The Forum of Baetulo: Monumentality and Power in the City Centre

Knowledge of the forum of the city of Baetulo has increased substantially following the preventive archaeological excavation at 43 Carrer del Temple in Badalona (2023–2024). The findings are of crucial importance, as this is the first large-scale excavation carried out in the area of the city’s forum.
The remains associated with the forum date from around the turn of the era to the 2nd century AD. Among the elements identified, a large two-storey building and a monumental fountain connected to the public water supply system stand out. From the 3rd century AD onwards, a progressive deterioration and transformation of the area is documented, with the abandonment of the earlier structures or their reuse for productive activities, such as a wine press. This process of change continued until the 5th and 6th centuries AD, during which the forum building was partially reoccupied when it had already been abandoned and demolished. It has also enabled us to expand our knowledge of the early medieval city (9th–10th centuries). At that time, the area was transformed into a necropolis within the sacred precinct of the Church of Santa Maria, consisting of anthropomorphic tombs covered with stone slabs.
We will therefore learn about some of the city’s public buildings and place the various elements currently known from the Forum of Baetulo in context, proposing an initial chronological development of this central space of Roman civic and public life.
The lecture, delivered by Emiliano Hinojo García (Arqueòlegs.Cat S.L.) and Clara Forn, a specialist from the archaeology department of the Museu de Badalona, is part of the Novetats arqueològiques 2026 series.