The Archeology Service of the Barcelona City Council has found remains of the modern wall and the convent of Sant Francesc in the redevelopment works on the Rambla.
The intervention carried out in the first section of the Rambla has allowed us to locate and document various findings related to the gardens and cultivation spaces of the convent, which was in operation between the 13th and 19th centuries, as an old stone waterwheel that supplied groundwater facilities.
Remains of the Drassanes semi-bastion, a defensive construction of the modern wall built at the end of the 18th century, have also been catalogued, and numerous remains have been located around the Drassanes building.
"It was a partial surprise because there was already numerous documentation," admitted the director of the intervention, the archaeologist Carles Carbonell, who recalled that the City Council has army plans for the area and the first remodeling of the Rambla.
During a visit with journalists to the archaeological remains, Carbonell explained that the unknown was to know in what degree of destruction they would be found. "The problem is that the degree of destruction due to subsequent works is very high," he said, although he assured that the structures that are emerging are "very large" and allow excavation and conclusions to be drawn.
In this sense, the chief archaeologist has explained that, over the years, there are superimposed structures. "It is a very large site, there are three and a half hectares and it is being excavated by areas," said Carbonell, who pointed out that remains of the original collector from the first reform of the Rambla at the end of the 18th century have also been found in the wall of Drassanes closure. "It is a very important value because it is telling us about a very specific moment on the Rambla in Barcelona", he highlighted.
For his part, archaeologist Xavier Maese, from the Barcelona Archeology Service, explained that a very high percentage of the finds are preserved in situ, that is, they are documented and covered. "There are cases, however, that due to works they must be partially removed or dismantled," said Maese, who added that in this section of the Rambla there are some security pylons that must be installed in an exact place. "Here the remains will be dismantled after being catalogued; it is a very small percentage, most of it is covered," he clarified.
The procedure followed by the Barcelona Archeology Service is to document, date and later preserve the remains, which are covered with sandblasting and earth, so that any subsequent intervention takes their location and condition into account.
Before being destroyed, the Generalitat's Heritage Commission must authorize the dismantling of these elements, since some are "very unique," Maese stressed. The archaeologist has said that it is very difficult to leave the remains in sight because they are at a much lower level than the current road.
This first section of the Rambla redevelopment work covers the section between Rambla 1-5, Plaza del Portal de la Pau 1-7 and Avenida de las Drassanes 2-4. The works will begin in October 2022 and are expected to end in the spring of 2024. This area has a high historical and archaeological interest because it was part of the city since the first prehistoric occupation.
