Cristina Hodgson
AFTER a decade, the Spanish association Hispania Nostra, a non-profit association, which aims to defend, safeguard and enhance Spanish Cultural Heritage, has removed Acinipo from its Heritage Red List.
Acinipo is an archaeological site, which was once a Roman and pre-Roman town nestled in the heart of hidden Andalucia some 20 kilometres away from the town of Ronda, that had been seriously neglected for years.
In 2013, the Spanish Hispania Nostra Association added Acinipo to its Heritage Red List, which includes valuable sites which are at risk of disappearing, being destroyed or suffering serious alteration to their values.
Fortunately, following the intervention in the area carried out by the Junta, specifically on the Amphitheatre, considered one of the oldest still standing in Spain, the site has been once again included in Nostra’s green list.
Other work to reverse the years of neglect has included the cleaning and consolidation of the cavea (the seating sections of the Amphitheatre) as well as the stage area (pulpitum).
Additionally, elements found under the pulpitum have been discovered and correctly documented.
The site has also recovered a certain normality in terms of its visiting hours, having been closed for almost two years.
Acinipo is believed to have been built approximately around the 9th century BC, abandoned in the Iron Age, and repopulated again in the 5th century BC as an Iberian walled city.
When the Romans arrived after the year 206BC, the area was further developed with large public buildings constructed.
The first archaeological excavations from Acinipo began in 1967 but to this day, most of the city remains undiscovered.
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