부산대학교 도서관

This doctoral thesis is the result of my research work on the northern sector of the Francolí early-Christian site, the excavations of which I had the honour to direct under the auspices of the Rovira i Virgili University. Right from the start the exceptional importance of the site aroused my interest and that of the scientific community, both for the value of the remains themselves, as well as for their relationship with the extensive early-Christian necropolis excavated over various seasons by Monsignor Joan Serra Vilaró.I decided that it would be unscientific to limit the thesis to our own excavations. While it is true that the remains make up a complex that is independent from the necropolis of St Fructuosus, we cannot deny that between the two there is a relation so intimate that we should treat them as one site. I have made a detailed study of Serra Vilaro´s reports and publications, as well as of the work carried out by Maria Dolores del Amo, and I have focused specifically on the basilica and the large building located to the south that also contained a baptistery. Going through all that documentation has allowed me to redefine some very important points with respect to the interpretation of the temple excavated by Serra Vilaró. I make a new interpretation of the ground plan -redefining the transept and delimiting a possible counter-apse- and I propose an earlier chronology -around the year 400- coinciding in that case with the newly-excavated basilica. Thus we configure a period of great splendour in Christian building in the city that involves the creation of a large centre of martyrdom. Nevertheless, I have included the Francolí early-Christian complex within the western suburb of Tarraco and I have tried to give a view of the evolution of the urban topography in this sector of the city from its beginnings until the end of the ancient period. I end with a final chapter that is an attempt at an overall interpretation. I have also added some complementary annexes to the texts. They are detailed descriptions of various elements or studies of specific subjects.