Via XVIII

Via Nova, Via XVIII, Geira

Via XVIII near A Pontenova, Lobios
Mansios along Via Nova
Location	Roman province of Hispania from Bracara Augusta (Braga) to Asturica Augusta (Astorga)
Type	Roman road
History
Builder	Roman Empire, Vespasian and Titus
Periods	79 BC - 80 BC

The Via Nova or Via XVIII in the Antonine Itinerary^[1][2] (also known as Geira) is a Roman road which linked the cities of Bracara Augusta (current Braga^[3]) and Asturica Augusta (current Astorga), with a length of about 210 roman miles (about 330 kilometers).

History

It was built between the years 79 and 80 during the rule of Vespasian and his son Titus by the legate C. Calpetanus Rantius Quirinalis Velerius Festus^[4] for commercial purposes, and restored in the times of Maximinus Thrax and his son Gaius Julius Verus Maximus. Its layout is reflected in detail in the Antonine Itinerary (3rd century).^[5]

Along its route, the roman miles are marked by milestones. Between Bracara Augusta and Asturica Augusta there are eleven mansio^[6] (post station and lodging). This route conserves the largest number of milestones in all of Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Itinerary

Mansio	Roman miles between each Mansio	Location
Bracara Augusta[5]		Braga (Portugal)
Salaniana[5]	XXI	Saim, Chorense, Terras de Bouro, (Portugal)
Aquis Oreginis,[5] Aquis Ogeresibus, Aquis Ocerensis[7]	XVIII	Baños de Riocaldo (Lobios, Ourense)
Aquis Querquennis[5]	XIV	Baños de Bande (Bande, Ourense)
Geminas[5]	XVI	Sandiás, Ourense
Salientibus[5]	XVII	Xinzo da Costa (Maceda, Ourense)
Praesidio[5]	XVIII	North of O Burgo (Ourense)
Nemetobriga[5]	XIII	Between A Pobra de Trives and Laroco (Ourense)
Foro[5]	XIX	La Rua de Valdeorras (Ourense)
Gemestario[5]	XVIII	Portela de Aguiar (El Bierzo, León)
Castro Bergidum[5]	XIII	Cacabelos (El Bierzo, León)
Interamnium Flavium[5]	XX	Bembibre (El Bierzo, León)
Asturica Augusta[5]	XXX	Astorga (León)

See also

• Via XXXI

References

1. Parthey, Gustav Friedrich Constantin; Pinder, Moritz Edward (1848). Iternerarium Antonini Avgvsti et Hierosolymitanvm ex libris manvscriptis ediderunt G. Parthey et M. Pinder (in Latin). New York Public Library. Berolini, F. Nicolai. p. 201.
2. Lemos; Batista (1995). "Estudo de um troço da via XVIII do Itinerário Antonino na Serra do Gerês (a Geira Romana)" (PDF). Cadernos de Arqueologia, Série II, 12-13: 113–133.
3. Lemos, Francisco de Sande (2002). "Bracara Augusta - a grande plataforma viária do Noroeste da Hispania". Forum (in Portuguese) (31): 95–127. ISSN 0871-0422.
4. RODRIGUEZ COLMERO, Antonio; FERRER SIERRA, Santiago; ALVAREZ ASOREY, Rubén D. (2004). Miliarios e outras inscricións viarias romanas do noroeste hispánico (conventos Bracarense, Lucence e Asturicence) (in Galician). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega. pp. 17, 353.
5. Talbert, Richard J. A.; Elliott, Tom (August 16, 2010). Rome's World: The Peutinger Map Reconsidered. Cambridge University Press. p. 261. ISBN 9780521764803 – via Google Books.
6. Rodriguez Colmeno, António (1995). "Mansiones y mutationes en la Via Nova" (PDF). Cadernos de Arqueologia, Série II, 12-13 (in Spanish): 89–112.
7. "Xacemento romano Aquis Originis". Patrimonio Galego (in Galician). Retrieved 2023-01-22.

External links

• Instituto Nacional de Conservação da Natureza. Geira : Via Romana XVIII.
• LEMOS, Francisco de Sande; BAPTISTA, António Martinho. «Estudo de um troço da Via XVIII do Itinerário de Antonino na Serra do Gerês», in Cadernos de Arqueologia, série II, 12-13, 1995-1996, pp. 113–133.
• RODRIGUEZ COLMERO, Antonio; FERRER SIERRA, Santiago; ALVAREZ ASOREY, Rubén D. Miliarios e outras inscricións viarias romanas do noroeste hispánico (conventos Bracarense, Lucence e Asturicence). Santiago de Compostela, Consello da Cultura Galega (gl).