The Island of Fraile is a small island of 6.2 hectares located off the coast of present-day Águilas (Murcia, Spain), a city founded after the Roman conquest of the area and heavily transformed during the Augustan period (between 45 and 14 AD). The island was inhabited for many millennia: in Antiquity, it was a center for salted fish production, and its last inhabitant was Hugh Pakenham Borthwick, a British spy, in the early 20th century.

Recently, researchers from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Granada conducted a campaign of excavations and underwater research, the results of which are shedding new light on the human occupation of this small island for over 2000 years.

The Island of Fraile has been continuously inhabited since at least the 1st century BC, as material remains from this period were found in the excavations. The peak of the site dates back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD, when an entire urban complex with commercial connections to North Africa was erected. Among the findings, mosaics and glassware from Tunisia stand out, indicating the wealth of the resident community.

1) Results of the terrestrial archaeological survey, 2020; 2) Defining marine morphology around Isla del Fraile; 3) Circular underwater survey with divers (non-intrusive methodology) and some finds: Roman bronze jug and African Red Slip ware plate
1) Results of the terrestrial archaeological survey, 2020; 2) Defining marine morphology around Isla del Fraile; 3) Circular underwater survey with divers (non-intrusive methodology) and some finds: Roman bronze jug and African Red Slip ware plate. Credit: Alejandro Quevedo et al. / Antiquity

More than 30% of the products consumed during this period were imported from North Africa, especially amphorae and fine ceramics like the African red slip wares.

Pools for the production of salted fish were also documented, as well as net weights and bronze hooks. These findings suggest that the Island of Fraile served as a redistribution center for foodstuffs from North Africa.

The excavation of six sectors in the northern part has allowed defining the nature of the constructions. The main architectural element consists of two powerful retaining walls about 2.37 meters wide with large ashlars joined with abundant lime mortar that adapts to the terrain. Other walls perpendicular to these delimit different rooms.

Excavation in the north sector of the islet
Excavation in the north sector of the islet. Credit: J. Rodríguez Pandozi & A. Quevedo / Antiquity

In one of the excavated sectors, an impressive layer of destruction from the 5th century AD was found, formed by at least eight complete amphorae. Typological and petrographic analysis reveals that they came from various places in northern Tunisia, indicating the intense commercial ties of the island at that time.

Researchers hypothesize that the Island of Fraile housed an urban population nucleus with a Christian community, although it is not ruled out that it was also an insular monastery. The deliberate occupation of a coastal islet combined with material wealth points to a prominent role in the commercial networks of the western Roman Mediterranean, contrary to previous assumptions.

In conclusion, this unique site is providing new data on how small islands played an important role in shaping merchant routes during late Antiquity. Future studies may shed more light on resource management and daily life in this insular microcosm.

Sources

Quevedo A, Hernández García J de D, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez M, Moreno-Martín FJ, Mukai T, Capelli C. Impact of trading networks on a small island at the end of Late Antiquity: Isla del Fraile. Antiquity. 2024;98(397):e5. doi:10.15184/aqy.2023.182

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