Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2021 - 54

A
A stone block
carved with a
human figure was part of the
h
church's interior decoration.

what cities might have been without a
wh
p
preexisting
Roman skeleton. "
Reccopolis' planners dispensed with many
of the archetypal features of the classical Roman city.
Reccopolis had no forum, no bath complex, no theaters, no
circuses, nor any arenas for public spectacles. At the heart of
the new Visigothic city lay the imposing palatine complex.
This enormous compound was the center of civic, administrative, fiscal, and religious activities, and likely housed Reccopolis' ruling aristocrats. It included a vast paved courtyard,
a number of huge multistory buildings-the largest of which
is more than 450 feet long-and a finely decorated Christian
basilica. This quarter was separated from the rest of the city
by the monumental arched gateway, one of the only examples
of its kind in Western Europe, which led to the neighboring
commercial district. Olmo-Enciso sees this aspect of Reccopolis' topography as having been influenced by Byzantine
urban models of the time. He believes that the combination
of public square, civic and administrative buildings,
elite housing, church, gateway, and adjacent shopping streets is a modest imitation of parts of
some Byzantine cities, particularly of the
area around the basilica of Hagia Sophia
in the empire's capital. " The planning and
hierarchy of the urban design of Reccopolis
refers to a conceptual model based on Constantinople, " Olmo-Enciso says.
Excavations outside the palatine complex
have uncovered parts of the city featuring houses
and industrial properties belonging to Reccopolis' residents, artisans, and workers
that underscore the city's important role
as a major fiscal and production center.
Reccopolis was one of the few places in the
Visigothic Kingdom that had its own mint,
which issued gold coins on the crown's
An ornate gold vine leaf (right top) and a
goldsmith's mold (right) used for casting
rings and earrings were found during
excavations of Reccopolis.
54

behalf. Its main street was lined with shops, warehouses, and
commercial establishments. There were two glass-blowing
studios as well as a goldsmith's workshop where archaeologists
found scales and molds for crafting rings and earrings. Vendors
sold imported luxury items, indicating that Reccopolis' merchants were once again connected to broader Mediterranean
trade markets, which had been largely closed off after Rome's
withdrawal from Iberia. " It is the richest collection of imports
in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, " Olmo-Enciso says.
" This shows that aristocrats and elites in Reccopolis had access
to Mediterranean consumer goods. "
Reccopolis even had an aqueduct that brought water into
the city from a source a few miles outside town. It is the only
aqueduct built in Iberia during the Visigothic period. These
constructed watercourses were essential to some Roman towns
in Hispania, but most of them had fallen into disrepair in the
post-Roman era and the technology appeared to have been
lost. The Visigoths' ability to construct a new aqueduct at
Reccopolis is a testament to their wealth, determination, and
engineering capabilities. " Very few cities in that period could
claim to have an aqueduct, " says Martínez Jiménez. " There
were no more than five other functioning aqueducts at that
moment in Iberia, so it was a display of royal power and an
element of civic pride for the inhabitants. "
First and foremost, Leovigild needed Reccopolis to help him
maintain control over rural parts of the kingdom. " New urban
foundations were established in areas where the monarchy had
direct political interest and where there were no functional cities, "
says Martínez Jiménez. " For the monarchy, cities were essential to
the administration of the territory. " City building was also a huge
financial, technological, and logistical undertaking and, as such,
was extremely useful for benefactors' self-promotion. A ruler had
tto secure the finances, the building materials, the labor force,
the engineers, and a checklist of other items in order to
th
pull off constructing and successfully maintaining a
p
new city. " In the context of Central and Westn
eern Europe, the Visigothic Kingdom was the
only one capable of undertaking operations
o
of great importance such as the founding of a
o
ccity, " Olmo-Enciso says. Leovigild also wanted
something extraordinary to celebrate his tenth
so
aanniversary as ruler and his nascent and increasingly powerful Visigothic Kingdom. " If the monarin
chy needed to make a statement, it needed to have a
ch
city, " says Martínez Jiménez. " In addition to
imposing control in a key territory in the core
of the kingdom, there is a very important
propagandistic component to Reccopolis. "
For Leovigild, there was an additional
reason he needed to build a new city-it
was what Roman emperors did. Although
w
the Romans were their rivals, the Visigoths
were nevertheless heavily influenced by the
empire's culture and symbols. After his rise
to power, Leovigild began to portray himself in the manner of Byzantine emperors,
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Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2021

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