What is SUB TERRA AQUAE?
SUB TERRA AQUAE is a space, visitable and accessible, which preserves and disseminates a fragment of a Roman sewer from the ancient Lvcvs Avgvsti.
The musealization of the Roman sewer is part of the “Muramiñae, da Muralla ao Miño” strategy, a program financed by the City Council of Lugo and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), which includes the value of the historical and cultural heritage of the Carme neighborhood. .
Where are we?
In the 4th century AD, the city of Lucus Augusti will undergo important urban reforms, motivated mainly by the construction of a large defensive wall, which had 85 towers and five gates, located on the main access roads to the city.
We found ourselves outside the city walls, at the exit of one of its main gates, Porta Miña. Urban life also developed outside the walls, with areas of craft workshops or residential buildings, which were located along the access roads.
Right now we are located at the level of the causeway along which the inhabitants of Lucus Augusti descended to the river and the thermal baths located on the left bank, and whose route has remained fossilized throughout history in an old path that receives the name Rego dos Hortos and Calzada da Ponte.
The sewer and Via XIX
At the point where we are located is the natural exit from the city towards the river Miño. From Porta Miña and going down the Costas do Carme branches, the connection between the Roman city and the river is established.
This is where the Roman road XIX of the Itinerary of Antoninus entered, which connected Lucus Augusti with Bracara Augusta (Braga) and Asturica Augusta (Astorga), which was inaugurated in the year 11 of our era. When entering the city through Porta Miña, Via XIX became the decumanus maximus, one of the main streets that led to the forum, in the upper part of the city, the central square where the political, social and religious life of the Roman city was concentrated.
The preserved section of the sewer shows that it leaves the city through Porta Miñá, runs under the road and would pour its waste water into the Miño River, following the Regueiro dos Hortos.
