Puig Castellar de Biosca (Lleida). Una fortificación romana del siglo II a. C. En el noreste de la Hispania Citerior

Abstract

The recent archaeological excavations undertaken at the hill of Puig Castellar (Biosca, Lleida) have revealed the remains of singular Roman military settlement for its typological features and early dating. A solid defence wall with towers and visual control of the nearby territory surrounds the site. Inside, Romans built a large building at the highest point, which records a number of auxiliary rooms around a central courtyard. The courtyard included a rock cut cistern. Besides, there are other buildings close to the main building and others accommodated to the inner face of the surrounding defence wall as well as an area with great iron metallurgical activity. The large amount of Italian pottery with a well-dated horizon between 180-120 BCE as well as constructive and decorative techniques identified in the buildings reveal a possible military and administrative complex of the earlier decades of Roman conquest in Hispania.