Villa El Soldán (The Sultan)

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

reign of Tiberius (14-37 CE)

Excavation Dates

1930s

Garden Description

Built under Tiberius, this site is a rare if not unique example of a first century Iberian villa for which we have a complete plan. Excavation began in the 1930s. Of modest dimensions and without mosaics, it followed an Italian plan with a central (slightly trapezoidal) peristyle with little adaptation to the much cooler climate at this elevation. It did, however, have several rooms heated by hypocausts and many rooms paved in opus signinum. There were found many fragments of wall painting (of deer, birds, and humans) and of ceramic and glass.

In the center of the peristyle was a rectangular pool with protruding semi-circular niches at each corner; it was lined with painted stucco. The garden around the pool was open on the north side in front of the reception room [1]. In a later modification, the west portico was divided into four small rooms beside the garden.

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of Villa El Soldán.

Credit: Gorges, Planche XXXVI

Bibliography

M.ª C. Fernández Castro, Villas romanas en Hispania, Madrid, 1982. (worldcat)
J.-G. Gorges, Les villas hispano-romaines: Inventaire et Problématique Archéologiques (Publications du Centre Pierre Paris IV). Paris: de Boccard, 1979, 276-7. (worldcat)
P. R. Lewis, G. D. B. Jones, Roman Gold-Mining in North-West Spain, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 60, 1970 (1970), pp. 169-185. (worldcat)
R. F. J. Jones, D. G. Bird, Roman Gold-Mining in North-West Spain, II: Workings on the Rio Duerna, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 62, 1972 (1972), pp. 59 (worldcat)

Keywords

Places

Villa El Soldán (The Sultan) (Pleiades:972371930)
Santa Colomba de Somoza (inhabited place) (TGN:7325447)

Santa Colomba de Somoza (Leon) on Gardens of the Roman Empire