Excavations organised by MARQ

LUCENTUM. (TOSSAL DE MANISES, ALICANTE)

Project Director
Manuel H. Olcina Domenech
mholcina@dip-alicante.es
Tel.: 965149000

Project: Archaeological interventions in the Roman forum and Popilius Baths, in Lucentum (El Tossal de Manises), Alicante.
Organization: Provincial Government of Alicante (MARQ and the Department of Architecture).
Directors: Manuel Olcina Domenech and Rafael Pérez Jimenez (MARQ and the Department of Architecture).
Co-directors of the excavation: Antonio Guilabert Mas and Eva Tendero Porras (Foundation CV-Marq).
In association with: ALEBUS S.A.
This intervention has been authorised by the Valencian Government’s Department of Culture and Sport. File No. 2008/1089-A.

On 7th September 2009 a new programme of excavations of the archaeological site of Tossal de Manises (the ancient Roman town of Lucentum) began. This project will continue the work carried out in 2005, which focussed on the uncovering an area of the forum. This year the project’s aim is to confirm the theories proposed for the site’s phasing, its original plan, and the developmental sequence of the site, including when it was finally abandoned. All of these are to be examined within the forum area as well as in the nearby Popilius Bath House; both buildings were probably built at the same time.

Just like in previous campaigns, this work is dependent on three main aspects that impact on the site: the archaeology, the site’s conservation and its future development and interpretation.
Lucentum is one of only a few archaeological parks in the Valencian Region in which continuous scientific investigation goes hand in hand with a comprehensive plan of public accessibility. The site has a number of security measures in place as well as a permanent site maintenance team which cares after the archaeological remains, the various gardens and the other facilities….


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Aerial photograph of Lucentum. (Tossal de Manises, Alicante)