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South Coast Route
The South Coast route links the ancient Iberian and Roman city of Allon with the Malladeta sanctuary, occupied between approximately 350 BC and 75-80 AD, already in the midst of the Roman Empire. Halfway along it there is a singular landmark, a section of the Roman road that connected Allon…
Lucentina road (roman road from the first century ad)
This road used to connect the Roman cities of Allon (Villajoyosa) and Lucentum (Alicante). In the second half of the 1st century AD, Allon expanded greatly and the roads entering the city were rebuilt, like this. Roman engineers always sought out the direct route. This road is similar to our roads: firstly, the level of the earth is reduced; secondly a retention wall is built on one side to avoid erosion by rainfall; thirdly, the trench is refilled with the first level of compacted earth and finally, it is given a layer of compacted pebbles in order to support the passage of people and carts. It is 4.2 metres wide (14 Roman feet), enough for two carts of 1.4 metres axle width to pass.
How did we reclaim the road?
It is surprising how the Roman road has been preserved beneath the old national highway which was in use up to the year 2000. This road was 1.5 metres below the street floor and was found as part of the archaeological excavations carried out prior to the construction if this building. This section was selected as the best preserved. It was dismantled stone by stone and was reconstructed at current street level so that it could be appreciated.
