Miróbriga (Mirobriga Celticorum) is an ancient Roman town located near the village and civil parish of Santiago do Cacém, in the municipality of the same name in the south-west of Portugal. Archeology revealed that the town occupied the site of an ancient Iron Age settlement that existed since the 9th century B.C. With the Roman colonization, a commercial area developed around the Forum. The Thermae, among the best preserved in Portugal, consist of two adjoining buildings, possibly for male and female use respectively. The residential areas are still little known. Relatively close to the baths, there is a bridge with a single semicircular arch. The Hippodrome, the only one whose entire ground plan is completely known in Portugal, is located further from the centre. History Excavations and investigations (W. Biers, 1988), suggest that the earliest settlement began to take shape in the 9th century BC. (Iron Age), and that the defensive walls began appearing between the 4th–3rd century BC. This settlement occupied an area of 11,800 m2, with the population inhabiting the area along the embankment and north-east corner of Castelo Velho, of which only a wall and temple remains (alongside the Roman forum). By about the second half of the 1st century Roman occupation began, expanding the site and occupying an area of 28,000 m2. At this time the thermal baths and paved road along the southeast were constructed, reflecting the Flavian economic prosperity. Around the first half of the 2nd century, the construction of the Oriental baths and hippodrome was begun, followed by the second phase of construction in the second half of the 2nd century and 3rd century. Around the second half of the 2nd century, there were signs of abandon, that may reflect the period of political crisis caused by barbarian invasions during this period. By the end of the 4th century, there is a marked reduction in the population, although a level of continuity persisted on the site: primarily around the small Chapel of São Brás. The ruins were rediscovered and referenced by André de Resende in the 16th century, but they were never fully studied until the 18th century. On 1 June 1992, the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR) (forerunner of Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage took over the management of the site, by Decree-Law No.106F/92. This was followed in 1996-1997 by the acquisition of the lands that surrounded