Construction work on the second ring road round Alicante and El Campello has been halted by the discovery of the remains of a Roman villa.
The site has been found next to the Carretera de Aigües and a decision on what to do will not finally be taken until the excavation by archaeologists at the site is completed.
The find of such a villa, dating from about 2,000 years ago, in a place so far from the coast is described as quite rare.