Iesso’s Archaeological Park and Museum opens to better explain the old Roman town

Guissona (ACN).- Catalonia’s Western town of Guissona, in the Segarra County, opened its new Archaeological Park and Museum on Saturday, exploring the ancient Roman city of Iesso. Iessso was one of the most important in inland Roman cities in nowadays Catalonia. It is now possible to visit the remains and archaeological findings that have been excavated over the last century. The ruins of Iesso have given a new picture of the city, just outside of the original site an interpretation centre aims to reconstruct an image of life inside the Roman city of Iesso. Along with Ilerda (the current city of Lleida) and Aeso (nowadays Isona, in the Pyrenees), the former Guissona was one of only three Roman cities in the province of Lleida, Western Catalonia.

The archaeological ruins of the old Iesso can be interpreted as a new age of museum education, with the main exhibition located near to the site where the remains now lie exposed. In this regard, the director of the Archaeological Trust, Guissona, Josep Guitart has described their approach as, "a socialisation of the excavations." In addition to seeing the findings openly displayed, visitors can explore the archaeological digs in Iesso at their leisure with the help of audio guides. You can even relive one of the most popular stories of the old city, the death of the young woman, Lèsbia, with a video that recreates the development of Iesso.

In fact, the old city remains a veritable laboratory of archaeology, the birth place of numerous doctoral dissertations and studies. Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) are still analysing and sorting the remains in their original state in the new Archaeological Park. In order to enable the site’s visit, roads and pavements have been built, as well as pergolas covering the old houses. The former defence tower has also been recreated in a minimalist style, using iron tubes.

Excavations began in the 1930s according to the Institute of Catalan Studies. The president of the institution, Salvador Giné, highlighted the simplicity of the design of the Archaeological Park, showing the remains "as they are". In addition, the new museum puts Iesso within the context of other Roman cities such as Ilerda and Aeso, the three being the only Roman settlements in Western Catalonia, what is nowadays known as the province of Lleida.

According to Giné, Iesso is “one of the most important archaeological centres in the country, along with Empúries and Tarragona”. The Institute of Catalan Studies started its campaign to preserve the Catalan archaeological heritage in 1907, protecting the Romanesque churches of the Pyrenees and the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries, in the Northern Costa Brava.