Guide to visit the museum

Province of the Roman Empire

Vase with indications of the distances between Rome and Cadiz (4c)

In 218 BC the Romans disembark in the Greek colony of Empúries with the intention of cutting off the rearguard of Hannibal’s army in the Second Punic War against the Carthaginians. That is the start of a gradual occupation of the territory, which is taken as complete in the 1st century BC.

Control of the empire is possible thanks to the development of a major land communications network. In showcase 4C we can see a replica of a votive vase dedicated to Apollo in gratitude for a good journey. On the outside there is an engraving of the route overland from Gades (Cadiz) to Rome, with indications of the mansio (stopping places) and the distances. Around the roads new cities spring up, usually inhabited by veterans, who are the key to the control of the territory and the process of Romanization. 

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