A 2,000-year-old Roman kitchen has been uncovered at the ancient city of Segisamo in Sasamón, Burgos, Spain, during the latest archaeological campaign.
Excavation of the Roman-era kitchen in Sasamón. Credit: JMCG / University of Salamanca
The excavation was led by researchers from the University of Salamanca and the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida, part of the Spanish National Research Council. The find marks the 10th year of archaeological work in the Sasamón area.
The team has studied Roman settlement in the region since 2016. Earlier work focused on the Iron Age Turmogo settlement at Cerro Castarreño and a Roman siege site linked to its final occupation.
The current work takes place at La Era, a site at the foot of the Church of Santa María la Real. The land was recently given to Sasamón’s town council for archaeological research.
A Roman kitchen with cooking remains
The newly found room was badly affected by later looting, but its basic layout and function are still clear. Archaeologists found walls made from adobe over stone foundations. The walls may once have had a plaster coating.
The floor had a simple design. A layer of compacted clay rested on small stones, creating a hard surface suited to daily use and cleaning.
Roman kitchen. 3D model with explanatory diagram. Credit: JMCG / University of Salamanca
A small step marked a raised area inside the room. Researchers believe this space held an oven, although little of the oven itself survives.
A thick layer of ash and charcoal was found where the fire once burned. The deposits also contained many objects linked to food storage, preparation, and cooking.
The ceramic finds include large storage vessels known as dolia, along with jars, bowls, and mortars. Archaeologists also recovered cooking pots and paterae, shallow Roman pans used for cooking.
Some vessels belong to the red-coated pottery known as Pompeian red ware. Fragments from a clibanus were also found. This small portable oven was used for baking bread on a heat-resistant surface.
Some of the pottery came from Italy, while other pieces were made locally. The mix of objects points to Roman cooking practices alongside older local traditions.
Ceramic vessels and cooking items from the Roman kitchen: 1) Pompeian red ware pan; 2) dolium; 3) cooking pot; 4) mortar; 5) clibanus, or portable oven; 6) jug handle. Credit: JMCG / University of Salamanca
A mix of Roman and Turmogo traditions
The kitchen dates to the period of Augustus and Tiberius, when Segisamo was becoming a Roman city. The pottery shows that local people continued to use some Turmogo traditions while adopting Roman food practices.
Researchers also found evidence of an earlier settlement beneath the Roman structures. Some of its features resemble those from Iron Age settlements at nearby Cerro Castarreño.
This suggests local communities played an important role in the growth and character of Segisamo. The excavation could help researchers trace how the settlement changed as Roman influence expanded.
Layers from many periods
The La Era excavation is also revealing much later stages in Sasamón’s history. Archaeologists have recorded about ten 19th-century graves at the site.
The graves follow Christian burial practices but lie outside the historic burial area in the church cloister. Their arrangement suggests some burials were made in haste.
A military coat button from the reign of Queen Isabella II, between 1833 and 1868, provides the main secure date for the graves. Researchers suggest the cemetery could be linked to one of the epidemics recorded in Burgos during the 19th century.
Other remains date from the 16th to 18th centuries. These include modest buildings, walls, fireplaces, and a simple path. Medieval remains also survive below these later layers.
The excavation has produced a wide range of finds. They include bronze pins and earrings, glass and jet bracelets and beads, iron knives and nails, lamps, and household pottery.
Animal bones and other food waste will also help researchers study the diet of people who lived at the site. Personal marks survive as well, including shoeprints left in wet clay bricks and short inscriptions scratched into pottery.
Mapping the ancient landscape
The 2026 campaign also used methods that don’t require digging. Drones equipped with different sensors, ground-penetrating radar, and magnetometers were used to survey archaeological sites across the region.
These methods have helped researchers map parts of ancient Segisamo and study other Roman sites without disturbing the ground.
At Los Anillos, aerial images and radar data revealed a small rural site, possibly linked to water collection from the nearby plateau. At La Serna-El Molino, magnetic surveys identified a prehistoric settlement, possibly from the Chalcolithic period.
The new findings add several thousand years to the known settlement history of the area.
The research project has also included students and young archaeologists from across Spain. Researchers share excavation updates online, run guided visits, and give public talks about the work.
The team says public access also helps protect archaeological sites from illegal metal detecting and looting. Removing an artifact without recording its position destroys much of the information held by its archaeological context.
Further excavation at La Era is planned to study the buildings and streets of ancient Sasamón in greater detail. The large collection of finds will also undergo detailed study as researchers reconstruct daily life in the Roman city and its later phases.
More information: University of Salamanca
Dining and Cooking