| Resumo: | [EN]: Since 2007, the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida has been working in the ancient city of Contributa Iulia with the aim of identifying the features of its urban layout. We have carried out numerous archaeological excavation campaigns, some of them of a markedly scientific nature and others in response to training and social revitalisation programmes through professional schools or educational programmes that have contributed to bringing to light a large number of remains of the urban fabric. This work was carried out on a plot of land that the Regional Government of Extremadura acquired for this purpose, and which is located inside the city. The excavations were divided into two sectors which have been extended on successive occasions. In the western sector, the remains of a gateway, a stretch of wall and a craft and trade complex, located within the city walls, have been documented. On the eastern side are the remains of the city’s forum. Both spaces were connected by the route of a decumanus that starts at the entrance to the western gate and continues to the forum area. In 2010, a programme of geophysical prospecting began on the entire surface area of the site located in a triangle formed by the Castillejo and Palancares streams and the road linking the Vía de la Plata (National Road 630) with the nearby town of Medina de las Torres. The results of these surveys have been fundamental in determining the characteristics of the urban layout of Contributa Iulia. The combination of non-invasive techniques such as georadar, magnetometer, Veris and aerial and thermal photographs, among others, has made it possible to locate numerous traces of the remains of the ancient city. It has therefore been possible to define the route of the wall that delimits the area inside the walls, as well as determining elements of the urban layout such as the amphitheatre, located in the southern area outside the walls, or an urban shrine close to this building. These structures detected by aerial photography or georadar have been documented by means of archaeological excavations, confirming their functionality and specifying their architectural characteristics. As well as defining this type of space, geophysical surveys have revealed part of the road network and the location of the main buildings, although they have not yet been confirmed by archaeological excavations. In this paper, we offer a summary of the current knowledge of the urban layout of Contributa Iulia, based on the remains documented over the years as a result of the archaeological work carried out at the site.
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