Oiasso

The location of the Vascon civitas known in classical texts as Oiasso, Oleaso and similar names, which for a long time was the subject of debate, has ceased to be a mystery. Archaeological evidence situates this urban settlement (which flourished in Irun between 70 and 150 AD) on the hill of Beraun, between the church and the town hall. It stood on an exceptional spot, above the Bidasoa estuary, protected from the hazards of the coast but accessible by sea. Thus, it formed part of a coastal trading route that stretched all along the Gulf of Bizkaia, as well as of a Roman road that began at Tarraco and linked the two seas, the Mediterranean and the Cantabrian, while passing through Ilerda and Osca (Lleida and Huesca).

Excavation has uncovered the settlement's wooden quays and storehouses, its residential area and corresponding hot springs, in addition to a multitude of small elements used in everyday life. The urban settlement spread across some 15 hectares, and is thought to have had a regular layout. The necropolis extended beyond the urban limits, coinciding with one of the main exit routes from the town, in the area where the hermitage of Santa Elena currently stands. All these remains give us a glimpse of life in a burgeoning city dedicated to trade: preserved fish, wood, hides, bars of silver, lead and iron, as well as products obtained from the surrounding lands; these were the main goods and products that passed through the Bidasoa area. The transactions were carried out by an urban social class that specialised in trade. There must also have been an abundant labour supply of craftsmen (either slaves or free men), specialised in working with glass, ceramics, iron, and in fishing and weaving, etc., to produce goods destined both for outside markets and to supply the domestic market. There was also a broad social base of domestic workers.

The port of Oiasso was where the regional trading took place. According to available records, products arrived here from Ribera del Ebro and La Rioja, from the area around the city of Saintes, north of Bordeaux, as well as from other areas linked with the river trade of Garonne. Occasionally, goods would arrive that had come through long-distance trading networks, such as products acquired in Hispania Baeticia, the gulf of Narbonne, Italy, North Africa and even from the eastern Mediterranean. Generally speaking, imports represented around 30% of trade.

The influence of this civitas spread throughout lower Bidasoa and the valley of Oiartzun, at least, and remains from this period coincide with the ones found in today’s old city of Hondarribia, the area around Ondarraitz beach (Hendaia), Mt San Marcial in Irun, Jaizkibel, at the foot of San Telmo castle, at the harbour of Higer, and other places. In addition to the strategic reasons for its location, Oiasso gained importance thanks to the mining that took place throughout the region: in Irun, Bera and particularly the mines of Arditurri in the Oiartzun valley, which runs down to the port of Pasaia.

Oiasso's decline took place in tandem with Rome’s. The revival of urban life, which took place in the Middle Ages, did not happen in Oiasso; instead it was superseded by Hondarribia, as a result of the dawning of a different kind of society and other strategic reasons. This decadence can be appreciated in the necropolis of Santa Elena, in Irun, where there is an incineration area (106 bodies) that was abandoned in the 4th century, before being recovered as a Christian church in the 10th century.

Further information here: "The Roman era" (Bertan Collection) and  Oiasso Museum (Irun)