Centro Arqueolóxico de Salinae

About the museum

The Roman saltworks of the Arenal were discovered in 1998, during works for a health centre on Calle Rosalía de Castro in Vigo. It is a marine saltworks using solar evaporation that operated between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD and was devoted to producing salt on a large scale. It is the only example of its kind to have survived and been put on display anywhere in the Roman Empire.

The health centre project was modified in order to preserve the site, which opened to the public in 2009 under the management of the Museo do Mar de Galicia and the Xunta de Galicia. The state of preservation of the basins makes it possible to understand how a saltworks operated and how salt was obtained at surface level.

The exhibition traces the history of the site through its stratigraphic sequence and the materials found, presents the properties of salt and the ways of obtaining it, explains the Roman industry of salted fish and fish sauces in Vigo, reconstructs the landscape around the saltworks and includes a selection of Roman recipes. A final section covers the evolution of the saltworks after Rome.

Highlights

• The only preserved Roman solar-evaporation saltworks in the Empire, put on display
• Basins from the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD visible on the site itself
• Reconstruction of the landscape and ecosystem of the saltworks
• Exhibition on the world of salt and the Roman salted-fish industry
• Route adapted for people with mobility difficulties

Permanent exhibition

• La salina romana y el mundo de la sal – Exhibition on the discovery of the site, its two-thousand-year history, the operation of the Roman saltworks, the salted-fish and fish-sauce industry and the evolution of saltworks after Rome.

Founded

2009

Operated by

Museo do Mar de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free visit.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The visit to the archaeology centre is adapted for people with mobility difficulties.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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