Located in the Segovian countryside, the archaeological site of Villa de Matabuey harks back to the 2nd century AD, unfolding as a rural estate belonging to the Roman aristocracy. Marked by lavishness and majesty, this villa symbolized a lifestyle more refined than one might anticipate in ancient times. The villa was strategically erected on a slight incline of the terrain, close to the site of Trinidad, and near water sources such as Arroyo Balisa, small lagunas, navas, and bodones.
Over time, these rural villas evolved to be grand pied-à-terres of the Roman elite, offering a spectrum of luxuries such as birds, rabbits, river fish, and oysters. During the Roman Empire, the villa was constructed near a Roman road, Via XXIV. Three excavation campaigns since 2018 have yielded the remains of two buildings from the 1st century, including one that bore a hypocaustum system similar to Castilian glory, and contained the remains of a neonate aged 0-6 months.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata
Written by Nik Frost
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