Roman Theatre

The Roman theatre of Osuna, part of the ancient colony of Genetiva Iulia, is located in the south-eastern quadrant of the intersection formed by the Cañada Real de Marchena a Estepa and Vereda de Santa Mónica.

Es un lugar en el que tradicionalmente se han producido numerous Roman-era finds. Researchers seem to agree that the colony was established near the intersection of both cattle trails due to the high density of findings found at the site, including the bronze tablets containing the founding law of the colony.

The main obstacle we face when approaching this archaeological site is that there is very little information available, as well as very little bibliography on the subject. The first known reference comes from Juan de Dios de la Rada y Delgado, who recounts that during excavations carried out in 1876 by the State at the site where the bronze tables from Osuna an inscription was found indicating the names of three people and the seats purchased or designated in the theatre.

Other renowned researchers also came to conduct their studies, such as Demetrio de los Ríos and the Frenchman Thouvenot, who left behind some descriptions of the theatre. Parallel to this research, there are some press reports from 1903 in the local newspaper El Paleto, which comment on the latest developments in the excavations by Engel and Paris and other ‘clandestine’ actions that were being carried out on the Urso site. One of them took place at the Roman theatre, where numerous marble slabs, some with inscriptions, were discovered, as well as various hydraulic constructions. Currently, only six or seven rows of theatre seats can be seen on the site.