Restoration work of the Roman ruins at Can Baró de la Cabreta has begun

In the 1960s, the remains of the walls of a Roman villa were discovered in the Can Baró forest. Sadly, like much of the rest of the site, this archaeological find has remained abandoned for more than 50 years. Now, thanks to the Autodrome restoration project and in collaboration with both the Catalan Department of Culture and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, excavation works have begun once again to uncover these precious ruins, which date back to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

Una vila romana, al lado del Autòdrom 2. Una vila romana, al lado del Autòdrom 3

In this video, Juan García Targa, the archaeologist leading the excavation, explains exactly what the work consists of:

Are there other related archaeological sites in the area?

These remains are located in Can Baró de la Cabreta, in the township of Sant Pere de Ribes. They include walls that seem to mark out domestic areas and agricultural storage areas. According to the lead archaeologist in charge of the project, this site “could possibly be linked to the Roman villa at Vinyet, which we also excavated a few years ago in Sant Pere de Ribes, and other places such as El Garrofer de la Cisterna, the area of Sant Pau (where we also found remains relating to viticulture) or El Bosquet, when the C-32 road was extended a few years ago”. It is a fairly common archaeological find and happens often at the beginning of new urban projects.

Ceramic remains tell us about the period of history it belongs to

As well as the stone walls built directly on the natural rock, ceramic remains have been found dating from the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. This gives us a rough idea about when the town was inhabited.
“There are fragments that come from the south of France, locally made vases and jars and some construction materials, such as tiles. It is possible that some of these spaces would have been covered with tiles”, explained García Targa. “We have also found the remains of bones and shells, which could give us clues about what the inhabitants of Can Baró ate.”
Excavation work is expected to end in December, with restoration work planned later on.