Roman Theatre

The theatre was built in the first century BC, under Emperor Augustus. It was used until the third century AD, after which it was abandoned. In 756-780AD the theatre was used as a quarry by the area's Moorish settlers who excavated the stone to build the Alcazaba fortress, seen overlooking the theatre above. Some Roman columns and capitals can still be seen in the fortress. Over time it became buried under dirt and rubble, and remained hidden there for almost five centuries. It was rediscovered in 1951, when the construction of the Casa de Cultura uncovered the first archaeological clues. The construction of the gardens was abandoned, and instead excavations began. In 1995 a decision was made to demolish the Casa de la Cultura, which stood over a third of the site. Once the site had been fully excavated, a large scale restoration project began, which proved more difficult than anticipated, as many of the missing pieces had formed part of the foundations of the neighbouring Alcazaba.

Malaga, Spain.