The Roman Villa of Paturro is an archaeological site of a large Roman villa located in the mining Sierra de Cartagena-La Unión , in the vicinity of the town of Portmán. The excavations since 1969 have revealed the existence, in terraced sectors, of two well differentiated parts: One part, decorated with great luxury of materials, is dedicated to housing and another part dedicated to industrial exploitation.
The town of Paturro shows two different levels of occupation. A first level from the republican era in which the town would be linked to the exploitation of silver, lead and other metals from the Carthago Nova mines. A second level dates from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD in which the town appears associated with exploitations of garum (salted fish). The villa was abandoned in the 3rd century.
Among all the remains found, a large polychrome mosaic stands out (the largest in the Region of Murcia) that shows the figures of a deity and a peacock . Also noteworthy is the white marble head of a satyr. Numerous remains of parietal painting and coatings and architectural elements of marble of different types have also been found.
The large polychrome mosaic, with some other fragments from the excavations, is deposited in the Archaeological Museum of La Unión located in the hamlet of Portmán, while the rest of the materials are distributed between the archaeological museums of Cartagena and Murcia.
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Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.