La Olmeda
Encyclopedia
The palatial Late Antique
Roman villa
at La Olmeda is situated in Pedrosa de la Vega
in the province of Palencia (Castile and León
, Spain
), near the banks of the Carrión. Long known as the provenance of chance finds, it was finally professionally excavated from 1968, and was a declared a Bien de Interés Cultural
, 3 April 1996.
The site was donated in 1984 to the Diputación de Palencia by its proprietor and discoverer, Javier Cortes Álvarez de Miranda, who had supported the archaeological investigation of the site from 1969 to 1980. It is open to the public, while a museum dedicated to the finds is housed in the nearby church of San Pedro de Saldaña.
The agrarian villa was effected in several stages, beginning in the second quarter of the fourth century and extending in use at least to the end of the fifth. The villa complex centers on the elite quarters of rigorously symmetrical disposition, wherein twenty-seven rooms, twelve with mosaic floors, are disposed around a central patio
crossed with mosaic paths in geometric patterns and linked round its perimeter by a wide peristyle
. This main building housed the poentior, with its oecus
or reception hall, centered in the east wing featuring a particularly resplendently mosaic
ed floor (illustration, right). Slightly raised semicircular apse
s mark its northeastern and northwestern end rooms. The main body of the villa communicated with a baths
by a grand passageway. The principal front of the main block faces south, with a porticoed gallery ending in octagonal tower blocks. The residential quarters face north with two rectangular corner towers.
The complex also included working and living quarters of more rustic aspect, kilns for baking roof tiles on the site, three burial grounds, and a section of paved roadway.
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
at La Olmeda is situated in Pedrosa de la Vega
Pedrosa de la Vega
Pedrosa de la Vega is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 366 inhabitants.- Monuments :...
in the province of Palencia (Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), near the banks of the Carrión. Long known as the provenance of chance finds, it was finally professionally excavated from 1968, and was a declared a Bien de Interés Cultural
Bien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the Spanish heritage register. This category dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property...
, 3 April 1996.
The site was donated in 1984 to the Diputación de Palencia by its proprietor and discoverer, Javier Cortes Álvarez de Miranda, who had supported the archaeological investigation of the site from 1969 to 1980. It is open to the public, while a museum dedicated to the finds is housed in the nearby church of San Pedro de Saldaña.
The agrarian villa was effected in several stages, beginning in the second quarter of the fourth century and extending in use at least to the end of the fifth. The villa complex centers on the elite quarters of rigorously symmetrical disposition, wherein twenty-seven rooms, twelve with mosaic floors, are disposed around a central patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
crossed with mosaic paths in geometric patterns and linked round its perimeter by a wide peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
. This main building housed the poentior, with its oecus
Oecus
Oecus, the Latinized form of Gr. oikos, house, used by Vitruvius for the principal hall or salon in a Roman house, which was used occasionally as a triclinium for banquets....
or reception hall, centered in the east wing featuring a particularly resplendently mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
ed floor (illustration, right). Slightly raised semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s mark its northeastern and northwestern end rooms. The main body of the villa communicated with a baths
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
by a grand passageway. The principal front of the main block faces south, with a porticoed gallery ending in octagonal tower blocks. The residential quarters face north with two rectangular corner towers.
The complex also included working and living quarters of more rustic aspect, kilns for baking roof tiles on the site, three burial grounds, and a section of paved roadway.