The Roman Villa in El Albir, situated on the coastline, is an archaeological site that has its origins in the Late Roman period and has been excavated since the end of the 20th century. The 2010 campaign focused on carrying out a program to promote the thermal baths. The site’s surroundings make it an ideal enclave for its promotion as an especially valuable resource for cultural tourism in the L’Alfàs del Pi municipality.

The Villa is located on land owned by the local government and has been declared a protected archaeological site, according to the General Plan for Urban Zoning. Additionally, it is part of an archaeological ensemble made up of two other sites that are connected both spatially and chronologically: a necropolis and a family mausoleum. The archaeological remains are dated between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. Given the monumental character of both the site and the El Albir necropolis, the ensemble could be a vicus constructed around the stately villa.

The present intervention belongs to a project sponsored by the local government – the Ayuntamiento de L’Alfàs del Pi – and the University of Alicante. The general scientific and patrimonial goals include:

- Learning about the historic development of the Roman Villa in El Albir, determining the stages of this development and their architectural characteristics. – Obtaining historical data about the rural settlement of the Marina Baixa zone during the Late Roman period. – Conserving the remains of the site in an adequate manner and decelerate the degradation process, such as by means of taking the necessary measures to achieve musealization.

The jobs have been focused on the realization of the Proyecto de Cerramiento y Cubierta de las Termas (Project for Closing and Covering the Thermal Baths) in order to effectively protect their remains and proceed to their musealization. The arrangement of the footings used as support led to the discovery of a mass grave for children. This finding reinforces the hypothesis that a children’s funeral area was set up in this area of the villa. The ceramic material refers to the 6th century AD.

The action was proposed based on four courses of action: architectural intervention, archaeological excavation, structural restoration and consolidation, and interpretation projects. The roof is a galvanized metallic structure, connected using white plastic tarps. An elevated walkway surrounding the perimeter has also been set up, indicating the path that the visitors must follow. Lastly, in the site’s northernmost zone, sector III, the land has been restored due to the fact that it serves as the museum entrance.

(translation by Emily Marie Polacek)