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Last modified: 2020-02-22 by ivan sache
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Flag of Saelices - Image by "Daarbos86", Wikimedia Commons, 2 July 2019
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The municipality of Saelices (605 inhabitants in 2018; 8,062 ha) is located 80 km south-west of Cuenca.
Saelices developed near the ruins of the Roman town of Segobriga, which
were registered as an historical-artistic monument belonging to the
National Artistic Treasure by a Decree issued on 3 June 1931 by the
Provisory Government of the Republic and published on 4 June 1931 in the
Spanish official gazette, No. 155, pp. 1,181-1,185 (text).
The Saelices Archeological Park was established by Decree No. 99, issued
in 9 July 2002 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
12 June 2002 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 85, pp.
10,447-10,448 (text). The founding Decree was amended by Decree No. 239, issued
in 14 December 2010 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and
published on 17 December 2010 in the official gazette of Castilla-La
Mancha, No. 242, pp. 57,543-57,544 (text), and Decree No. 157, issued in 13
December 3012 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
20 December 2012 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 249,
pp. 38,133-38,133 (text).
Accordingly, the Saelices Park is ran by the Center of Cultural Heritage
of Castilla-La Mancha, which also runs the Archeological Parks of
Alarcos, Carranque and Tolmo de Minateda.
Segobriga was described by Pliny the elder (N.H. 3,25) as the capital of the Celtiberians. A small castrum (fortified camp) was established on a promontory of 857 m in elevation known as the Greek's Head hill, which overlooks river Cigüela, a natural ditch located 80 m beneath. With time, the castrum increased to an oppidum, and, eventually, to a wealthy Roman civitas. The Celtiberian town was destroyed by the Romans, as was the Roman citadel established atop the hill, to be replaced by a Muslim fortress.
Excavations performed in Segobriga since 1962 have yielded material from
the Iron Age. Segobriga, mentioned by noted classic writers (Pliny,
Strabo, Ptolemy) is a romanization of the Celtic toponym Segobriks. The
suffix -briks / -brix / -bris / -briga, cognate to German
Burg, refers to a fortified settlement and a center of power,
therefore with the same meaning as a Roman oppidum. The suffix was kept
in the name of two other Romanized towns, Augustobriga and Flaviobriga.
*Seg-o-, found in several toponyms of Celtic origin (Segeda, Segida,
Segesamunclo, Segisamum, Segia, Segontia / Sigüenza, Segovia) is cognate
to German Siege, "a victory" or, as an anthroponym, "victorious".
Accordingly, Segobriga must have been named for his founder, Sego.
Segobriga gained in significance due to its strategic location on roads
connecting Carthago Nova (Cartagena), Complutum (Alcalá de Henares),
Albacete, and Castulo (Linares).
In the early 2nd century BC, facing the Carthaginian and Roman threats,
the elites of Segobriga established the oppidum of Contrebia Carbica,
located 6 km upstream on river Cigüela. Stretching over 40 ha, the
oppidum was defended by ditches, towers and multiple walls. After the
destruction of Contrebia during the Sartorian Wars, Segobriga, whose
elites allied with Sertorius, regained its independence and became the
administrative center of Carpetania; Pliny reports, probably with some
exaggeration, a territory of some 70,000 sq. km placed under the rule of
the town, which controlled highly-prized mines of gypsum. The
Celtiberian elites, especially the riders, appear to have progressively
merged their own clientelist system with the similar, although more
elaborated Roman system, but kept their idiosyncrasy.
Segobriga was granted the status of municipium in 15 AD by August, who
visited the town during his tour of Hispania. A new wall of 1,300 m in
length was erected to highlight the town's new status. The hilltop was
erased and a forum, a theater, a gymnasium and other buildings were
designed. Water was supplied by an aqueduct. The Celtiberian-Roman
ideological syncretism was expressed in the erection, in the center of
the forum, of a perron dedicated to August as the founder of the town,
featuring an equestrian statue of the emperor transposing old Celtic
rites, and, therefore, highlighting August as the new Sego.
[M. Almagro-Gorbea & A.J. Lorrio Alvarado. 2006-2007. De Sego a Augusto: Los orígenes cetibéricos de Segobriga BSAA arqueología 72-73, 143-181].
Ivan Sache, 2 July 2019
The flag of Saelices (photo) is prescribed by an Order issued on 22 November
1996 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 5 December
1996 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 53, p. 5,795 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3, composed of two equal vertical stripes, at hoist, white, and at fly, red, with the municipal coat of arms in the flag's center.
The coat of arms of Saelices is prescribed by an Order issued on 22 November
1996 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 5 December
1996 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 53, pp.
5,794-5,795 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1a. Gules a castle or, 1b. Or a church gules, 2. Azure the legend "SPQR" or in bend. A bordure argent five crosses of Saint James gules. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.
The Royal Academy of History rejected the proposed arms. While the
letter "SPQR" recalls that the area was settled during the Roman rule,
it does not appear "appropriate" to use the modern arms of the town of
Rome, even with modified colors.
A new proposal should be submitted, which is expected to put into
practice the simplicity advocated in the supporting memoir by
suppressing most of the four quarters of the proposed arms.
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia 194:2, 390. 1997]
Ivan Sache, 2 July 2019
