Análisis de las piscifactorías romanas de la provincia de Alicante y elementos asociados. Propuestas para su conservación y puesta en valor turística.

Abstract

The existing Roman fish tanks in the province of Alicante, as is the case with the rest of those scattered along the Mediterranean coast, are one of the examples of cultural heritage that is currently most threatened by the effect of climate change.Through this work, we have tried to document the largest number of existing facilities throughout the Mediterranean, locating them and briefly describing their characteristics. Given that possibly, within a short time, many of them will have been definitively submerged or severely damaged by the effect of rising sea levels and waves.The research began with the study and analysis of the not excessively abundant bibliography on the subject. Thus, it was possible to verify how the rise in sea level, despite being a generalized threat to all these sites, had affected the facilities located in the central area of the northern Mediterranean, mainly on the Italian Tyrrhenian coast, to a greater extent. Through a Research Stay at the Sapienza-Università di Roma, it was possible to visit in situ many of the existing fish tanks on this coast, and document their state of conservation, their physical characteristics, their relationships with the environment and their values. In turn, it was possible to increase the volume of bibliography analyzed, by counting the holdings of various institutions located in Rome, with a much greater number of publications on these facilities.