Cultural Routes

Centre of Interpretation of the Punic Rampart
The rampart was discovered in 1989, on the south side of the hill of San José, or Aletes, as it was known in Roman times. The construction dates back to 227 B.C., with the founding of the Punic city and the conversion of Cartagena (then called Qart-Hadast) into the capital of the Carthaginians the territory of Hispania. The fortifications are in the Hellenist style, with two parallel walls spaced 18 feet apart that are, in turn, linked together by other walls. The rampart enclosed the Punic city, and this particular stretch covered the isthmus, the only entrance to the city.

The House of Fortune
On either side of a stretch of Roman road lie the remains of two dwellings dating from the first century B.C. On the sides you can see the pavements, the walls with the entrance threshold and the opus signinum decorated flooring, but the most impressive feature is the fresco painted decoration of the dining room walls of the Casa de la Fortuna, the house which gets its name from the inscription that can be read on the flooring in the courtyard.

Augusteum
This is one of the best-kept archaeological sites in the city, and it is composed of the remains of two public buildings from Roman times in the Cartago-Nova area, dated in the 1st century A.D. It may be one of the first locations used for religious purposes identified as a meeting place devoted to the worship of the Emperor Augustus. It has an interesting exposition hall dedicated to the Roman Forum.

The Hill of Molinete
The hill of Molinete, one of the five that are mentioned by historian Polibio in the 2nd Century B.C. as the seat of the Palace of Asdrubal, constitutes one of the great archaeological reserves of ancient Carthago-Nova. Among the archaeological discoveries worthy of mention are the remains of a "castellum aquae" in the upper part of the hill, the relics of the Forum and the Podium – possibly of the Capitoline Temple of the city and dated towards the end of the 1st Century B.C. – and the adjacent public buildings. This archaeological site is now part of an urban renewal project.

Museum Roman Colonnade Discovered in 1957, the site is another of the major Roman thoroughfares. You still can see the remains of a road which must have connected with a former entrance to the city through what are nowadays the Puertas de Murcia. The foundations supported a pedestrian arcade.

Decumanus
Excavated in 1968, the square is the site of a paved Roman road, the main thoroughfare through the city, linking the port to the forum and a series of thermal baths stretching along Honda Street as far as Molinete hill. The site still preserves the foundation of a former arcade.

Byzantine Rampart
The recent discovery of the Roman theatre a few yards from the rampart is the key to the construction date of these solid walls, which include materials from the Byzantine period. In the mid 6th century A.D., Byzantine rule revitalised the city and brought about urban renewal. Part of the foundations of the arcade built around the access grounds to the theatre were reused for the ramparts of the Byzantine city. This curious superimposed construction with its outstanding Roman mosaics now lies beneath the Municipal Exhibition Hall.

Centre of Interpretation of the History of Cartagena
It is situated at the top of the medieval castle (Conception Hill). Most of the materials used to build the castle were taken from structures built when the city was a Roman colony. Further rebuilding was undertaken in the 14th century, during which the large ashlars of the Roman Amphitheatre were reused. The latest renovation works carried out in 1994 permitted the recovery of the historical accesses to the Homage Tower.

Amphitheatre
The amphitheatre is situated beneath the present bullring, built in 1854. One of the oldest monuments of its kind in Hispania, it was built in the 1st century B.C., following the model of earlier Italic buildings. Some of its buttresses that extend beyond the bullring have been excavated and can be seen.

Torreciega
A Roman funeral structure dating from the 1st century A.D., the Torre Ciega – or Blind Tower – is called this because it has no windows. It was once part of a necropolis located next to the entrance to Carthago-Nova. Restored in 1960, it is one of the most representative archaeological sites of the city.