Barcelona continues to dust off its history. The intense archaeological activity in the Catalan capital, with more than thirty ongoing interventions, makes it possible to learn about new aspects of the city’s past and expand knowledge beyond the old town. After the pandemic stopped, works, both public and private, have been activated and in some cases intensified before the municipal elections, which has also led to more intense and continuous work in the time of municipal Archeology service.
During the first quarter of this year, the department has drawn up 74 impact reports on the archaeological heritage associated with some action in the city of Barcelona likely to find historical remains. In some of these reports, the executive project is pending and, therefore, the excavation has not yet started. The 2002 regulation for the protection of the archaeological and paleontological heritage of the Generalitat regulates interventions in this matter. In Barcelona, ​​when there is a building permit, either from the central planning services of Les Glòries or the districts, they contact the Archeology service. If the promoter is private, he must provide for an item to cover the work of the archaeologist and its impact on the execution deadlines. “We do preventive archaeology. All this must be included in the planning of the work. Obviously, if the work is bigger, there can be less lag, since while the archaeologists are working, the work can continue in another place”, comments Josep Pujades, head of the Archeology service.
The latest actions have allowed different vestiges to surface, which include everything from prehistory and the Roman era to the modern period. Although archaeologists sometimes predict what will emerge from old maps or knowledge from previous excavations, there are often surprises. “We never know what we can find there, we can only guess,” Pujades clarifies. For example, in the remodeling works of the Via Laietana, few expected that after excavating several layers, tombs with two skeletons from the late Roman period would appear. Later, this area became Carrer Pont de la Parra, which disappeared with the opening of Via Laietana in the first half of the 20th century, as can be seen in the so-called Quarterons Garriga and Roca, a series of plot plans manuscripts drawn up by the architect Miquel Garriga i Roca between 1858 and 1860. Archaeological work continues in this area and it is not ruled out that more bone remains will appear. In this area was the church of Santa Marta and burial tombs appeared in the area years ago, when the subway works were carried out.
As for more future finds, the archaeologists are confident that they will discover more pieces of the medieval and modern wall in a new phase of the reform of the Rambla in the lower part. Not long ago, near the monument to Columbus, a wide variety of vestiges from different historical periods appeared on this emblematic promenade, from the 16th century Drassanes bastion to what remains of the old barracks armory de Drassanes, built in 1792 after the War of Succession to house the soldiers of the Bourbon army. What did surprise was what was found in Can Batlló, in the Bordeta neighborhood. In the works on Nau 4, which will host a large cooperative nursery, a set of pits related to a Neolithic occupation, hitherto unknown in this area of ​​Barcelona, ​​appeared. The urbanization of the park has also allowed the discovery of vineyard trenches of various chronologies and a very destroyed prehistoric stone structure. Currently, the children’s play area is being excavated and next to it, elements of a tannery that preceded the Can Batlló factory have been detected: Can Gatius. “The remains at Can Batlló greatly expand expectations. Three decades ago, prehistory in Barcelona was Sant Pau del Camp and since then we have been excavating and Neolithic remains have emerged in Santa Caterina, a Neolithic silo appeared on Carrer Beates and also prehistory in the Sagrera area. As the spaces and archaeological excavations are expanded and this is done in a systematic way, these results are obtained”, emphasizes Pujades.
Not only are prehistoric, Roman or medieval vestiges documented, but also contemporary ones. One of those that every now and then surface and allow us to advance our knowledge are the anti-aircraft shelters built to defend the population during the bombings of the Civil War. It is estimated that there are more than two thousand hiding in the basement of Barcelona. One of these structures located behind a door of an electrical substation in the old Fish Market is now being investigated, where a research and innovation complex will be built as part of the Ciutadella del Coneixement. There are also hidden important archaeological sites on private land. In the upper area of ​​Barcelona, ​​right in front of Antoni GaudÃ’s Torre Bellesguard, the medieval remains linked to the palace of King Martà l’Humà have been unearthed. This discovery has occurred as a result of urbanization works within the framework of a special urban planning and urban improvement plan to build the new postgraduate building and car park of the Abat Oliba University.
If the vestiges become visible, they are dismantled or covered up so that the urban planning tasks can continue, it is assessed on a case-by-case basis and the decision is made by the municipal service of Archeology and the Generalitat. In this sense, during the execution of the green axes of the Eixample, structures of a 16th century farmhouse came to light which, after being documented, were buried again. To facilitate their detection and protect them, they are usually wrapped in a plastic cloth and a layer of coarse sand. In this site, some unusual fragments of Chinese porcelain were found that would correspond to the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, around 1570 and 1620. These pieces have been taken to the center of col· lessons from the Barcelona History Museum (Muhba), as well as those of a 15th century ornamental fountain with a floor of glazed tiles with floral motifs located with the remodeling in the lower part of the Rambla.
The work continues in these municipal offices, where the samples are dated, restored and a historical study is made. At the moment the conservators are working with material found during interventions in the Pedralbes monastery or in the Torre de la Sagrera air raid shelter, where there is a project to make it open to visitors in the future. Regarding the destination of these pieces, depending on the characteristics, the Muhba decides whether they are transferred to the collection, to the reserve or directly to the boxes of the archaeological archive.
New findings that shed light on the city’s past. The “fossilization” of the city, as Pujades calls it: “We have the whole territory as an archaeological objective to help interpret and put together the pieces of this great historical puzzle that is Barcelona”.