Conímbriga

About this place

Conímbriga is one of the largest Roman towns excavated in Portugal. It lies near the town of Condeixa-a-Nova in central Portugal, about 13 km in a straight line south-west of Coimbra, and was classified as a National Monument in 1910. People lived here long before the Romans, from at least the 9th century BC, and the name is thought to combine a local word for a rocky height with the Celtic «briga», meaning citadel. The Romans arrived around 139 BC, and under Emperor Vespasian, between 69 and 79 AD, the town was raised to the rank of municipium. It stood on the road linking Olisipo, today's Lisbon, with Bracara Augusta, today's Braga. Suebi invasions between 465 and 468 ruined the town and scattered its people. Visitors pass through a late Roman wall about 1.5 km long and see baths that still keep the small brick pillars that held up their heated floors, a forum, an aqueduct and large houses whose floors are covered with wide mosaics in geometric patterns. The best known is the House of the Fountains, the Casa dos Repuxos, built in the 2nd century. Only part of the town has been excavated so far. The ticket covers the ruins and the site museum, which displays coins, surgical tools, everyday objects and pottery found during the excavations. There is little shade among the ruins, so in summer a morning visit is best.