Excavation campaign in the Roman city of Ammaia provides new information about the amphitheater

The work focused on defining the building's outer perimeter wall and access to the north door, where a necropolis area was identified.

As part of the National Plan for Archaeological Works and with funding from Cultural Heritage, another excavation campaign took place in the Roman city of Ammaia during the month of July, an international partnership between the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon and the National Museum of Roman Art (Mérida) with the City of Ammaia Foundation, which also has the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain, within the scope of Archaeological Projects Abroad.

This year's work continues the study program for the amphitheater, located on the northwest outskirts of the city, and aims to understand the building's exterior north-northeast area, following six years of excavations that enabled the definition of its internal structure.

This year, work focused on two distinct areas: the definition of the building's perimeter wall and the area around its north door, deactivated late in its use, where a cremation grave had already been identified.

The ongoing excavation has revealed new tombs that have occupied the access space to this amphitheater entrance. The abundant associated material, including ceramics, glass, and metals, once treated and studied, will be included in the collections on display at the Ammaia City Foundation museum. Work is still ongoing, but everything indicates that by the second half of the 3rd century or even earlier, this access to the amphitheater was no longer in use, and the space was converted into a necropolis.

The amphitheater of the city of Ammaia, the fifth known in Lusitania, was built in the second half of the 1st century and was believed to have been in use until the 4th century. Its study began in 2019 as part of an international collaboration between several institutions, including the City of Ammaia Foundation, the Roman Studies Foundation, the National Museum of Roman Art of Mérida, and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon (UNIARQ). It was funded by the "la Caixa" Foundation, under the 2019 Promote Border Regions Program.

The study of the amphitheater combines the research component with the training of Bachelor's and Master's degree students at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, within the scope of the Roman City of Ammaia Summer School, an initiative of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon.

In the future, the aim is to further study this important building, promote its conservation, integrate it into the Roman city's visitor itinerary, and eventually enable its use in cultural events such as the Marvão International Music Festival or the Mérida International Classical Theater Festival. In short, to breathe new life into the monument.