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Date Published: 09/02/2023

ARCHIVED - Recently excavated ancient Roman road opens to public in Cartagena

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The subterranean ruins of the old Carthago Nova road are on display as a new mini-museum in Cartagena

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Recently excavated ancient Roman road opens to public in Cartagena

Another new attraction has been added to the already long list of tourist attractions in Cartagena related to the 3,000-year history of the city. The new space is “a porticoed roadway” of the Cardo Maximo of Carthago Nova, which gave access from the northern area, very close to the old Puerta de la Serreta, and which divided the old city into two halves.

Located in the basement of the building at number 2 of the Plaza Serreta, the ruins visible at the new centre were once part of one of the main streets of the city in the 1st Century AD.

During the archaeological excavation, which started back in 2002, the remains of this road were discovered along with a series of smaller structures whose original purposes experts are still unsure of.

“This road preserves the underground channelling, as well as the remains of the typical cobblestones of a Punic street, along which it is said that Scipio’s legions entered Cartagena, razing to the ground much of what they found in their path,” said the Deputy Mayor of Cartagena at the inauguration.

The work carried out by Patrimonio Arqueológico has involved an investment of around 60,000 euros and has consisted of completing the archaeological excavation, the conservation and restoration of these ruins, and improvements to the lighting, museography and interior decoration.

In addition, two large murals have been put in to show the portico that would protect passers-by on this street and at the old city gate, and the museum also has audio installations to improve accessibility for visually impaired visitors. There is a Navilens code and a QR code so that people with visual impairments can get information on their mobile phones.

Tickets to visit the site as part of a new guided route of the historical tourist attractions in Cartagena, which also includes the Casa de la Fortuna, the Forum District and the Roman Theatre, can be bought from the Puerto de Culturas and will run every Saturday from 11.30am.