The Roman Seville below the city.

Beneath the famous and controversial Mushrooms of Seville, there is a museum which shows the archaeological ruins that belonged to the Seville of the Roman Empire.

Discovery

It was in the 90s when it was decided to put a carpark in this area, in Plaza de la Encarnación.  However, upon the discovery of such an important site the work was stopped and gave way to the construction of a space that included a centre of interpretation for the findings, a viewpoint of the city, and a market with food stalls and restaurants.

The ruins

The museum shows us the remains of roman houses, above all the high quality preserved mosaics which adorn the floor of the rooms. The roads which separated them can also be seen, in a way that the visitors can have an idea of the structure of the roads from those distant times of Rome. Along with the houses, a salted fish factory, dating from the 1^st Century, is preserved.  But this isn’t all, the Arabic Seville is also represented here, as the centre has the remains of an Almohade house from the 12^th century.

To go through the museum there are glass walkways that allow us to see everything it contains below our feet, so we don’t miss anything. The mosaics are very well preserved and the reception staff provide the information to the visitor.

Despite the eight centuries of Roman domination, unfortunately the remains that we have of this time are very scarce, owing to the passing of different civilisations the have enriched the history of the city. For that, it’s worth coming to discover this space, which doesn’t take long, and is one more thing that Seville can offer.

Images source: Flickr. Sandra Vallaure