The remains of the Iberian city of Kissa, an important site in the Punic Wars, have been found in Valls
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- To date, the location of the town where the first battle of the Roman army was fought in present-day Catalonia was unknown.
Archaeological site.
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Research
24/04/2025
The first battle that the Roman army fought in what is now Catalonia took place in 218 BC in the area around the Iberian town of Kissa. Although it was a major event in the development of the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome and in the beginning of the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the location of Kissa had remained unknown. A team of researchers of the University of Barcelona has now located the remains of Kissa in Valls, specifically at the Vilar site.
Archaeological site.
News
|
Research
24/04/2025
The first battle that the Roman army fought in what is now Catalonia took place in 218 BC in the area around the Iberian town of Kissa. Although it was a major event in the development of the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome and in the beginning of the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the location of Kissa had remained unknown. A team of researchers of the University of Barcelona has now located the remains of Kissa in Valls, specifically at the Vilar site.
“The findings of Punic coins and ballista projectiles inside destroyed houses, as well as the stratigraphic sequence of the settlement and the analysis of historical sources, are evidence that allow us to ensure that the Vilar site in Valls is the ancient Kissa”, says Jaume Noguera, director of the excavations and UB professor. The researcher reconstructs the events of more than two thousand years ago. The Carthaginians attacked and partially destroyed the Iberian city of Kissa in 218 BC during a military campaign led by Hannibal Barca. However, after a few months, Roman troops landed in Empúries and defeated the Carthaginian army that had settled near Kissa. These events, told by Roman historians Polibi and Livi, marked the beginning of the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, the Roman victory prevented Hannibal from getting reinforcements from the Iberian Peninsula during the battles he fought in present-day Italy.
“The location of dozens of Punic coins in Valls can only be related to the presence of Carthaginian troops during the few months in 218 BC when they were in the north of the Ebro”, notes Noguera, who adds that “Valls controls the passage from the coast through the coll de la Cabra or the Riba strait, towards the Conca de Barberà and Ponent; therefore, when leaving the ancient Cese-Tarraco, it was impossible for the Roman army not to meet the Carthaginian army near Valls”. The excavations also show that the city was not abandoned immediately after the 218 BC destruction, but continued to be populated for another 10 to 20 years.
“The location of dozens of Punic coins in Valls can only be related to the presence of Carthaginian troops during the few months in 218 BC when they were in the north of the Ebro”, notes Noguera, who adds that “Valls controls the passage from the coast through the coll de la Cabra or the Riba strait, towards the Conca de Barberà and Ponent; therefore, when leaving the ancient Cese-Tarraco, it was impossible for the Roman army not to meet the Carthaginian army near Valls”. The excavations also show that the city was not abandoned immediately after the 218 BC destruction, but continued to be populated for another 10 to 20 years.
To date, the location of the town where the first battle of the Roman army was fought in present-day Catalonia was unknown.
Excavations have confirmed that Kissa was a large Iberian city. It could have been home to some 5,000 inhabitants and would have covered an area of around eight hectares. The city would have been surrounded by an imposing defensive system, with 8-metre-wide walls and a 4-metre-deep and 14-metre-wide moat. Among the elements that have been uncovered are three neighbourhoods and two 6-metre-wide streets, one with a water conduit or sewer.
“We want the excavations at Vilar in Valls to be an international benchmark, given the quantity and quality of the findings”, says Noguera. “For archaeologists, it is a dream to excavate a site where everything has been recovered almost as it was more than 2,200 years ago due to a sudden destruction; it is a small Pompeii”, he adds. With regard to the future, the researcher says he hopes that the land will become public property, and that a plan can be drawn up to open up the site so that people can visit it.
The first interventions at the site by the UB Research Group on Archaeology of Complexity Societies and Processes of Social Change (GRACPE) date back to 2014. This work is funded thanks to an agreement between the City Council of Valls and the UB, involving the participation of Centre d’Estudis Cossetans under the Government of Catalonia’s project “El canvi sociocultural a la Cessetània oriental Durant la protohistòria i l’època romana republicana” (Socio-cultural change in eastern Cesetània during the Protohistoric and Roman-Republican periods) and the UB project “Estudio interdisciplinary del fenómeno urbano entre los íberos del norte” (Interdisciplinary study of the urban phenomenon among the Iberians of the north), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Multimedia gallery
Documentary El jaciment del Vilar de Valls.
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