Roman temple of Augustobriga
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| Los Mármoles (The Marble Stones) | |
 Roman Temple of Los Marmoles | |
| Coordinates | 39°48′24.9″N 5°28′56″W / 39.806917°N 5.48222°WCoordinates: 39°48′24.9″N 5°28′56″W / 39.806917°N 5.48222°W ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽ |
|---|---|
| Location |  Spain |
| Designer | Rome |
| Type | Temple |
| Material | Granite |
| Length | 20.4 m |
| Width | 11.55 m |
| Dedicated date | 2nd century |
| Dismantled date | 1963 (relocated) |
The temple of Augustobriga, better known as "Los Mármoles" (The Marble Stones in Spanish), is a Roman temple that is in an excellent state of preservation. It was originally located in the forum of the Roman city of Augustobriga, which guarded the Alarza ford, one of the few points where the River Tagus could be crossed,[1] which made it a strategic place and allowed the flourishing of the city.[2] In 1931 it was declared a National Monument. In 1957 construction work began on the Valdecañas reservoir, which would eventually flood the entire area of the old ford, including the town of Talavera la Vieja (Talaverilla), which was none other than the ancient Roman city of Augustobriga.[3]
As this temple had been declared National Monument before the dam was completed, in 1963,[2][4] the temple was dismantled and moved some 6 km further west, to what would be the shore of the reservoir, in the municipality of Peraleda de la Mata. Disagreements with the owners of the Alarza estate over the access road to be opened led to dismantling it again and being rebuilt on the opposite bank, in the municipality of Bohonal de Ibor, but this time next to the EX-118 road (the one from Peraleda de la Mata to Guadalupe), so as to have no problems with access. This relocation, although hectic, is what has allowed this monument to preserve its good condition, unlike others in the area, which were submerged but resurface periodically, which is slowly destroying them.
There used to be doubts as to whether this building be a temple or a curia (the equivalent of a city hall), often treating it as a curia[5][3] and declaring it "the only fully preserved curia portico in the world". In the excavations carried out by García and Bellido in 1962, the matter was settled and it was shown that it was not a curia but a temple, mainly for two reasons, the fact that it used to form a complex with two other temples in the city forum (replicating the scheme of three temples so common in other Hispanic cities), and the fact that it originally had an access stairway of three big steps, typical of temples but not curias. [6]
Description[edit]
The temple is rectangular in shape, facing south and at the top of a high ravine, thus reproducing its original location, except that now the ravine is usually largely covered by water.[citation needed]
The base is made of granite stone blocks, which form a molding that runs through the entire rectangle of the base. A small step formed by a gap in this basement serves today as an entrance threshold. Formerly this gap was centered at the end of a high stairway that today can only be fathomed, since only the beginning of its side wall remains. The portico is made up of four frontal columns and two lateral ones, and is fully preserved. Behind the portico, the cella (enclosed chamber) used to sit. That was the interior room where the statue of the god or goddess was and where incense was burned in their honor. There are no remains of the cella today. Some experts believe that since the cella stones were easy to disassemble, they would have been taken away for reuse, others believe that perhaps the cella was made of low-quality masonry and did not stand the test of time.[citation needed]
There is something truly peculiar about this temple, something rare in the architecture of Roman temples, especially in the western part of the Empire: an arch occupies the place where the tympanum of the pediment was. This type of arch has its origin in the oriental architecture of Alexandria or Syria. This is a typical feature of the orientalizing character that Augustobriga had, since the city always maintained many contacts with the eastern part of the Empire, and so we can see this influence here in this piece of architecture as well.[7][8] What experts are not sure about is whether this arch was a simple relieving arch, for which reason it would probably be walled up and hidden, or maybe it was used as a decorative or structural element but in plain view, perhaps allowing light into a window that illuminated the cella.[citation needed]
The columns of the façade and its entire structure are made of granite, but even today remains of stucco (plaster) are still well visible in the grooves of the columns. This stucco would have had a shiny finish imitating marble, hence the name that the monument still receives today, "Los Mármoles" (the marble stones). Ancient chronicles mention that this stucco was mixed with glass powder to give it a more intense shine, to the point that it could be seen shining a long distance away.[4][9]
The columns are supported by double torus bases but without a plinth, and the fluted shafts (grooved pillasters) are made up of seven cylindrical stones each. The capitals are today simple in appearance and with strange and misshapen-looking projections. These projections would originally have been designed to support a stucco mold that would create elaborate Corinthian-style capitals. Upon the capitals there is an architrave that Hermosilla (a historian from the 18th century) saw covered with stucco of great consistency, he being the only source that mentions it.[10] Above the architrave there was a continuous cornice of which today only three ashlars remain, one in the east corner and the other two at the points where the pediment arch rests. The pediment itself, along with the roof and the entire cella, have disappeared. The marble slabs that covered the floor of the cella and that were still there in the times of Hermosilla,[11] have not been preserved either.[6][12][13]
Original location[edit]
As we have said, this temple was located in the Augustobriga forum, more specifically, almost on the edge of a cliff that descended towards the Tagus River. Next to it there was another temple with the same floor plan and supposedly with the same aspect, but of which only the remains of its base were found under the modern buildings of the town.[14][15][16] Opposite both twin temples was the main temple,[17] dedicated to Jupiter,[18] and between them was the forum (the equivalent of our main square), fully porticoed and enclosed by a wall.[19][20][21] This third temple was larger and was built on a raised platform that was accessed by a flight of stairs.[22] It was known as "the temple of the Cilla" (the cilla was the municipal granary) because in more modern times it was used for that purpose. A lower part of the walls was also preserved and, though deteriorated, the base of the stairway as well, crowned by three of the four columns that once formed its portico.[17]
As this is another temple of masonry and not of ashlars, its relocation was considered too complicated, so only the remains of its three columns were removed, and we can see them today a few meters from "the Temple of the Marbles" and that is all we have preserved from the once dominant Temple of Jupiter.[23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
In popular culture[edit]
Traditionally the temple has been for the inhabitants of the area something admired and at the same time misunderstood. Curiously, until the 70s these ruins were not associated with the Romans, but with the Arabs. Legend had it that this palace was built by a Moorish king to lock up her daughter on high, thus trying to put an end to the love affair she had with a Christian knight. In the imagination of the people, the purpose of the columns was to raise as high as possible the chamber where the Moorish princess lived. She only had access to the outside through the stone arch. Over there, with a pulley, a basket with food was raised every morning, and in that same basket one unfortunate day she found an end to her sorrows, because a viper hidden in a bunch of grapes bit her and she died.[citation needed]
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And as every legend has some truth, it is more than likely that the Moors did put the monument to some use when they conquered the city,[28] since the "Alarza" ford (which means "cultivated field" in Arabic) still bears in its name a record of the roots that the Moors had in the area, being just a few kilometers away from the remains of Medina de Al-balat, the capital city of an entire province of Al-Andalus. This explains why the last memory attached to these stones connected them with the Arabs, and not with their previous Roman builders.[citation needed]
Current situation[edit]
The temple is basically abandoned. Local groups, such as Raíces de Peraleda, have collected signatures throughout the region to improve access, create a larger parking area, promote the temple and turn it into a tourist resource for the area among other proposals.[29]
For the moment, everything remains the same, and this temple, being one of the best preserved in Spain, continues to be almost completely unknown.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ González Cordero 2006, pp. 19-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 González Cordero 2006, p. 22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 232.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Santos Sánchez 1993, p. 50.
- ↑ Mélida 1919, pp. 422-423.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Morán Sánchez 2014, pp. 21-40.
- ↑ González Cordero 2006.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 243.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 225.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, pp. 227-228.
- ↑ Real Academia de la Historia 1796, p. 354.
- ↑ González Cordero 2006, p. 38.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 237-238.
- ↑ Santos Sánchez 1993, p. 246.
- ↑ Real Academia de la Historia 1796, p. 360.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 239.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Real Academia de la Historia 1796, p. 355.
- ↑ Mélida 1919, p. 422.
- ↑ Real Academia de la Historia 1796, pp. 356-360.
- ↑ Mélida 1919, p. 420.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 237.
- ↑ Mélida 1919, p. 421.
- ↑ Blanca María Aguilar-Tablada Marcos. "Presentación del conjunto arqueológico de Augustóbriga (Talavera la Vieja, Cáceres)" (in Spanish). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Retrieved 14 March 2023.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Santos Sánchez 1993, p. 51.
- ↑ González Cordero 2006, p. 40.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 233.
- ↑ Morán Sánchez 2014, p. 238.
- ↑ Santos Sánchez 1993, p. 95.
- ↑ "La Asociación Cultural Raíces de Peralêda reivindica que se realce el templo de Los Mármoles" (in Spanish). el Periódico de Extremadura (newspaper). 2020-09-23.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
Bibliography[edit]
- Morán Sánchez, Carlos Jesús (member of the Merida Institute of Archaeology and CSIC-Government of Extremadura) (2014), "Augustóbriga (Talavera la Vieja)", II Coloquios Histórico-Culturales del Campo Arañuelo D. Antonio María y Cano (in Spanish), Navalmoral de la Mata Council, pp. 21–40CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Also published by government institution CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) on its website, so you can read it online here (in Spanish): Augustóbriga (Talavera la Vieja)
- González Cordero, Antonio; et al. (2006), "El conjunto orientalizante de Talavera la Vieja (Cáceres)", Memorias 5 (in Spanish), Junta de ExtremaduraCS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- Santos Sánchez, Marcelino (1993), Historia de Talavera la Vieja (la romana Augustóbriga) (in Spanish), Gráficas del Tajo, ISBN 84-604-6885-2CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- Real Academia de la Historia (1796), Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia (in Spanish), 1, Madrid: Imprenta de SanchaCS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- Mélida, José Ramón (1919), Monumentos romanos de la antigua Augustóbriga, hoy Talavera la Vieja, en la provincia de Cáceres, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia (in Spanish), 75, Real Academia de la Historia, pp. 415–426CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
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