Iulia Traducta

[2] However, the latest research and the discovery of several important archaeological sites in the neighboring city of Algeciras have caused investigators to reconsider the matter.

One of the most important sources for determining the location of various cities of Hispania was the Antonine Itinerary, a description of the Roman municipalities along the various roads of the time.

The Ravenna Cosmography places the mansion of Transducta between Gartegia (Carteia) and Cetraria (Caetaria), identified as being respectively in the north and south of Algeciras Bay, but does not name Portus Albus.

The coins minted in the city showed the image of the emperor, his sons Gaius and Lucius and the priestly attributes of princeps of Rome.

From this it would seem that there was an increase in the economic importance of the city at the expense of nearby Carteia, whose amphorae production depended on manufactures of Portus Albus.

The area where material has been found extends to the lower part of the Villa Nueva on land beside the Río de la Miel.

The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours says that Iulia Traducta is where the Vandals boarded their vessels when they invaded Africa in the year 429.

However, in recent years structures from the Byzantine period have been found in the Villa Vieja, including a cemetery dating from the sixth century.

From this is can be said that the city was not completely abandoned at any time, and even when the Arab invasion occurred the resident population of town was probably the most important in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar.