Menosca

The classical authors – and specifically Pliny – wrote of a series of settlements along the coastal strip of what we know today as Gipuzkoa. One of these settlements from Roman times is civitas Oiasso, in Vascon territory, almost certainly Irun and its surrounding area. Pliny also mentions the oppida (fortified places) of Morogi, Menosca and Vesperies, though these are in Varduli territory.

The excavations carried out at the site of Santa María la Real (Zarautz) clearly show that in the 1st century a Varduli community settled here by the sea after having come down from the mountains. This first settlement was, in all probability, linked with the presence of Romans, who were becoming established along the coast (it is not hard to draw an imaginary line between Oiasso and Forua), and who traded along the coast, consequently encouraging the development of autochthonous communities. As a result of these discoveries, Menosca has been established as the area that is situated in the triangle formed by the Deba and Oria rivers and Mt Ernio.

When it came to choosing the location for a settlement, the classic approach used for most Roman settlements was adopted: they sought maximum security and economic viability, distributing the space in a hierarchical, specialised manner. Thus, on the mountain we find traces of mining and metallurgy (the raw materials would have been transported from Pagoeta and Aizarna to Arbiun where, given the lack of resources, they used archaic techniques to work the materials), while on the coast, Getaria represented both a disembarkation point and a link with fishing activities. In this town, evidence of Roman settlement was found throughout the old city centre, and especially in the parish church of San Salvador. Meagas, Elkano, Urezboroeta, Urtiaga zahar are just some of the places and names from the area that help us to complete the Roman puzzle of the region.

The urban town of Menosca reached its zenith in Roman times, between the 1st and 5th centuries AD. After that, there were no archaeological remains for centuries, until they began appearing once again at the dawn of the Middle Ages. From that prolonged period, remains are found once again on mountains and in caves, which suggests that the population returned to an itinerant way of life; Amalda cave is probably the clearest example of this social evolution and reoccupation of space.

Further information here:  www.menosca.com