Augusta Bilbilis

Augusta Bilbilis is the ruined site of a Roman provincial city in what is now the Spanish province of Zaragoza, built atop a hill above the Jalón river on the foundations of an earlier Celtiberian settlement. The city's lasting cultural significance rests on being the birthplace of the Latin epigrammatist Marcus Valerius Martialis — Martial — who was born here in the first century AD and immortalized the town in his verse before leaving for Rome to pursue fame. Excavations near modern Calatayud have uncovered the remains of a forum, theatre, and Roman baths, offering a concrete picture of urban life in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The site is modest and uncommercialized, making it an understated destination for visitors with a serious interest in Roman archaeology or Latin literature.