Between 1993 and 1996, several archaeological excavation campaigns at the site of Las Eretas partially unearthed the urban fabric of a fortified village from the Early Iron Age, the most significant structural remains of which included the wall and towers that defended it, and several dwellings built around a street and public square which facilitated pedestrian traffic inside the fortress.
The protohistoric village with its houses dates from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC and are typical of the Urnfield culture. Today there is a museum where thematic areas have brief text with illustrations – maps, photographs and drawings –, and a display cases showing original archaeological pieces, both from the Las Eretas site and other Navarrese Iron Age villages which have been investigated.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.