This morning was the last guided visit to the Roman site "Baños de la Reina" (Queen's Baths), organised by the City Council for Culture throughout the summer. The visits were free of charge and took place in groups of 20 people, wearing masks and keeping a safe distance. They were led by the archaeological director of the site, Alicia Luján, who explained the history and importance of this enclave to the participants every Tuesday of the last few months. As every year, the participants' interest was focused on these two main elements of the site: the mosaics and the waterwheel.
The visits took place at the same time as the maintenance and conservation work that Alebus Patrimonio Histórico has been carrying out since July for a period of 4 months at a cost of 16,227.93 euros. This company already carried out conservation work in the area last year, and the Cultural Council is planning to extend the restoration and maintenance work for a further two months.
In the first few weeks of the restoration work, the work concentrated on cleaning the graffiti in the Molí del Morelló mill, with the aim of carrying out a rapid action to prevent the paint from fixing. Work is currently underway to preserve the existing mosaics and the treatment of the mosaic in the area of the thermal baths is underway.
It was also decided as part of this campaign to pour gravel in certain areas of the site, with the dual aim of visually identifying the area of the central courtyard to better understand the different spaces of the site and slowing down the growth of vegetation. Different coloured pebbles are used to delimit the spaces and to enhance the mosaic. This system has already been used in places such as Lucentum, L'Alcudia or La Illeta.
The Banys de la Reina are one of the most important archaeological sites of their category in Roman Hispania. It dates from the end of the second to the seventh century AD. The Baños de la Reina archaeological site, declared a BIC (Cultural Heritage Site), has an area of around 10,000 square metres, some 600 linear metres of fencing and a 200-metre-long pedestrian walkway. Its archaeological value and importance and the need to continue research imply the need to maintain the cleanliness and proper conservation of the area.
The Alicante Archaeological Museum and the Architecture Department of the Alicante Provincial Council are currently preparing the master plan for the Banys de la Reina site, a document that will allow for the wise use of this important Roman site, which is expected to be presented before the end of the year.
The Councillor for Culture, Pilar Cabrera, stressed that "it is the will of the government team to continue working to increase the value of the site, and the City Council, the Provincial Council and the Regional Ministry are working together to highlight the importance and social value of this site".