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Experts at the University of Cadiz have been left surprised after excavations in the dunes surrounding Cape Trafalgar have revealed a well-preserved Roman baths complex.

 

The structure, which is complete with windows and doors, is almost four metres high and around 2,000 years old.

The find is an unusual one for Spain, where the structures of Roman baths are generally considerably more degraded and experts believe that the sand dunes may have helped to preserve the site.

 

Archaeologist Dario Bernal said the baths would have provided hygiene and leisure to the workers of the fish traps and salting factories in the area.

 

The discovery of the substantial baths complex has led experts to speculate that the fishing enclave in the area could have been much more important than previously thought.

 

The find was part of the ‘Arqueostra’ research project that the team from the University of Cadiz is carrying out at Cape Trafalgar and Caños de Meca to learn more about the production of fish products during the period of Roman occupation; pungent fish sauces are known to have been extensively produced along the Mediterranean coastline of Spain and exported throughout the vast Roman Empire and both fish and fish products were an important part of the Roman diet.

 

The team will now also investigate the remains of red, white and black stucco and marble that have been found in the baths and that give an idea of how the walls of the building would have been decorated.

 

The Junta de Andalucia, which is in charge of historical heritage, must now decide how to conserve and protect the remains.