Gigia is an ancient city founded by the Romans on the hill of Santa Catalina on the coast of the Bay of Biscay in Spain. Now at this place is the city of Gijon .
In those days, it was a convenient place for the city from a safety point of view, because the hill was located on a peninsula, which turned into an island during a high tide. Before the arrival of the Romans, the Celts , who have inhabited these places since time immemorial, have already built a number of defensive structures on this hill.
The port of Gigia was an important transport hub through which many ships laden with food, wine, olive oil, ceramics and sailing to the ports of Gaul and the Mediterranean passed. In the Roman Empire, the local garum sauce was very popular, the recipe for which included wine, fish and salt. Until now, the ruins of public baths and a Roman villa have been preserved.
Toponymic Disputes
Not all historians agree that Gigia was in place of the current Gijon. For example, the geographical coordinates of Gigia, which are indicated by Ptolemy (Geográfica II, 6, 28) [1] , exactly correspond to the current city of Cea :
- Maliaca 10º 20 '44º
- Gigia 11º 30 '43º 45'
- Bergidum River 8º 30 '44º 10'
According to the rules of etymology, the transformation of the word "Hygia" into "Cea" is considered possible, and in "Gijon" - impossible. Miguel de Unamuno believed that the name "Gijon" could come from the Latin "Saxum" (hill, rock) in the following way: saesu - saixu - xeixo - sexo - xixo. In fact, in linguistics, Asturo-Leon words are still preserved: in Salamanca, “Jijo” is a round stone used for games; in Zamora , locals still call the quartz stone “geijo” or “xeixu”. And in San Pedro de la Nave Almendra , in the province of Zamora, there is a toponym “cuesta el geijo”.
Notes
- ↑ Diego Santos, Francisco (1985). "Saxones (m) (Gijón), Gigia (Cea) and other Asturian cities of the II century." Homenaje a Álvaro Galmés de Fuentes. Vol. 1. Universidad de Oviedo: Editorial Gredos. p. 149-156. ISBN 84-249-0983-6 . Consultado el 23 de marzo de 2015.