Three and a half meters below the current ground level are the 1,300 square meters excavated around the medieval wall of the Murcian neighborhood of Santa Eulalia, which has allowed the discovery of new remains from between the 12th and 13th centuries and whose space will be added to the current visitor center of the Arab wall. One of these findings, in the absence of confirmation with the excavations outside the walls, is the mythical seventh gateway to the city, through which King Jaime I entered, according to the historical account.
These are some of the novelties announced during the visit to the excavation carried out this Monday morning by the mayor, José Ballesta, accompanied by the Councilor for Tourism, Jesús Pacheco, and the deputy mayor, Rebeca Pérez, where the discovery of about seventy burials and wells and waterwheels along with utensils for activities related to water.
Ballesta pointed out the eight centuries of history of the city that were hidden in the subsoil, which had been filled in by the files and drags from the Segura river in all these years. During the visit, the sections of the defensive wall and antewall were exposed, as well as the barbican through which the soldiers passed.
The mayor commented that 2 more pantheons had been found, in addition to the one found in the church of San Juan de Dios with the remains of relatives of the Wolf King, although it is still unknown who is buried in them. María Haber, one of the experts from the University of Murcia who is working on the excavation, explained that the mitochondrial DNA analysis will determine if they are related and with those of the paleo diet it will be known if the food they ate was the same as that of the rest of the the surrounding population.
“It is a unique exhibition space that will have the latest advances in museology,” said Ballesta, such as explanatory screens as guides in Spanish and English. “A dim light from the full moon will illuminate the entire route” underground.
This is the third excavation in the area, whose project began in 2018, and it is expected that it can open to the public at the end of the year. As for the archaeological work outside the walls, to confirm that the seventh gate is where it is believed, they will begin in August.
The mayor recalled that this action is part of the strategic project ‘Medieval Murcia’.
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