Lucentum (Ancient Greek: Λούκεντον), called Lucentia by Pomponius Mela, is the
name of the Roman predecessor of the city of Alicante, Spain.
Particularly, it refers to the archaeological site in which the remains of this ancient
settlement lie, at a place known as El Tossal de Manises, in the neighborhood of Albufereta.
== Ancient History ==
The settlement in the area of Alicante was called Akra Leuka (Ancient Greek: Άκρα
Λευκά or Ἄκρα Λευκὴ or Ἀκρα Λευκή - Latinised to Acra Leuce, white
cliff or similar) by the Greeks.
Another possibility is that the name is of Iberian origin and consists of two parts,
lug, "water" or "sea", and cant, "steep embankment" or "cliff", giving us the meaning "the cliff
near the water/sea"; this is plausible in view of the topography of the site.Diodorus
ascribes its foundation to the Carthagenian Hamilcar Barcas.
As a Mediterranean and Iberian commercial center, it had trading contacts with Greece,
Phoenicia, the southern Iberian city of Tartessos, absorbing some of their influences.
This unique mixture gave rise to a culture called Contestani by Pliny the Elder and Strabo.
Especially with the ascendance of Carthage, it imported a number of Carthaginian architectural
features, traces of which are still present in the ruins.
However, the majority of the city's remains bear a Roman stamp.
The town was refounded as Lucentum after Publius Cornelius Scipio conquered the area in the
course of the Second Punic War, and over the years it gained a thoroughly Roman character,
complete with baths, forums, temples, sewers, etc.
It was one of the major cities of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis.
Livy calls the city Castrum Album.The city enjoyed its peak between the 1st century BC
and the 1st century AD, entering into a decline at the end of this period and was effectively
abandoned during the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
The chief cause of this decline was competition from the neighboring city of Ilici (today's
Elche/Elx), which had better water and land communications and began to usurp Lucentum's
trade.
Eventually, the settlement was completely depopulated, the site used only for a Muslim
cemetery during the 10th and 11th centuries.
== Modern history == The first modern evidence concerning the location
of the ancient city came in 1780, when the Count of Lumiares, Antonio Valcárcel Pío
de Saboya, suggested that the ruins of Tossal de Manises - which he personally had excavated
for a number of years — were in fact Lucentum.
This contradicted the common wisdom at the time, which held that the Roman city was well
outside the town of Alicante.
Later, the ruins were excavated by Lafuente and Figueras, who found the more ancient Carthaginian
city.
In the 1930s they were again excavated by a Professor Belda, around which time a necropolis
was discovered during road construction.
The site contains evidence of both the Iberian and the Roman epochs, although in terms of
material recovered and ruins remaining the Roman influences (especially from the 1st
century AD and afterwards) predominate.
The Roman city was constructed over the Iberian one, of which practically nothing remains
except for the walls.
The lower level is contemporary with a necropolis excavated in the 1930s to make way for a road,
and whose materials are now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante.
Among these, a number of cauldrons stand out as well as Iberian ceramics decorated with
geometric shapes, birds, and fish, sculptures, jewelry, amulets of Egyptian origin, terracotta
ware, and weapons.
Of the jewelry recovered, a type of pendant, possibly for masculine use, is quite notable
as it suggests that there was a local workshop whose production made its way into other local
burial sites.
Finally, the "Kore de Alicante", currently housed in the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia
could have come from this site.
In the post-war period, the site (located in a privileged place, with an excellent view
of the ancient lagoon and bay) was in danger of disappearing, a victim of real estate speculation.
However, efforts by those in favor of its preservation, most notably the Swedish archaeologist
Solveig Nordström, succeeded in defending the site.
This effort culminated in the 1961 designation as an "Artistic and Historic Monument", which
afforded some legal protection.
Unfortunately, the preservation movement could not stop much development around the site,
with the result that the ruins are surrounded by tall buildings and is in no way "visually
pure".
Despite the legal protections which had been won for the ruins, they suffered from neglect
and exposure for a number of years, until efforts were finally made in the 1990s to
conserve them.
This resulted in recent construction, directed by the architect Rafael Pérez Jiménez and
the archaeologist Manuel Olcina Doménech, which aims at the definitive and irreversible
conservation of what remains of the ruins.
Such a recuperation represents a cultural milestone for Alicante.
== Lucentum Today ==
Presently, one can visit the archaeological site, which covers an area of some 30,000
m2 (7.4 acres).
The most noticeable features are the remains of the fortifying wall (including the foundations
of the pre-Roman defensive towers), the baths, the forum, part of the Muslim necropolis,
and a multitude of houses.
In addition, a part of the Tossal de Manisses is currently being excavated, which it is
hoped will increase the size and importance of the site.
The influence of Lucentum is also present in the culture of the area, with many businesses,
associations, and sports clubs in the Alicante area bearing the name of the ancient city.
== See also == Roman Hispania
History of Alicante Timeline of Alicante
== External links == A Visit Report of a visit on the archaeological
site (in Spanish) Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Article
on Lucentum (in Spanish) Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Images
of the Lucentum site (in Spanish) Terra Antiquae Another Gallery of Photos (in
Spanish) Universitat d'Alacant Article on Solveig Nordstrom
(in Spanish) Universitat d'Alacant - Article on the Count
of Luminares (in Spanish) Via arquitectura Report on recent architectural
efforts at the site.
(in Spanish)
== References ==
Conesa, Enrique Llobregat.
Ilucant : un cuarto de siglo investigación histórico-arqueológica en tierras de Alicante.
1991 ISBN 84-7784-917-X Conesa, Enrique Llobregat, Manuel H. Olcina
Domenech, Rafael Pérez Jiménez.
Trabajos de consolidación en la ciudad ibero-romana de Lucentum (Tossal de Manises, Alicante).
ISBN 84-89479-13-5 Díaz, Alicia Fernández.
Algunos restos pictóricos de la ciudad de Lucentum.
PDF Ibanez, Miguel.
Estudio paleopatológico de las cremaciones procedentes de la necrópolis ibérica de
la Albufereta (Alicante).
PDF