Preserve, maintain and promote Baelo Claudia

A document dated 1889 illustrates the first measures for the conservation of Baelo Claudia. Its author, the architect Amadeo Rodríguez, as speaker for the Commission of the Archaeological Museum and Artistic Historical Monuments of Cadiz, reports on the advisability of continuing the archaeological excavations begun years ago (1870) by D. Félix González, customs officer destined for the post of Bolonia, and by D. Rodrigo de Lara Villasante, Vice-Consul of Denmark in Tarifa, as a measure to avoid the continuous pillaging to which the ruins are subjected. Likewise, it proposes the legal acquisition of the land.

The excavations of Pierre Paris and George Bonsor in Baelo Claudia, carried out between 1917 and 1921, constitute the first international archaeological project undertaken in the Iberian Peninsula. Their results were published in French, in two volumes. The first in 1923, dedicated to the city and its areas, and the second in 1926, dedicated to the necropolis.







The works of Paris and Bonsor meant the recognition of the city of Baelo Claudia and also it made Spanish authorities aware of its importance and they declared it, in 1925 a National Historical Monument.



However, this statement, contrary to what could be supposed, did not cause the administration to take over the site, which then was forgotten and abandoned, even by the scientific world, and so it was becoming plunder by curious people and collectors.

The first restoration works take place in the 1970s. This is when the first conservation projects are carried out. From this time, maintenance work of smaller scope began, which included periodic cleaning and clearing, which were essential for the preservation of the site.

In these years, preventive conservation and maintenance become a priority, but without neglecting research and publicity, which were boosted especially since 2005, when a new phase in the site was initiated with the new general research projects. Today these make this small Hispano-Roman city a model of Roman archeology of international importance. Cleaning, clearing of grass and vegetation, fencing of the archaeological zone and drainage, among other actions, have been and are fundamental to the effective protection of Baelo Claudia.

Throughout these years, relevant conservation works have been carried out, such as those executed under the direction of the architect Emilio Rivas, dedicated to the restoration of the drainage of the forum and of some of the walls of the stores of the forum and the back of the capitoline temples. Later, the architect José Mª. Pérez Alberich, directed emergency works in the theater and of the wall coverings of the salting factories.

Among the preventive conservation actions, it is worth mentioning the study and analisis carried out by an interdisciplinary team of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, led by Cesáreo Sáiz, as a result an agreement signed with the Ministry of Culture. This work, called "Study of the processes of alteration of the stones, stuccos and concrete of the Archaeological Ensemble of Baelo Claudia", was an important landmark for the conservation, since its conclusions have constituted an authentic master plan to guarantee the preservation of the Archeological areas against the natural processes of erosion.

Carried out between 1973 and 1974 by the architect Alfonso Jiménez, it had its greatest impact in the central temple or Jupiter, where the podium was restored to the base of the pillars, and was given a staircase with twelve steps. In addition to this action, bracings and reinforcements were made to the back walls to prevent the collapse of adjoining buildings.

In December 1999, the Ministry of the Environment initiateda two-year improvement plan. The inmediate result was spectacular, transforming both the landscape, with reforestations of native species, and the Roman city itself, with the creation of gravel paths for visitors over the original orthogonal layout of the city. This help us to understand the urban planning of the city, but without restoring the real width of each street and even with some alteration of the original orientation.





However, the most sucessful interventions of this project are not visible, because they were to the drainage of the rainwater and this has protected the site

If we started this exhibition with a photograph of our partner Gaspar Perea, he could only end with a area dedicated to him. An excellent worker and a fine person, for many years he was part of the maintenance staff of Baelo Claudia, always giving his best and getting on well with his colleagues. His hard work and his kindness were his hallmark throughout the time he was with us.