Andelos Archaeological Museum

Andelos Archaeological Museum sits beside the ruins of the Roman city of Andelos in Mendigorría, in Navarre's Zona Media, roughly midway between Pamplona, Estella-Lizarra, and Tafalla. The archaeological remains themselves lie in what is today called Muruzábal de Andión, part of the Mendigorría municipality.

What was Andelos before Rome arrived?

Andelos was a stipendiary town within the territory of the Vascones, the pre-Roman people of this part of Navarre. The hill had already been settled during the Iron Age, long before the Roman city took shape. Andelos reached its peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when it covered about 18 hectares and may have housed as many as 2,500 people, functioning as a notable trade and transport hub within Roman Hispania.

Excavation so far has uncovered only about one-fifth of the ancient city, yet the streets and buildings already brought to light — including a forum and a basilica — give a clear sense of what a provincial Roman town looked like two thousand years ago.

Why does the water system at Andelos matter?

The single most remarkable find at Andelos is its water supply system, traced from the original water intake all the way to the point where it was distributed across the city. It combined a dam, storage tanks, an aqueduct, and a castellum aquae — the distribution point that fed the network. Few Roman sites on the Iberian Peninsula preserve a hydraulic system this complete.

What does the museum itself show visitors?

The museum opened in 2003 in a building that is an attraction in its own right — it won Spain's National Brick Architecture Award in 2001. Covering roughly 400 square metres, it is split into two wings: a service and research area with a laboratory, workshop, and storage for fieldwork, and a visitor-facing exhibition area with a reception, display space, and an audiovisual room.

Displays include a mosaic depicting the god Pan, along with artefacts recovered during excavation, set out in large showcases. Information panels explain how the city's water cycle worked and how Andelos was originally laid out, while a large-scale model helps visitors picture the town and its surrounding landscape.

How do the museum and the site connect?

A visit begins inside the museum building, where a gallery leads directly into the fully fenced archaeological site outside. That layout makes it easy to treat the visit as one continuous experience — historical context and finds first, then a walk among the actual streets, foundations, and water installations in the open air.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is Andelos located? In Muruzábal de Andión, within the municipality of Mendigorría, in the Zona Media area of Navarre, northern Spain.

When was the city at its largest? During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when it spanned about 18 hectares and held up to 2,500 residents.

Has the whole city been excavated? No — only around a fifth of ancient Andelos has been dug up so far; the rest remains underground.

What is the site's standout discovery? Its Roman water supply system — dam, storage tanks, aqueduct, and castellum aquae — considered an exceptionally well-preserved example of this kind of infrastructure.