Now that the secret remains of a Roman villa have been largely uncovered, Malaga City Council believes it won't take more than two years before the public will be allowed to see the hidden treasures that lay buried under the Thyssen Museum for so long.
Dating back to 1st century AD, the house is presumed to have belonged to a Roman trader, who owned a salt-fishing business in Malaga. It is a large house with a fountain at the centre of a spacious patio. There is a distinct "piscine" theme going on throughout the house, which led archaeologists to the theory that this house belonged to a trader in fish.
Malaga's Maritime Past captured in ancient Roman Pictures
The Carmen Thyssen Museum is one of Malaga's greatest tourist attractions, and has been instrumental in reviving the city's international and domestic fortunes with regard to tourism. Numerous businesses in that part of the city have flourished thanks to the popularity of the Carmen Thyssen Museum. Quite a few of the surrounding catering establishments serve "pescato frito", a typical fried fish speciality of Malaga that seems to have been as popular 2,000 years ago as it is today - if the size of the Roman villa under the museum is anything to go by!
For ten years now the Archaeology Department of Malaga City Hall has been working on the villa project, hoping that thousands of people will eventually be able to see what's been hiding under the Thyssen Museum. A large part of the Roman house has been preserved, showing quite clearly that Malaga's seafood was just as popular in Andalucia as it was in other parts of the then known world. The salt-fish trader who lived in this house seems to have traded with quite a few neighbouring countries.
An early Example of a self-made Man
The success of the Roman trader can be seen in many details of the house - not just its size is impressive; the lovely tuna and gilthead bream decorations that "swim" around the fountain's outer rim show the trader was rich enough to hire highly skilled artisans. As this is the oldest and most unusual pictorial display of his wealth, it is regarded as an absolute treasure by the Archaeology Department.
"More paintings may appear if we continue digging in the area, but right now we need to focus on preserving what we have already found and preparing to put it on display for people to see,” explains Carmen Peral, the municipal archaeologists helping with the eventual opening of the house to the public.
Much is still to be done before the Roman Villa becomes Malaga's latest Tourist Attraction
The most pressing matter to deal with at present for the city's Planning Department is to find solutions that will prevent the basement's flooding, since the underground water level in this part of central Malaga is high. Special drainage has already been installed but three more, similar types of drainage wells are needed to prevent further risk of flooding. These will be installed later on this year, the council has confirmed, since authorisation from the Junta de Andalucía’s Culture Department has already been granted.
Equipment that will control humidity to the correct level must also be installed within the next 6 months - at a cost of 75,673 euros. Plans how the site will be conserved in future are currently being drawn up by the Archaeology Department and will be sent to the regional government's Culture Department as soon as they are complete.
Other spectacular Finds
Many amazing artefacts and everyday items have been found during the past decade's dig. Visitors will be able to see many of them in glass display cabinets, when they come for a tour of the Roman Villa. Coins, pieces ore ceramics, carved stones, bone needles used to keep women's luxurious tresses in place, pieces of paving and even a fragment of a bronze sculpture have been found. The fragment shows folds of a tunic or cloak that may well be similar to what the owner of the house would have worn at that time.
"We might put that at the start of the tour to symbolise that the owner of the house is welcoming the visitors," enthuses Carmen Peral.