrants from the Eurasian Steppe, now dominant in the region.

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Winner of a Roman chariot race. (Public Domain)

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A Roman circus was a large open-air venue primarily used for chariot races, though it sometimes served other purposes.

Chariot racing was the most popular of many subsidized public entertainments and was a key component of several religious festivals. Its significance declined in the Western Roman Empire following the fall of Rome, with the last known race held at the Circus Maximus in 549 AD, organized by the Ostrogothic king, Totila.

Roman circuses were architecturally significant and served as centers of social and cultural activity. The most famous of these circuses was the Circus Maximus in Rome, which stood as a monumental symbol of Roman engineering and entertainment. The Circus Maximus could accommodate between 150,000 and 250,000 spectators, making it one of the largest stadiums ever constructed. It measured approximately 621 meters in length and 118 meters in width, reflecting the immense scale on which these events were held.

Chariot racing itself was a thrilling and dangerous sport, with teams of horses pulling lightweight chariots at high speeds around the track. The races were not only a test of speed but also of skill and strategy, as charioteers navigated the treacherous turns and vied for position.

The Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Álava, funders of the research, have committed to continued funding but emphasized a careful, deliberate approach.

Top image: Roman circus found in Iruña-Veleia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.              Source: Arkikus

By Sahir Pandey