Excavate an Entire Roman City—in Spain!

For archaeologists, few things are more exciting than excavating an entire city that belongs to a single period. Without earlier or later epochs to get in the way, such remains become a direct window onto the past, a way for archaeologists to see precisely how a specific group of people built, occupied and then ultimately abandoned a city.

The Roman city of Colonia Clunia Sulpicia in northern Spain presents archaeologists with precisely this dream scenario. Founded as an administrative center after the Roman conquest of northern Iberia in the early first century B.C., Clunia was built not on the nearby ruins of the Iron Age Celtiberian stronghold, but instead was founded as an entirely new settlement atop a dominating plateau 3,400 feet above sea level. From this majestic point overlooking the Spanish countryside, Clunia became a center of Roman life and culture for the next three and a half centuries. Surveys and excavations have revealed all the wealth and grandeur of a major Roman city, including luxurious public baths, magnificent mansions, a large forum, colossal temples, beautifully laid mosaic floors and countless documents that tell us about the life and times of the 40,000 people who walked the streets of Clunia.

The site is perhaps most renowned for its impressive Roman theater, which incorporated innovative architectural elements, as well as an intricately designed water drainage system. With an estimated seating capacity of over 9,000, the ancient theater is the largest ever to be discovered in the Iberian Peninsula. This summer, volunteers at Clunia will help directors Francesc Tuset and Miguel Angel de la Inglesia piece together exactly how this impressive Roman theater was built and then transformed over the centuries.