In ancient times the Pyrenees were not a border
- Collado de Ibañeta about 2,000 years ago. The Romans built the road to pass the Pyrenees on this point. In 2008, the Aranzadi Society of Sciences began to look for the roadway to which old sources refer.
The Ibañeta pass was of great importance in the Middle Ages, since the Camino de Santiago was running around and, among other things, was confronted in those areas of the Roncesvalles conflict. But also some authors of Antiquity mention this road (Ptolemy, Antonino and the anonymous of Ravenna) as an expression of its importance in the Roman era. There were then three steps that crossed the mountain: east, Panissars; center, Somport; and west, Ibañeta. This road connected Cesaraugusta with Burdigala (Zaragoza and Bordeaux) and passed through Pompaelo (Pamplona). Therefore, the passage of Ibañeta was essential to connect the Roman cities of the Atlantic facade.
In 2008, the Aranzadi Society of Sciences began to look for the roadway to which old sources refer. In their beginnings they dedicated themselves to prospecting, focused on vestiges of different times, but they specialized mainly in the Roman road. The first track was discovered in 2011 and started digging in 2012. With the information collected they have completed the website of the Roman Highway of the Pyrenees calzadaromanadelpirineo.eus/eu/. And the 26-kilometer road from Zazpe to Aurizper has also been pointed out to the hiker.
Whoever makes this journey will not find a path of stone slabs. This is the image we have of the Roman roads, but the Aranzadi study has shown that, although urban roads were covered by slabs, in most cases the intermediate roads were dirt roads because they were easier to maintain. The visitor will not find great slopes; throughout the tour there is no more than 6% of slope, according to Oihane Mendizabal, Aranzadi’s colleague, “as most of the transportation was carried out through cars and animals, they preferred to prolong the journey so that the road was smoother than going up a strong slope”.
In addition, on both sides of the mountain range, in Donazahar (Baja Navarra) and Artzi (Alta Navarra), where an abrupt orography starts, rest areas have been found that may be “restop type”. Researchers have come to the conclusion that both spaces have very similar characteristics. And, therefore, this indicates that in the Roman era the Pyrenees were a point of connection, rather than a border.
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