It’s about half an hour’s drive to the south of Coimbra. The bus is said to leave at 9.00 a.m., but it was 10 minutes late and the driver sped along the winding country lanes in an attempt to catch up. It was a misty morning, but became quite warm when the sun came out: beautiful day to walk around the Conimbriga site. This is an extensive walk (4596 steps, according to my IPhone - but I did 9023 yesterday around Coimbra). Conimbriga is right on the Caminho and I noticed my first yellow arrows on this trip. It’s the stage before Coimbra, but I was glad to be on the bus!
Conimbriga is the best Roman site in Portugal and excavations have been ongoing for 100 years. I was thrilled to see it, and all the signs had an English translation. The first imperial wall around it encompassed 22 hectares, to include the pre-Roman settlement and a wide flat area for future construction.
I visited the museum first, where all the excavated artifices were on display, as I knew I’d be too tired after walking round the site in the hot sun!
The red pottery, so familiar to me is Samian Ware, or Terra Sigillata. This came originally from Italy, then S Gaul and finally from Tricia in Spain. It is found all over the Roman Empire.
Fragments of wall paintings.
Oil lamps, most of which came from factories in N Africa where large numbers were produced according to Italian designs.
Weaving implements, weights and needles.
To be continued....
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