Researchers uncovered plots dedicated to viticulture and various structures for wine production during their excavation of the site.
They identified constructions dating from the turn of the era (the year 1AD) to the 4th century at the Sant Gregori Villa. Researchers have not yet found evidence of any pressing rooms, but they have already uncovered storage facilities, residential areas and heated rooms for baths.
The 15,000m² villa straddled the coastline in Burriana, which is approximately 60km north of Valencia in Spain. In Roman times, the area was attached to the municipality of Saguntum.
Wines from this region rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Augustus, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 27BC to 14AD. They remained popular until at least the 2nd century, according to Latin texts by Roman writers such Fronto and Juvenal.
Remains of storage facilities are relatively common in Spain, but trenches with evidence of vine cultivation have only been found in a few locations, such as the Galician coast, Badajoz, the Bay of Cádiz and Huelva.
At Sant Gregori, the archaeologists have documented 10 parallel trenches, aligned northeast to southwest, which form continuous rows. Their average width ranges from 1.1 to 1.3 metres, so multiple vines could have been planted within them, and there was a gap of 2.5 to 3 metres between rows.
The area is open, sunny, and swampy, so the terrain would have been challenging for vine cultivation. Ancient texts from the writers Columella and Pliny suggest that the Romans were capable of transforming wet marshland areas into productive land through sophisticated drainage systems.
Buildings at the villa were arranged from east to west, an approach seemingly designed to protect them from northern humidity and excessive southern sunlight.
The Mediterranean Archaeology Partnership Programme at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló collaborated with the Archaeological Museum of Burriana on this project.
Due to the significance of these findings, museum staff and city councillors in Burriana aim to ‘musealise’ the site. That means they hope to design and develop the site to be open to the public, while also preserving its history and artefacts.
