Wikipedia

Oiasso

Oiasso,[1]Oiasona[2]orOiarso[3]was aVasconRoman(Civitas)town located on the left bank of theBidasoaestuaryin theBay of Biscay(currentSpain). Archaeological evidence unearthed recently pinpoints the core area of Oiasso in the old quarter ofIrun(Gipuzkoa) by the Spanish-French border, where harbour and bath remains have been discovered. However, two other focuses inCape Higuerand hermitage Ama Xantalen (necropolisandmausoleum) point to a wider complex outside the main nucleus.

Current view of the mouth of the Bidasoa.
EasoandEaso prom.in the lower left corner of this 1578 map of Gaul according to Ptolemy.
Oeasonear the left extreme ofGalliain this old map orRoman Hispania.

Actually, some authors note that the name Oiasso may have applied to the whole valley, arguing that the very name of the Bidasoa River may stem fromLatin"via ad Oiasso", eventually renderingBidasoainBasque.Furthermore, it is widely assumed that the name for the townOiartzunsome 10 km away may have developed fromOiasso.A Roman road linked this spot to ancientPompaeloall the way through theSaltus Vasconum(theVasconianwilderness), with the road being built to connect the Vasconian main town to the mines ofArditurriset in the massif ofAiako Harria.Romans showed an early interest on them on account of the ore (largely silver and copper) they could extract from them, using the port and factories of Oiasso to process and dispatch the freight away.

A museum was founded recently inIrunto cater for the interest the vestiges unveiled have aroused and for tourism.

Earlier it was misidentified with currentSan Sebastián,that is still nicknamedla bella Easo( "The beautiful Easo", a Hispanization of Oiasso).

History

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Classical geographers such asPliny,Claudius Ptolemy,andStrabohave already mentioned the Vascon city of Oiasso.[4][5]In hisNaturalis Historia,Pliny, drawing from a text dated to 50 B.C., expanded the territory of the Vascones to the westernmost part of the Pyrenees towards the location of Oiarso. This place has traditionally been interpreted as theOyarzunmountains. He referred to this area by the termVasconum saltus,which is adjacent to theCantabrian Sea.[6]Later, in the 2nd century during the imperial era, Ptolemy mentioned two locations forOiassóin Chapter 6, 10 of his bookGeographikè Úphégesis.He referenced a city with the Ancient Greek nameΟίασσώ πόλις(translated as "City of Oiassó" ) and another location known as the "Promontory of Oiassó of the Pyrenees" (Οίασσώ άκρον Πυρήνης).[7][8]Based on this reference and another mention by Ravenate,[9]Julio Caro Baroja[10]suggested that Oiasso should be understood as a dispersed nucleus with two centers: a city and a port.

Oiasso became a significant port of the so-calledMare Externum,the Outer Sea, in contrast to theMare Nostrumor theMediterranean.This prominence arose following the construction of the road toTarracoat the end of the 1st century BC, which facilitated mineral transportation and trade.[11]This road crossed theEbrovalley, passing throughOscaandIlerda.Additionally, Oiasso was intersected by the Via XXXIVAb Asturica Burdigalamroad, which connectedAsturica AugustawithBurdigala,as described by Strabo. Oiasso was an integral part of the trade network established by theRoman Empire,facilitating the distribution of goods throughout the northern Atlantic region.

This port was part of a network of ports stretching along theAtlanticcoast. Notable ports in the Cantabrian region includedBrigantium,Flaviobriga,Vesperies (possibly located at the estuary ofGuernica), Menosca (believed to beGuetaria),Lapurdum,and Burdigala.

The Bidasoa crossing served as the border betweenAquitaineandHispania Citerior.Remains of abridge[12]have been discovered at this site, and it is anticipated that theportorium,or customs post where duties were collected, will be unearthed soon. It is known that the duties charged were 2% for goods passing intoGauland 2.5% for goods heading in the opposite direction.

Oiasso had a significant mining component. A few kilometers away are thePeñas de Aya,where a major Roman silver mine has been located. This mine extends for over 3 km and includes a sophisticateddrainagesystem, underscoring its importance. The presence of such a complex infrastructure suggests a comprehensive administrative structure behind the mining operations.

A Roman road once connectedCaesaraugusta(present-dayZaragoza) to Oiasso, passing through Pompaelo (nowPamplona), and then continuing towards present-day Bordeaux. In its final stretch, this road ran parallel to the Bidasoa river.

See also

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Iruña-Veleia

References

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  1. ^Ptolemy,2, 6, 10
  2. ^Strabo,GeographiaIII, 4, 10. TheCasaubonuseditions of 1587 and 1620 writeOídasoûna,corrected byAdolf SchultentoOíasoûna.
  3. ^Pliny,3, 29
  4. ^Canto 1997, p. 23.
  5. ^Schulten 1927, p. 66
  6. ^'Próxima ora citerioris est eiusdemque Tarraconensis situus a Pyrenaeo per oceanum Vasconum saltus, Oiarso, Vardulorum oppida, Morogi, Menosca, Vesperies, Amanum portus, ubi nunc Flauiobrica colonia 8. Ciuitatium VIIII regio Cantabrorum, flumen Sauga, portus Victoriae Iuliobricensium. ac eo loco fontes Hiberi XM passuum portus Blendium, Orgonomesci e Cantabri. portus eorum Vereasueca, regio Asturum, Noega oppidum, in poeninsula Paesici, et deinde conuentus Lucensis, a flumine Nauialbione Gibarci, Egiuarri cognomine Namarini, Iadoui, Arroni, Arrotrebae, pronunturium Celticum, amnes Florius Nelo. Celtici cognomine Neri et super Tamarici 9 quorum in paeninsula tres arae Sestianae [-182→183-] Augusto dicatae, Copori, oppidum Noeta...(Naturalis Historia,4,110-111)
  7. ^Canto 1997, p. 26.
  8. ^Schulten 1927, p. 67
  9. ^Item iuxta superius nominatam civitatem Ossaron, quae ponitur non longe ab Oceano...
  10. ^Caro 1996, p. 45
  11. ^Canto 1997, p. 19.
  12. ^Canto 1997, p. 61.
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  • Oiasso Roman Museum
  • Idoia Estornés Zubizarreta,"Oiarso",in Eusko Ikaskuntza (ed.),Auñamendi Encyclopedia(in Spanish),retrieved2010-01-11
  • Bernardo Estornés Lasa,"Oiasso",in Eusko Ikaskuntza (ed.),Auñamendi Encyclopedia(in Spanish),retrieved2010-01-11
  • Bernardo Estornés Lasa,"Oiasona",in Eusko Ikaskuntza (ed.),Auñamendi Encyclopedia(in Spanish),retrieved2010-01-11
  • Jesús Altuna Echave, Koro Mariezkurrena Gastearena, Ángel Armendáriz Gutiérrez, Luis del Barrio, Txomin Ugalde, Xabier Peñalver Iribarren (1982),Carta Arqueológica de Guipúzcoa: Yacimientos y hallazgos romanos(PDF),Munibe (in Spanish), Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, pp. 217–224,ISSN0027-3414,retrieved2018-01-11{{citation}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Alicia M. Canto,"La Tierra del Toro: Ensayo de Identificación de Ciudades Vasconas",in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ed.),ARCHIVO ESPAÑOL DE ARQUEOLOGÍA nº70(in Spanish),retrieved2023-10-29
  • Adolf Schulten,"Las referencias sobre los Vascones hasta el año 810 después de J.C. ISSN 0212-7016"(PDF),in Revista Internacional de los Estudios Vascos (ed.),Riev(in Spanish),retrieved2023-10-29
  • J.Caro Baroja,"Navarra, Etnología de las Comunidades Autónomas"(PDF),in Ediciones Doce Calles. (ed.),Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas(in Spanish),retrieved2023-10-29

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