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Roman Site of Celsa

Velilla de Ebro, Ribera Baja del Ebro, Zaragoza

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Nature · 3 Activities · 1 Food and drink

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Roman Site of Celsa

Nature · Velilla de Ebro, Ribera Baja del Ebro, Zaragoza

The Roman site of Celsa extends alongside the Ebro, near Velilla de Ebro, over some forty hectares. The colony was founded around 44 BC by Marco Emilio Lépido under the name Colonia Victrix Iulia Lepida, and in 36 BC came to be called Colonia Iulia Victrix Celsa, latinizing the name of the ancient Iberian city of Kelse. It was abandoned shortly after AD 70, probably due to the rise of Caesaraugusta. It preserves landscaped terraces and a river quay, as well as dwellings such as the Casa de los Delfines, with opus signinum mosaics, an atrium and a triclinium, and the Casa de Hércules, with frescoes in the second Pompeian style, next to a necropolis. Declared a monumento histórico-artístico (a former Spanish heritage-protection category) in 1931, it is today part of the Museum of Zaragoza.

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