Madrid - Spain
Archaeological excavations in the city of Sassamon in the province of Burgos in northern Spain revealed a Roman kitchen dating back about two thousand years, which included utensils for cooking and storage and tools for preparing food, which provides a rare picture of aspects of daily life in that period. The discovery came as part of excavations at the site of the Roman city of Seguisamo, carried out by researchers from the University of Salamanca and the Institute of Archaeology in Merida, affiliated with the Spanish National Research Council.

Tools that reveal eating habits

Inside the kitchen, researchers found large utensils for storing food, jugs, bowls, and mortars, in addition to pots, and pieces of a small portable oven that was most likely used to bake bread. They also found layers of ash, charcoal, and the remains of a possible stove. The room was built of walls of pressed clay on top of stone bases, while its floor was made of a layer of compressed clay on top of pebbles, which are simple and practical materials that suit the nature of the place designated for preparing food.

A realistic picture far from luxury
In this context, José Manuel Costa Garcia, a researcher at the University of Salamanca and one of the excavation supervisors, explained that these domestic spaces present an image different from the prevailing perception of Roman cities. He said: "We have a fairly ideal image of Roman cities as huge and ornate spaces, but we rarely find mosaics and painted walls in domestic and productive spaces."

A mixture of civilizations in one kitchen

The discovered materials reveal a remarkable cultural mixing, as ceramics imported or inspired by Italian models were found, along with pieces linked to the traditions of the indigenous people of Tormaga. Jesús García Sanchez, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology in Mérida, pointed out that “the inhabitants of Seguisamo during the reign of Emperors Augustus and Tiberius had entirely Roman culinary practices, but this does not mean that all of the city’s inhabitants were strangers, as some of the ceramics followed Turamagus traditions.”

Valuable for the Arab visitor and investment seeker
This type of archaeological discoveries is of double value to Arab tourists and investors alike. On the one hand, it opens the door for history lovers to explore Roman sites that are less known than traditional destinations in Italy and Greece, within a cultural tourism experience in Spain. On the other hand, the archaeological activity in the Burgos region enhances the region’s attractiveness for investment in the heritage and hotel tourism sector, an area in which Gulf partnership opportunities are increasing with heritage preservation projects and the development of cultural destinations.