Astorga’s Roman Past

 Here is a picture of the wall around the old city in Astorga. The first building to the right is the albergue, but you can’t see the balcony because of the angle.

This wall was built in medieval times, over the original Roman walls.

On Tuesday I was able to take a walking tour around the Old Roman ruins with a guide from the Roman Museum.

Some of the foundations are out in the open, but most of them are underground. Our group walked through the streets and our guide opened several buildings for us where we went down staircases and went on walkways while she pointed out different constructions.

My favorite was the Roman baths. They had locker rooms with cubbies to put their clothing, and hot, medium and cold baths, as well as hot rooms.

We also walked through a sewer. This one exits near that high wall in the first picture, so the water drained into the valley below. The tour was an hour and a half long and explained their defenses, houses, and government buildings.

Safety pins! Here’s some Roman safety pins on display at the Roman Museum. They really thought of everything.