Roman Ampitheatre and Atalaya castle on the road to recovery in Cartagena

The Roman amphitheatre and the Castillo de la Atalaya are set for excavation and restoration

This week has brought good news for those who enjoy the many historic monuments in the city of Cartagena, with progress gradually being made concerning both the excavation of the Roman amphitheatre and the protection and restoration of the castle of Atalaya.

The oval-shaped Roman amphitheatre in Cartagena was built on the eastern side of the Cerro de la Concepción hill during the Flavian dynasty, which lasted from 69 to 96 AD, and is believed to have held up to 11,000 spectators. In 1854 the city’s bull ring was built on top of its remains, although nowadays the arena is in a state of semi-ruin and partial demolition work began in 2008.

The huge amphitheatre still lies almost completely buried, and until now little progress has been made towards unearthing it, but last year an agreement was signed between the Mayor of Cartagena and the president of the regional government of Murcia to re-assign responsibilities regarding the excavation. The implication of this agreement is that from now on the Town Hall will take charge of seeking finance for the excavation project, the aim being to uncover at least a quarter of the structure so that its importance can be properly assessed, and if needed further funding can then be sought.

As a result, 200,000 euros have been set aside in the municipal budget and a further 100,000 euros is being provided by the regional government, and this week the excavation project is to be presented fully, showing the manner in which the remaining bullring wall will be consolidated, to permit excavation of the theatre below without destroying the bullring monument.

Originally plans for the ampitheatre had included the construction of a large modern art museum enveloping the complex, but these have now been shelved in favour of a more practical plan which can be supported financially, enabling archaeologists to move in and resume work on the project, 114 years after the first excavations took place.

Similarly, the Town Hall has also taken possession of the Castillo de la Atalaya, and the Department of Heritage in the Town Hall is currently drawing up the project to clean up the remaining structures and eliminate all signs of the vandalism to which it has been subjected over the last few decades, as well as to reinforce the walls of the fortress before the end of this year. Until now the only investment made in the castle was the 1,500 euros which were spent on a flagpole and the red flag which was hoisted on 12^th July 2015 to commemorate the uprising of 1873, but visible progress is reported to be in the pipeline for this autumn.

The Castillo de la Atalaya was built as part of the 1728 coastal defence plan for Mediterranean regions of Spain, and was designed to protect the city of Cartagena, which was named the capital of the Mediterranean maritime department. The castle was completed in 1777, and played an important part in the siege of Cartagena following the declaration of the independent Cantón in 1873 and 1874. It was not relinquished by the Ministry of Defence until 1989 and since then it has officially formed part of Spain’s national heritage, but its condition has deteriorated steadily.

For more local news, events and other information visit the Cartagena section of Murcia Today.