March 2007

Besides the stamps issued on the archaeological sites of Los Millares (Almeria), L’Alcudia (Elche, Alicante) and the Guerrer de Moixent (Valencia), this new issue devotes two stamps to the mosaic of the roman villa of La Olmeda (Palencia) and the roman baths of Campo Valdés (Gijón, Asturias) following on with this attractive and didactic series that makes known the archaeological richness and variety of our historic and cultural past.

"Mosaic of the roman
villa of La Olmeda"

In the municipality of Pedrosa de la Vega, near the town of Saldaña is located the Roman villa of La Olmeda, whose archaeological vestiges evidence the splendour of its past. It is a grand manor of the end of the roman time that must have been the residence of an illustrious aristocrat due to the quality and richness of the remaining mosaics. According to the existing foundations in the villa, all the rooms were situated around a central yard and besides the excellent distribution of the rooms the most important remains are the beautiful mosaics covering several hundred square meters of the floor. In this farm of the IV and V centuries, the mosaics are a wonderful sight gathering figurative, geometric and botanical elements. Amongst all, the most important is the one depicted in the stamp, featuring the story of the discovery of Achilles by Ulysses in the gynoecium at Lycomedes in the island of Skiros. The stamp depicts a fragment of the whole piece.

"The roman baths
of Campo Valdés"

In the beach of San Lorenzo, by the Church of San Pedro, we find the museum-site of the Baths of Campo Valdés in Gijón, one of the most important remains of the roman presence in this town. It was discovered in 1903 and has been declared of cultural interest due to its high archaeological value. The baths, built between the I and IV centuries A.D. by the IV Macedonian Legion have two buildings: a main one measuring more than 400 metres with a hall and a room for hot and cold baths and a smaller one thought to have baths only for women. The ruins and the different rooms, whose inside features in the stamp can be visited by the public after undergoing restoration.