The subsoil of Barcelona and Catalonia is a bed of surprises, and not long ago a sunken ship was discovered in Barcelona, now, 2,200 years after the Romans arrived in Catalonia, the first city that the Romans decided to conquer when they arrived in the Peninsula has been found. And no, it was neither Barcino nor Tarraco, but a small city near Valls that is already known as the Pompeii of Tarragona,
We are talking about the Iberian city of Kissa, the scene of the first battle that the Roman army fought in Catalan territory, in 218 BC, and that a team of archaeologists from the University of Barcelona has identified at the site of Vilar, near Valls, where they have been working.
One of the most important archaeological findings
The finding, already considered one of the most important in recent Iberian archaeology, is based on strong evidence: Punic coins, ballista projectiles and remains of destruction in houses that coincide with the accounts of Polybius and Titus Livy about the campaign of Hannibal Barca and the subsequent response of the Roman troops landed in Empúries.
As archaeologist Jaume Noguera, director of the excavations, explains, “Kissa was partially destroyed by the Carthaginians in an offensive led by Hannibal. Shortly after, the Romans defeated the Punic army there, in a crucial action to stop the reinforcements towards Italy.”
The enclave of Valls, strategically located between Tarraco and the Conca de Barberà, further reinforces the hypothesis. “It was an obligatory passage. It makes no sense to think that the Romans did not come across the Carthaginian army in this area,” adds Noguera.
Eight hectares and 5,000 inhabitants
The story does not end with the battle. The research team has shown that Kissa was not abandoned immediately: it was inhabited for another decade or two after the conflict. And its layout reveals a surprisingly complex city with eight hectares of surface area, walls up to eight meters thick, a fourteen-meter-wide moat, paved streets, differentiated neighborhoods and water channels, which would have been home to some 5,000 inhabitants.
“It is a small Iberian Pompeii,” says Noguera. “The sudden destruction preserved many elements intact. For archaeology, this is a dream.” The UB and the City Council of Valls are now working to make the site publicly owned and become an international reference, with a plan to open it to the public that allows visits and informative activities.
The city of Kissa is a great example of the Iberian presence in the Peninsula, whose footprints have also been found in Montjuïc, preceding the many Roman remains that continue to be found in the city.