Early evidence of the military roman conquest. The Atlantic coast of the ulterior province

Abstract

The Roman conquest of Hispania, although well-known through written sources, still requires many clarifications at the archaeological level. Apparently, no trade contacts were made with the western Atlantic territories during the early stages of the Italic presence in the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, we try to accomplish a transversal reading of the main data available on the older contexts that confirm the presence of the Roman Republic in this territory. Decimus Iunius Brutus undoubtedly played a decisive role as governor of Ulterior between 138 and 133 BCE, revitalising the Romanization of western Iberia. Archaeological data from the area of Lisbon and the Lower Tagus peninsula, as well as elements from the Mondego valley, seem to support this interpretation.