Friday, June 13: More archaeological exploration: Bolonia and Baelo Claudia

After a full slate of morning classes, students piled onto the bus, picnics in hand, and headed south along the coast to the town of Bolonia and the adjacent archeological site, “Baelo Claudia”. Originally built by the Romans in the first century BCE, it gained the patronage of the Roman emperor Claudius in the mid-first century AD and flourished for two more centuries before natural disasters led to its downfall. It was ultimately abandoned by the sixth century AD. The city was famous for its production of a special sauce called “Garum”, made from salted and fermented fish guts, which it exported all over the empire. The site is the most thoroughly excavated city in Roman Spain. After a guided tour of the site, the students spent two hours at the beautiful beach of Bolonia just down the hill. It was great to see them relax and have an awesome time together in and out of the waves. On to our weekend excursion to Granada in the morning!