“If my two sons decide they prefer studying than the fields, I myself will stop in 20 years and this farming story will come to an end,” he said.

On weekends and during the summer vacations, the population of Driebes swells as former residents return to enjoy traditional village feasts and take a break from city life. Even so, a dozen houses stand in ruins, half awaiting demolition.

“What this village doesn’t have in physical beauty, it compensates for with its great personality and the friendliness of its people,” said María Teresa Vadillo Sánchez, who works in a town 30 miles away but returns most weekends with her daughters to a family home where her mother now lives alone.

It’s too early to understand the Roman history that once breathed life into Caraca. But using a drone and ground radar technology, archaeologists have mapped the town that they will unearth, pending more funding.

Last summer, 15 people got paid to help with the first excavation, but the archaeologists caution against raising expectations about their project and how it could bring economic sustainability to Driebes.

“It’s great to get local people involved, but excavations are slow and expensive,” said Emilio Gamo, one of Caraca’s archaeologists. “So the people should also know that the dynamics of archaeology aren’t necessarily those of a tourism project.”