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In the Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia we can see images today of the curious columbarium of Montcortès, in the municipality of Els Plans de Sió, in the Segarra region, a funerary construction from Roman times in which the urns with the ashes of the deceased.
Its appearance is similar to a dovecote and hence the name it receives. The name columbarium is given to the structure with small interior niches intended to house the cinerary urns that contain the ashes of the deceased. In this case, it is included in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia.
The Aranyó columbarium is located next to a road, between this town and Montcortès. The niches are excavated in the rock, as can be seen in the photographs, with a small projection that was used to place the lid, and have approximate dimensions of 50x50x60 cm.
Very close by, in 2000, remains of Ibero-Roman ceramics dating back to the 1st century AD were found. The columbarium would date from the 4th century BC. C. to the 4th century AD. c.
These eight niches have traditionally been considered to be related to beekeeping activity, but their morphology determines that they are elements from the Roman period and, specifically, a columbarium.
It is a place where there are several archaeological remains corresponding to the Roman and medieval times. The site is located on a hill located at 455 meters above sea level. The land was leveled for agricultural practices.
