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New Evidence of Romans in Granada Province?For many people the words Romans and Granada often don't go together. Many of us think of Granada in connection with the Moors for instance. Yet our village of Padul in the outskirts of Granada recently commissioned an "archeological dig" just down the road from our bed and breakfast in Granada thereby linking, once again, the Romans and Padul.
When the Romans first came, the Spaniards were living in small, scattered pueblos (villages) built of adobe (dirt, moistened with water and with chopped straw for strength). These pueblos were often whitewashed and were the beginnings of the white villages of Andalusia. The Romans gave Spain many benefits, the least of which was the construction of 17,500 miles (28,160 kilometres) of paved roads. Before the dawn of the fifth century AD, southern Spain had been completely colonized by Rome. The Romans and Granada were historically bound. There is a lot of evidence of Romans in Andalucia. One much used road carried the Romans in Granada from Almuñecar, which is a beautiful spanish resort on the Costa Tropical, just 45 minutes away from our b and b guest house accommodation. 
The main industry of Almuñecar was the production of salted fish and garum which was one of the basic ingredients in Roman cuisine. Garum is a fish sauce that was used to salt dishes. The continuous traffic which transported silk from Granada down to the ports for shipment to Rome, and the garum from Almuñecar to Granada and beyond, caused the road passing through Padul to become a busy route. Padul Was BornThe name of Padul was originally Paludem, a name given by the Romans. In later times the name changed to El Padul (the wetlands). It was here, on the southernmost wetlands of Europe, that Padul was born.Incidentally, amongst earlier “finds” in the wetlands of Padul are a huge woolly mammoth’s tusk together with fossils from the rhinoceros and sabre toothed tigers which roamed here. It is easy to see why there has been a lot of historical interest and investigations of the area in and around Padul and its laguna. The Wetlands provide a natural habitat for many wild animals, birds and fowl as well as flowers, plants and wild reeds and rushes. The area is a haven for bird watchers, botanists and anyone who enjoys the natural "countryside". The laguna is literally just a few minutes walk away from our bed and breakfast guest house. The “cleaning up” or "mini archeological dig" consisted of half a dozen archeologists cordoning off the hillside above the Fuente del Mal Nombre – a necessary thing as the area under investigation is traditionally the passageway of our local shepherds and goat-herders who daily walk the Laguna with their flocks in search of grazing. Having cordoned off the area under investigation the work party then set to, scraping and brushing away the debris which covered the ground. They said this was basic routine work, but even though they had obviously done this type of investigation many, many times before they spoke to me with an enthusiastic light in their eyes about this new investigation of Romans in Granada Province. With the cleaning and researching “groundwork” completed, four local Padulians then took over the investigations and unearthed several ceramic pieces (see a piece of "bagged" ceramic in the photo above right). These pieces are thought to be Roman but would have to be tested to be sure. 
Another amazing find were the tracks worn into the rocky roadway by the wheels of the many waggons which traversed this road. The photograph on the right shows one of the workers pointing to the twin tracks. The Romans of Granada certainly passed this way.The investigations are still going on as I write this (July 2006). Check back regularly to get updates of new evidence of the Romans in Granada. To go to top of this page click on
Romans in Granada
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