Uxama-Argaela

Why is the archaeological site interesting?
This important Celtiberian-Roman city, cradle of Argaelos, stands out in the hill of Castro for its Islamic watchtower, watchtower was one of the frontier watchtowers of the Douro between Muslims and Christians. Now equipped as a viewpoint, it is the basic point from which to contemplate, not only the ancient city, but the surrounding landscape.

With Osma as the direct heir of the old Uxama and, farther away, the wide fertile plain, where El Burgo de Osma sits, furrowed by the Ucero and Avión rivers, which have to make their way, tracing deep cuts, before their union. One of these cuttings is "La Hoz de Peñalavara", which opened by the Ucero river as a huge natural gate, separates the Uxama hill from the one that holds the medieval castle of Osma, a reminder of the importance of this border square, in the Middle Ages.

The Celtiberian-Roman City
The Celtiberian Uxama is known for the ancient texts, the coins that it minted and the cemeteries excavated, but there are no obvious remains in the city.

The archaeological remains correspond to the Roman city that throughout the first century, especially from Tiberius, will reach an important development reflected in the urban expansion and the emergence of some peripheral neighborhoods. At that time the city was equipped with an urban structure and important public buildings. At the end of the Empire, the city is walled, covering its perimeter 28 hectares.

The center of the city, the forum or plaza occupied the upper platform, strangled in its middle by a trough. The enormous unevenness between the highest part and the slopes made necessary a strong edilicia performance of terraces and fillings, which allowed the settlement of the buildings and the blocks of houses superimposed, adapted to the configuration of the land and ordered in a grid.

The forum and its buildings
This square centralized the public buildings of the administration and in the confluence of the central or main streets. The forum had a rectangular plan, dominating and being visible its public buildings from any part of the city. The excavations, carried out by García Merino, between 1975 and 1985, uncovered an artificial platform or terrace, dated to the middle of the 1st century, reinforced inside with buttresses, which supported the base of a porch-basement (cryptoportic), with functions of warehouse, located under the vanished porch that bordered the forum, in whose center the temple dedicated to the imperial cult had to be placed.

Do you want to make a visit?
The visit to the didactic classroom, the Roman cisterns and the Islamic watchtower of the s. X is freely accessible.
Schedule: Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. On Sundays it can be visited from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays remain closed.
For more information, confirmation of schedules and rates can be reached by phone at 975 215 023
 
More information in:
http://www.celtiberiasoria.es/ciudades/celtiberas?idContenido=819
http://www.celtiberiahistorica.es/exposicion/viva?idContenido=819