Monumental remains of the Baetulo forum discovered

An archaeological intervention, on the corner of Temple Street and Costa Street, has brought to light remains of the forum of the ancient Roman city of Baetulo.

The Badalona Museum has monitored and coordinated the archaeological work that the property has promoted on a site on Temple Street in the city, with the authorization and supervision of the Archaeological and Paleontological Heritage Service of the Generalitat of Catalonia. The construction project, which has already been given the green light by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat, will allow the total conservation of the archaeological remains and their enhancement in the future thanks to the will of the property.

The archaeological excavations on the site confirm that it is an important part of the monumental complex of the Baetulo forum. The remains that have appeared are in a good state of conservation, despite the fact that they were plundered and partially demolished a few centuries after their abandonment. The intervention is transcendental for the knowledge of the city, since the analysis of its results will allow to obtain fundamental information about the development of the civic and/or political life of Baetulo.

It is estimated that the forum of Baetulo had almost 5,000 m2, a space equivalent to two insulae or blocks of houses. Of the forum, its buildings and the public square we only know:

1. Some honorary pedestals recovered from the walls of the church of Santa Maria de Badalona and today exhibited in the Museum of Badalona.

2. The partial remains of the angle of the possible podium of the temple, which are visible under the chapel of the Santíssim of the church of Santa Maria de Badalona.

3. The remains of the theater and a monument related to the theater, a building that was built years later, in the vicinity of the forum square.

The site had been occupied by a carpentry and glue manufacturing factory built in the 1950s. The actions, now in the consolidation phase, began with the demolition of the factory in mid-2023.

For more information, you can contact:
Esther Espejo
eespejo@museudebadalona.cat
93 464 49 11