Los Bañales

About

Los Bañales lies in a territory that ancient sources such as Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, Livy, and Strabo attribute to the Vascones, a people that occupied the territories of present-day Navarre and the Cinco Villas from Aragon to the River Gállego. As such, in the Roman period it would have belonged to the jurisdiction of Caesaraugusta, present-day Zaragoza. Communication was maintained by means of a road network that linked the ports of Tarraco (Tarragona) and Oiasso (Irún) through Caesaraugusta and Pompelo ( Pamplona ). Before arriving at Los Bañales, that same route passed through the Roman city in Ejea de los Caballeros, perhaps the Segia of ancient sources. Part of this route probably led through Los Bañales as far as Aquitania through the old Roman cities located in Cabezo Ladrero [ es ] (Sofuentes) and Campo Real / Fillera ( Sos del Rey Católico - Sangüesa ). The existence of such a highly interconnected social and economic network might help explain the monumentality of Los Bañales and other nearby cities.

The Romans arrived in the area around 195 BCE. We do not know the name that the indigenous inhabitants had for the city at that time. Many names have been proposed -…