Roman villa discovered beneath Spanish grain field

Archaeologists in Tricio, a town in La Rioja, Spain, are excavating a large Roman villa dating back to the 1st century AD.

The villa came to light after Cristina Novoa took an aerial photograph of a grain field in 2009 while researching ancient settlements. The photograph revealed markings suggesting structures below the surface, prompting further investigation years later by the government of La Rioja.

The site, known as El Quemao, has so far revealed walls of a grand villa with a monumental courtyard supported by sandstone pillars. Beneath this structure, the team found an earlier building made of adobe, likely from the 2nd or 1st century BC, which was destroyed by fire. Archaeologists have uncovered three distinct residences so far, and they hope to find decorative elements like mosaics within the most luxurious dwelling.

Tricio, once known as Tritium Megalon, was a significant production center for terra sigillata hispánica, a type of fine pottery exported throughout the Roman Empire. The discovery of a villa in this area offers insight into the lives of the local elite involved in this thriving business. The team determines the age of the structures by examining their construction techniques, the oldest villa uses adobe walls, while later ones show more advanced Roman engineering.