Conimbriga, is an old settlement existing since the Copper Age (3300 to 1200 BC), which was an important center during the Roman Empire (10,000 and 15,000 inhabitants) and which after the barbarian invasions, remained inhabited until the 6th century, when Episcopal see went from Conimbriga to Coimbra. Conimbriga is seventeen kilometers south of Coimbra, and was next to the road that came from Sellium (Tomar) to Aeminum (Coimbra). Despite its condition of natural defense, this city has a point of vulnerability that is to depend on its water supply from an aqueduct with 3 km. That could be the main reason for their abandonment, since their survival would be at risk in the event of siege in the middle ages. Part of Conimbriga (part of the Condeixa-a-Velha houses) survived thanks to the existence of a small fountain located there.
The forum of the Roman city of Conimbriga was located during the archaeological excavations that took place between 1964 and 1971, excavations carried out by a Portuguese-French team that involved the Monographic Museum of Conimbriga, the Archeolo...
Aerial view over house of the Suástica and the house of the bones, both from the same time and both mutilated by the construction of the wall
Public Baths. In the most monumental public establishment in the city, if the bather in Conimbriga intended to consummate his daily bathing ritual, he would head to the street to the north of the baths and enter through the large door that gave di...
The house of the swastika is one of the apparatus residences in Conimbriga, but perhaps the one in which, at the base of the program, is a poor architecture, very conditioned by the pre-existence of a plot of land that is not very generous, produc...
Aqueduct Insulae. The building leaning against the south wall of the aqueduct was interpreted by V. Correia as a guesthouse. It is also equally valid to understand it as a block of shops and workshops with housing. The land on which it sits forms ...
This house is the largest domus in Conimbriga (80x40m) and one of the largest in the entire western Roman world. Apparently it is a typical century residence. III with a large central peristyle prolonged by the Triclinium open over three lakes, on...
In its small dimensions (945 m2) the Casa dos skeletos can be taken as a paradigm of the Conimbriga apparatus residences: quality of the architectural plan, economy of means, emphasis on the decorative music program, intelligent use of the autonom...
The main room opening to the peristyle was the triclinium, placed transversely, where a set of three openings tried to create perspectives aligned with the intercolumns of the portico, but with uneven results. Next to this a large cubicle opened t...
The thermal spas of the wall suffered a complex course throughout its existence. With a marginal urban implantation (but perhaps located next to the municipal forum) area markedly occupied by a wealthy class, they were given a certain grandeur and...
The wall, apparently made in haste, without the rigor of Roman public works and was built using materials from other constructions, such as the amphitheater. The aspect of these defenses reinforces the idea of a wall erected in a hurry to protect ...
Of the set of compartments this is, perhaps, the most interesting of the house. Unfortunately, he was also one of the ones who suffered the most, during the times of abandonment, burial and re-exposure of the house. Of its mosaics, two remain in g...
From the same period of the wall is the remodeling of the spa that not only expanded the facilities but transformed the heating system, based on the principle of heat transmission optimized by continuous surfaces instead of angular walls.
In the entrance area, to the south, the main street of the city widened into a square, marked by the presence of the quadrangular arch that constituted the forum door and the side templets.
The intention of the Flavian architect who translated the imperial order and of the city's notables was to build a sacred enclosure that framed the temple dedicated to the worship of the deified emperors and their family.
