A small peninsula where several architectural remains from ancient times gather together

A trip to the Mediterranean coast of Spain ~ Alicante (Region) The spectacular archaeological site is located on a small peninsula by the sea, where the remains of buildings from several ancient periods come together, making for a completely fascinating visit, in which we travel through the different periods of occupation represented by the different buildings. Thus, we found in the enclosure the remains of some prehistoric huts, some spectacular cisterns from the Bronze Age, an Iberian town and a Roman maritime villa. Although you can clearly see the spaces that defined its shell, little of the hut remains. Most of the considerable remains correspond to the period of Iberian occupation, among which there are the remains of two large temples, some houses and a warehouse. Finally, fish farms carved into the natural rock are preserved in the Roman villa, which, although they can be seen from a distance, cannot be visited from inside the site. and the remains of some modest thermal baths, from which they derived their name and which were divided into the classic divisions of rooms: cold bath, tepidarium, caldarium. Two small pools and parts of the praefurnium (oven) have also been preserved, where, incidentally, a metal grill from the 2nd century AD was also found. It is currently kept in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante. I must warn, however, that the ruins of the site are undergoing an extensive restoration process, so the original architectural elements cannot be clearly discerned. From what I understand, this measure was taken to make the site more attractive to tourists and also to facilitate explanation of the floor plans of the various buildings along with the signs. But it is true that such detailed restorations often fail to respect the ancient way of building, undermine the authenticity of the whole, and make it difficult to make a correct analysis of the construction techniques and components that may have been used. In short, I highly recommend you to visit this magnificent site, where the architecture of the different civilizations that inhabited such an interesting place occurs in diachronic order. It is a quick and very informative visit, thanks to the excellent explanatory panels, partly thanks to the restoration, which briefly take us through the streets of an ancient enclave that covers the passage of different civilizations whose only commonality is the choice of such a privileged and beautiful place to build their awe-inspiring buildings that ultimately become an indelible mark of Ileta's past. #JanuaryGoodPlaces2025