S’Argamassa Roman Fish Farm

S'Argamassa Roman Fish Farm can be found 2.8 miles (4.5 km) eastwards along the coast from the town of Santa Eulària des Riu on the Spanish island of Ibiza. It is in the municipality of Santa Eulària des Riu. The Romans built this fish farm and connecting aqueduct following their occupation of the island in 146 BC.

The Romans arrived to occupy the island of Ibiza after defeating and destroying Carthaginian Empire in 146 BC. The island was granted confederate status within the Roman Empire and was known as Ebusus Federatae Civitae (Federation city of Ibiza). As a result of this, the island's economy experienced a huge boost. Salt mining and agricultural activities brought great wealth to the island during this time.

The island's economy also saw a huge growth in its fishing industry. The fishing technique of almadraba was used in the seas around the island. This used a labyrinth of nets and approximately fifty boats which channelled huge schools of fish, tuna being the main catch, into a holding area. The fish were then culled and dragged aboard the fishing boats. However these catches were so bountiful that not all the fish were killed. Some of the fish were kept alive in aquatic enclosures such as this one, along with a fish processing plant, built by the Romans at S'Argamassa.

Leading to the processing plant on the coast, the Romans constructed an aqueduct to carry fresh clean water from a nearby stream to the processing plant. Part of this aqueduct can still be seen today. The conduit is built from large limestone slabs with a channel carved into the top surface. It is rather neglected these days but a 425-metre (1,394 ft) run of it can still be seen as it runs down to the coast alongside a modern hotel complex.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).