Description : Segóbriga was an important Celtic and Roman city, and is today an impressive site located on a hill (cerro Cabeza de Griego) near the present town of Saelices. Research has revealed remains of important buildings, which have since been preserved and made visible in the Archaeological Park. It was declared a National Monument on June 3, 1931, and is now considered cultural heritage under the official denomination Bien de Interés Cultural which comes with extensive legal protections. Although the city is in ruins, its state of conservation is more than acceptable in comparison with remains elsewhere in the peninsula. A tour of the site offers an idea of what life was like in ancient cities. In the year 1888, a collective burial ground from the Bronze Age (more precisely, 2nd millennium BC) was found in a cave. The cave is known as cueva de Segóbriga, near the cerro de Cabeza de Griego, and it was excavated in limestone. The tombs belonged to a celtiberian settlement. This finding was published in the year 1893. Both human remains and common tools and supplies were discovered. It is hypothesised that it was initially a celtiberian castro (fortress) that dominated the basin located north of the city, with the defensive advantage of the Cigüela river which served as a moat. Remains of the fortress have not appeared, but a ceramics fragment from 5th century BC Attica provides testimony of the area being populated that much earlier. The first recorded mention of Segóbriga is a brief reference by Greek geographer Strabo, stating that Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius fought in the Wars of Sertorius, in the Celtiberian region around Bílbilis and Segóbriga. This places the city right in the middle of Celtiberian territory. This ancient area belonging to the Olcade tribe was thus pillaged in the aforementioned wars and replaced by Roman Segóbriga.
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