An ancient Roman graveyard in Barcelona

Dating to 1 A.D., this is the oldest cemetery I’ve laid eyes on!

Rita, a friend I met via Twitter when I got to Barcelona toured me around the nooks and crannies of the old Gothic Quarter and the interesting spaces that aren’t as popular as the quite touristy ones. While walking around, we stumbled at this ancient Roman graveyard at the Plaça Vila de Madrid.

The Via Sepulcra Romana, as what the place is called reminds one of the Roman roots of this Spanish city, known before as Barcino. When bombed out buildings, remnants of the Spanish Civil War were removed to give way to a new plaza, this roman graveyard, dating to the first century A.D. was discovered.

This has been preserved and is now part of a two section exhibition. One can visit the gallery to know more about the Roman period and about this place, for a fee, starting at 2 euros. If not, you can just gaze over the tombs at the railings above, street level. The Via Sepulcral Romana is just near the famous La Rambla.