A "huge" public bath area from the Roman era has been discovered in Spain in "excellent" condition.
Archaeologists made the discovery in the city of Mérida—capital of the Extremadura region in the western-central part of the Iberian Peninsula.
Mérida is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains the remarkably well-preserved remains of an ancient Roman colony, Augusta Emerita, which was the predecessor of the modern city.
The colony was founded in 25 B.C., when the Roman emperor Augustus was conquering the region.
The well-preserved remains of the old city include a large bridge over the Guadiana River, an amphitheater, a theater, a vast circus and an "exceptional" water-supply system, according to UNESCO.
"The city was created as an idealized model of Rome and was the capital of Lusitania, the western-most province of the Roman Empire."
"It is an excellent example of a provincial Roman capital during the empire and in the years afterwards," the UNESCO description reads.
The latest discovery in Merida was uncovered in the Casa del Anfiteatro (House of the Amphitheater)—a site located close to the theater and amphitheater.
The "huge" public bath space is in an "excellent" state, Félix Palma, director of the Consortium of the Monumental City of Mérida, told Spanish news agency EFE.
The baths are "perfectly preserved"—complete with decorations such as marble plaques, moldings on the cornices, paintings on the walls, and all of their underground structures, said archaeologist Ana María Bejarano, who was involved in the excavations.
At present, the pool that usually accompanies these types of sites has not been found in the excavated area, but archaeologists are not ruling out the possibility that it could be discovered in future.
The site of the discovery lies in an archaeological area that was originally located outside the walls of Augusta Emerita. The area includes homes, funerary and industrial spaces, as well as two notable houses— the Casa de la Torre del Agua (House of the Water Tower) and the Casa del Anfiteatro.
The Casa del Anfiteatro was a large residence that includes a courtyard, a kitchen and a mosaic floor depicting scenes of the grape harvest.
"The Casa del Anfiteatro in itself is not a typical house as it is the largest known in Mérida," Bejarano said.
The discovery of the public baths came during archaeological excavations launched by the consortium around six months ago. The excavations are continuing.
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