Listed 4 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "VALENCIA Town VALENCIA" .
VALENCIA (Town) VALENCIA
Valentia (Oualentia, Ptol. ii. 6. § 62), a considerable town of the
Edetani in Hispania Tarraconensis, situated on the river Turium, at a distance
of 3 miles from its mouth, and on the road from Carthago Nova to Castulo. (Plin.
iii. 3. s. 4; Vib. Seq. p. 18; Itin. Ant. p. 400.) Ptolemy (l. c.) erroneously
attributes it to the Contestani. It became at a later period a Roman colony (Plin.
l. c.), in which apparently the consul Junius Brutus settled the soldiers of Viriathus.
(Liv. Epit. lv.) Pompey destroyed it. (Epist. Pomp. ap. Sallust, ed. Corte, p.
965; cf. Plut. Pomp. 18.) It must, however, have been restored soon afterwards,
since Mela mentions it as being still an important place (ii. 6), and coins of
it of a late period are preserved. (Cf. Florez, Med. ii. p. 610, iii. p. 125;
Mionnet, i. p. 55, Suppl. i. p. 110; Sestini, p. 209; Eckhel, i p. 60.) The town
still bears the same name, but has few antiquities to show.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
VALENCIA (Town) VALENCIA
Valentia (Valencia) Valencia, Spain.
A city on the banks of the Turia, ca. 3 km from the sea (Mela 2.92; Plin. HN 3.20, referring to it as a colony; Ptol. 2.6.61). It was founded by Junius Brutus in 138 B.C. (Livy, Per. 55: Junius Brutus consul in Hispania iis qui sub Viriato militaverant agros et oppidum dedit quod vocatum est Valentia). Based on lines 479-82 of the Ora Maritima of Avienus, it has been claimed that the Roman city was built over the indigenous city of Tyris, but there is no archaeological confirmation. Identification with any of the Valencias on the border of Portugal may be rejected since they received the name, with the meaning of fortress, only in the 13th c., and the only Valencia whose stone tablets mention the valentini is that on the Mediterranean.
There are two schools of thought about the first inhabitants: one relates the
text of Livy to those of Appian (Iber. 72) and Diodorus Siculus (33.1.3) and claims
that they were the defeated troops of Viriatus; the other, taking into account
that no indigenous names appear on the tablets, that no Iberian money was coined,
that indigenous remains are scarce compared to Roman, and that "militare"
is inappropriate for Viriatus' men, supports the thesis that they were discharged
from the Roman army, and translates "at the time" and not "under
the orders" of Viriatus. Some tablets bear the inscriptions "valentini
veterani et veteres" and "uterque ordo decurionum", proving that
there were two stages of settlement, one with the veteres, the first inhabitants,
and the other with the veterani who came later, perhaps with Afranius, which would
justify the tablet that the Valencians dedicated to him (CIL IX, 5275).
The location of the Roman city and its area is unknown, but the greatest
density of finds indicate the vicinity of the Cathedral. Fragments of Roman buildings
and tablets are incorporated in the facade of the 17th c. basilica. In general,
the Imperial levels are 3 m down, and the Republican on virgin soil, at 4.5 m,
with Campanian pottery A and B mixed, as in Ventimiglia and Pollentia. Above 3
m are the Visigoth levels (tablet of Bishop Justinianus, A.D. 546). A necropolis,
La Boatella, has been excavated (over 200 tombs with poor furnishings, 3d to 5th
c. A.D.), as have other tombs within the city.
There is abundant pottery from Arezzo, S Gaul, Spain, and Campania
A and B (more of B). The most interesting mosaic is one of Medusa (2d c.) similar
to that of Tarragona. Little is known about sculpture, since a collection formed
in the 18th c. disappeared when Napoleon's troops were transporting it to France
by ship. About 70 tablets are known (CIL II, 3710, 3725-75, 3903, 4948, 5127,
6004-5). Valentia coined money, ca. 123 to 75 B.C., with asses of various weights
(19.25-13 gm). On the face was the head of Roma on the right with a winged helmet
and the names of the quinquennales, and on the reverse a cornucopia tied with
a sheaf of six rays and the name Valentia. There are also semisses and quadrantes.
Most of the finds are in the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Prehistory
in Valencia.
D. Fletcher, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Jan 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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