Barcelona. The Origins
A recent study by the University of Oxford, says that much of the UK population directly descended from a group of Iberian fishermen who traveled by sea to the British Isles about 6,000 years ago. “Most current residents of the United Kingdom are direct heirs of the Spaniards,” he confirmed to the newspaper “The Independent” by Professor Bryan Sykes, author of a study that supposedly removed from the theory that the Celtic tribes of Central Europe . The research team reached the unexpected conclusion by analyzing genetic material from people of Celtic origin and people of the Cantabrian coast. After checking the DNA of both groups was virtually identical, launched the theory that the English came from a group of fishermen who left the Iberian Peninsula some 6,000 or 7,000 years.
• BARCELONA, PREVIOUS VISIT
Talking about Barcelona and its history, and finding the most appropriate images, maps or resources, is a complex and very dangerous task. Therefore, I assume the shortcomings, the gaps in time and space you can find, and be the authors with your contributions.
•THE ORIGINS, 6th Century BC – 3rd Century AD.
In prehistoric times there were several types of Neolithic settlements and villages in and around Barcelona (a sample is the prehistoric mines in Gavà), and when the Romans came to fight the Carthaginians, the Greeks did times they were settled in the territory they called Iberia, in reference to the peoples who lived there since the 6th century BC.
- Greek and Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean, 550 BC. Source:The Historical Atles by William R. Shepherd, 1923.
The Iberians were not a homogeneous people, but rather a set of different ethnicities that have a common culture and language. The Laietans occupied the plain of Barcelona, the Maresme to the mouth of the Tordera river and a part of the Vallès (perhaps also Montserrat and Montseny).
The plain of Barcelona had a relatively dense Iberian population, with eighteen villages, among which was the Turó; Can Bosc and the Sanctuary of Mont Aguilar, Puig Castellar, Turó de la Rovira, Ca n’Oliver, Can Fatjó and Penya del Moro were closest to the founding nucleus of Barcelona.
These villages were strategically located in high places, to defend themselves better, and near the most frequented routes. The inhabitants were dedicated to agriculture and the cattle ranch. They mainly cultivated cereals, but also olive and vineyards and maintained an active trade in these products (an activity that gave rise to the first communication route that crossed the Mediterranean coast: the Via Heraklea or Camí d’Hanníbal, which later left to become the Via Augusta). They worked on bronze and iron, made ceramic vessels and made wool and linen.
During the Second Punic War (218-202 BC), Carthage, led by Anníbal Barca, occupied the population during its march to the Pyrenees, having crossed the Ebre river, which until then was the limit of Carthaginian rule. In many cases, this occupation (218 BC) is noted as the date of foundation of the city.
But if anyone deserves the honor of being considered the father of Barcino, it is the Roman emperor Augustus, who founded it around 10 BC, following a plan to restructure the northeastern part of the Peninsula.
Europe map by Estrabó
And why Bárcino in the coastal strip between two big cities like Empórion and Tarraco ?. Well, because it was a strategic area, with very good communication with the interior and allowed the control of trade on the beaches of the river Llobregat. And, looking for security, what better than a hill about 12 meters high that in the Middle Ages was called Mount Taber?
Around 44 AD, Pomponi Mela described it as a small, fortified city. A few years later, Pliny said that it was one of the twelve colonies in Citerior Hispania where it was established, by deductio (colonization-based cities), and a group of Roman civilian citizens or veterans of the Cantabrian war. Barcino, with its own structure of government and administration, in imitation of Rome, was an administrative and religious center, as shown by the urban structure, the presence of an official temple of worship, and the proportion between public and private space. .
Following the typical urban structure, it was surrounded by a wall that encompassed a network of streets around the central forum, where the Temple of Augustus was located, and where there were other buildings of which no evidence is known. Here the two main roads of the urban layout of the streets came together.
Since its function was to control a territory not very extensive but very productive, it was structured by a centuriation, the first cadastre. Barcino’s wealth was a fertile land, mining resources and an abundance of seafood. This is not counting the control of the Llobregat river. So, we must imagine a port in the Llobregat with heavy traffic.
Barcino was not very large (about 13 hectares) and had to have about 2,000 inhabitants, including those of the suburban villas near the walled enclosure (like the excavated one in the Francesc Cambó avenue). Following Roman custom, the earliest inhabitants were enrolled in a tribe, the Galleria, and italy origin. But one of the highlights of the colony was the presence of freedmen – slaves dedicated to working for their own interests and those of their former masters – and foreigners, who were well received, as attested by Centurion Luci Cecili Optat, In the second century AD, he pursued a brilliant municipal career.
Its domus and buildings benefited from a good sewer network and a water supply system, thanks to two aqueducts that were entered by the Plaça Nova from the Collserola mines (the last section, in Arcs street) and the Besòs, at the height of Montcada, with a path through Capellans street.
And, as was customary in Roman cities, the cemeteries were outside the walls, and the access to the doors was bordered, especially at the entrance and exit point of the coastal section of the Via Augusta (Plaça de l’Àngel and Carrer de la Boqueria). It is an example of the necropolis of the Vila de Madrid place (the end of the 2ND century – beginning of the 3RD century), which followed the route of the Porta Praetoria, and where individuals of low social condition are buried, according to the sepulchres known as cupae.
Zonu.Com Mapas
Història de la ciutat de Barcelona
Associació Call de Barcelona
