Torrox’s Roman lighthouse

RENOVATIONS are nearly done at the Roman archeological site in Torrox which is also to include a visitors’ centre.

A total of €624,000 has been invested in the project to renovate the excavations of Torrox’s Roman lighthouse which, as well as the visitor’s centre, will also feature a nighttime visual spectacle.

Financed by the Junta de Andalucia (regional government) and Torrox Town Hall, the aim of the project is to raise awareness to the abundance of different archeological sites in the area.

This particular dig – Caviclum to give it its Latin name – dates back to the third century AD and is made up by the remains of a seaside Roman villa set adjacent to a lighthouse, ceramic ovens, Roman baths and a salting factory which was later converted into a necropolis.

The visitor’s centre is located within the lighthouse complex and provides easy access from which to view the remains of the Roman villa in the open air.

It will also be possible to visit the old lighthouse building which dates back to 1864, and which illustrates the history of the lighthouse.

Inside, the centre has a projection room where visitors can watch an eight-minute documentary which explains the history of the site.

At night, the centre will put on a nighttime visual spectacle, projected onto the lighthouse.

Moving graphics and illustrations will recount daily life in Clavicum, as well as a tale by Pliny the Elder telling how the people of the town had an encounter with a giant octopus.