Empúries(in Catalan) Ἐμπόριον(in Greek) Emporiae(in Latin) | |
 Palaeochristian basilica at Empúries | |
  Shown within Province of Girona Show map of Province of Girona Empúries (Catalonia) Show map of Catalonia Empúries (Spain) Show map of Spain | |
| Location | Alt Empordà,Province of Girona,Catalonia,Spain |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°08′05″N03°07′14″E / 42.13472°N 3.12056°E /42.13472; 3.12056 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Colonists fromPhocaea |
| Founded | 575 BC |
| Periods | Archaic Greek toEarly Medieval |
Empúries (Catalan:Empúries[əmˈpuɾiəs]) was an ancient Greek city on theMediterranean coast ofCatalonia,Spain. The city Ἐμπόριον (Greek:Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "trading place",cf.emporion) was founded in 575 BC byGreeks fromPhocaea. After the invasion ofGaul fromIberia byHannibal theCarthaginian general in 218 BC, the city was occupied by theRomans (Latin:Emporiae). In theEarly Middle Ages, the city's exposed coastal position left it open to marauders and it was abandoned.
Empúries is located within theCatalan comarca ofAlt Empordà on theCosta Brava. The ruins are midway between the town ofL'Escala and the tiny village ofSant Martí d'Empúries.
Empúries was founded on a small island at the mouth of the riverFluvià, in a region inhabited by theIndigetes (at the present time, the mouth of the Fluvià is about 6 km to the north). This city came to be known as thePalaiapolis, the "old city" when, towards 550 BC, the inhabitants moved to the mainland, creating theNeapolis, the "new city".
After the conquest ofPhocaea by thePersian kingCyrus II in 530 BC, the new city's population increased considerably through the influx of refugees. In the face of strong pressure fromCarthage, the city managed to retain its independent Greek character. Political and commercial agreements were concluded with the indigenous population long settled in the nearby city of Indika. Situated as it was on the coastal commercial route between Greek Massalia (Marseille) andTartessos in the far south of Hispania, the city developed into a large economic and commercial centre as well as being the largest Greek colony in theIberian Peninsula.
During thePunic Wars, Empúries allied itself withRome, andPublius Cornelius Scipio initiated the conquest ofHispania from this city in 218 BC by sending his brotherGnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus there with Roman troops.
After the conquest of Hispania by the Romans, Empúries remained an independentcity-state. However, in the civil war betweenPompey andJulius Caesar, it opted for Pompey, and after his defeat it was stripped of its autonomy. Acolonia of Roman veterans, namedEmporiae, was established near Indika to control the region.
From that time onwards, Empúries began to decline, obscured by the power of Tarraco (Tarragona) and Barcino (Barcelona). At the end of the 3rd century it became one of the first cities in Spain to admit Christian evangelists. In that century, too, the Greek town was abandoned while the Roman town survived as a mint and the largely ceremonial seat of a coastal county, Castelló d'Empúries,[1] until theViking raids of the mid-9th century. Coinage began again under countHugh II of Empúries (1078–1117).
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Although the precise location of the town was known since the 15th century, it was only in the 20th century that systematic excavations were carried out. The site is known as Ampurias. The first official excavations started in 1908 and were held by the Junta de Museus de Barcelona and directed by Emili Gandia i Ortega under the instructions ofJosep Puig i Cadafalch andPere Bosch-Gimpera. These excavations are still going on.
The island on which thePalaiopolis was situated is now part of the mainland and is the site of the mediaeval village of Sant Martí d'Empúries. The former harbour has silted up as well. Hardly any excavation has been done here.
After the founding of theNeapolis, the old city seems to have functioned as anacropolis (fortress and temple).Strabo mentions a temple dedicated toArtemis at this site.
The Neapolis consisted of awalled precinct with an irregular ground plan of 200 by 130 m. The walls were built, and repeatedly modified in the period from the 5th to the 2nd century BC. To the west the wall separated theNeapolis from the Iberian town of Indika.
In the south-west part of the city were various temples, replacing an older one toArtemis, such as a temple toAsclepius, of whom a marble statue was found. In the south-east part was a temple toZeus-Serapis. The majority of the excavated buildings belong to theHellenistic period. In addition to houses, some of which are decorated with mosaics and wallpaintings, a number of public buildings have come to light, such as those in theagora and the harbourmole. In the Roman period,thermae and apalaeochristianbasilica were built.
To the south and east of the new city was an area that served as anecropolis.
Only about 20% of the Roman city (municipium) has been excavated. The city has the typical orthogonal layout of Roman military camps, with two principal roads meeting at theforum. The Roman city is considerably larger than the Greek one. During theRepublican period a temple was built dedicated to theCapitoline Triad:Jupiter,Juno, andMinerva. During the reign of the emperorAugustus abasilica andcuria were added.
In the eastern part of the town a number of large houses have been excavated, with an inner courtyard, numerous annexes, floor mosaics, and paintings. In the 2nd century the town was surrounded by awall without towers. Anamphitheatre andpalaestra were built outside the wall.
The necropolis of Empúries remained in use for a very long period, from the 7th century BC up to the Middle Ages, but many tombs were looted.Martín Almagro Basch wrote two books[2] collecting all data on the majority of cemeteries in the area. There are four types: early Greek and Iberian, late Republican, early Roman Empire andlate Roman Empire.[3]
Burials were located in the southern and western sides ofNeapolis. The western sector was occupied by the so-callednecropolis of the wall northeast. Inhumation (Greeks) predominated while a third of burials were cremations (Iberians).
The ancient necropolis remained in use with inhumations and cremations, possibly Greek and indigenous from theNeapolis. Cremations predominated in another group, possibly of Roman origin, whose cemetery is located on the north side of the neighboring hill of Les Corts, located southwest of the city. This necropolis was in use particularly during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Archaeologists found small mounds built with square blocks of stone with the remains of cremation in the middle.
No burials have been found clearly from the second quarter of the 1st century BC until the reign of Augustus (about 35 years). Cremation burials then predominated until the reign of Emperor Flavian (at the end of the 1st century AD) around a hillside where the Roman city is located.
Burial rituals changed in the 2nd century AD, with only inhumations found.[4]
Precise chronologies are hampered by the lack of grave goods in tombs. The whole area of the ancient Greek city was filled with inhumation burials, perhaps related to the worship of the early Christian basilica or Cella Memoria, situated there. Burials are also in many of the ancient necropolis of earlier times (as Bonjoan, in use for a thousand years) and in new ones. It is possible they were related to theRoman villae located near them. There is a monument of El Castellet and nearby tombs.[5]
The branch of theArchaeology Museum of Catalonia in Empúries (MAC-Empúries) offers visitors an experience in direct contact with the archaeological remains there. A visit to the Greek city and the Roman city are complemented by a tour through the museum, which showcases representative objects from the history of the site that have been uncovered in the years of excavations in Empúries.[6] The museum has parking facilities and the site may be reached by a traffic-free coastal walk from L'Escala.
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