Work under way to allow visits to the Los Cipreses Roman villa in Jumilla

The villa reached its heyday producing wine and oil in the 4^th and 5^th centuries

It was not until the 1960s that the remains were discovered of a Roman villa in the Los Cipreses rural area of Jumilla, and work is now under way to clean up the site in order to make it a visitable attraction and a reminder of the town’s long historical heritage.

Los Cipreses is located in the area now known as Los Paerazos, south of the modern town of Jumilla and close to the old cattle herding route which led to the monastery of Santa Ana del Monte, and although there is some mention of it in late 18^th century texts it was the work of Jerónimo Molina between 1961 and 1965 which uncovered the large mosaic floor of the peristyle. It has now been established that it was in use as an agricultural villa from the 1^st to the 4^th century AD, reaching its heyday in the mid-3^rd century.

The mosaic is now on display in the Jerónimo Molina archaeological museum in the Plaza de Arriba in Jumilla.

Prior to the Roman villa there was another (probably Iberian) establishment here in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, but the Roman complex was far larger and, of course, more organized. The domestic quarters were distributed around the peristyle, while the agricultural activity focussed on the production of wine and oil, and in the 3^rd century major reforms took place to enlarge it to three major areas (domestic, agricultural and rustic). But by the 5^th century the decline of the villa had become irreversible and it was gradually abandoned before falling to ruin.

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