In 1995 and 1997, interesting archaeological excavations were carried out on the south-east slope of the Turó (hill) in the course of work to restore one of the many sections of the wall that encloses the modern citadel. This work made it possible to establish a very complete chronological sequence of building work undertaken on the hill, one of the most emblematic parts of the city, between the 1st century BCE and the end of the 19th century. Some of the documented remains have been conserved and integrated into the structure of the new access to this part of the city, which takes advantage of a large opening which is the result of degradation associated with the passing of time.It is important to stress that Lleida’s Roman remains date from the time between the Sertorian period and the 2nd century CE.
The first signs of construction work are three grooves carved out of the rock face, which correspond to water deposits and channels that were discovered under strata dated from between the years 80 and 50 BCE. On top of them, there are the remains of two masonry plinths that corresponded to a structure with abode walls that also dated from between 80 and 50 BCE.
There is evidence to suggest that this space was remodelled between 50 and 30 BCE and it seems that a new building was later constructed on this site which included a large dump for both imported and locally produced ceramic materials. The former mainly included pottery imported from Campaniana, while the latter included Iberian pottery painted with slips (liquid clay). These findings provide a fairly detailed idea of the type of crockery that was used during that time.
In the Augustan period, a further remodelling took place and a new structure was built on top of the earlier one. This building apparently remained until the 2nd century CE. The most significant feature of this period is proof that the city of Ilerda possessed at least one Hispanic sigillate pottery workshop and that Illerda therefore probably produced ceramics with impression mark designs. From the strata associated with this period, it has also been possible to recover decorated moulds and several rolls of clay that were probably used to seal joints in drainage pipes leading out from a ceramic oven.
There can thus be little doubt that this area of the south-east slope of the central hill was a centre of pottery production during the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. This would also suggest that this part of the city was not a residential area, but rather one that could have housed other types of industry that could have disrupted day-to-day life and caused problems if they had been located in the southern part of the city.