“Now Pegasus flew away and left the earth, the mother of flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he dwells in the house of Zeus and brings to wise Zeus the thunder and lightning.”.
Hesíodo. Theogony, 284-286.
The site of La Calzadilla, commonly known as “Roman Villa of Almenara-Puras” was discovered in 1887. It is placed in the municipality of Almenara de Adaja-Puras (Valladolid), near to the valley of Adaja river.
The best known archaeological evidence correspond to a late roman villa built in the second half of the 4th century. It was constructed above the remains of rustic buildings dated in the early empire period. This palatial residence exceeds 2.000 square meters, with a variety of ambiences distributed around two courtyards and a private bath. The rooms display a wide variety of shapes from rectangular ones with highlighted headers to others with central plan which vary in shape and size, and finally the smaller ones, more appropriate for family use.
There are 16 mosaic paved rooms, most of them with geometric or floral patterns. Only the great octagonal hall displays a figurative scene, “The bath of Pegasus”, with an odd horse without wings. It is interpreted as the favorite horse of the dominus. Over the walls the remains of painted skirting boards can still be seen. Later on the palatial building will go under renovation, like the new monumental bath and two new rustic wings connected to the main façade.
The house is abandoned in the middle of the 5th century, but the surrounding area was still in use, as it is revealed by the domestic buildings excavated around and the pollen analysis studies. There is also a small cemetery corresponding to this phase.
