Until the end of the 14th century, what is now the center of Barcelona was the periphery, the outskirts of the city separated from the city by a solid medieval wall that followed the Mayans torrent, a stream that collected the waters that came down strongly from the Sierra de Collserola when it rained with that rage so well known and feared in the Mediterranean area.
From the 15th century onwards, the wall ceased to be useful as protection, as the fortified perimeter was extended to the Raval area, on the right bank of the river. It then became an internal wall that, little by little, disappeared, although the river continued to separate Renaissance Barcelona into two parts.
Over the next three centuries, the torrent de Mayans became a landfill known as the cagalell (something like “the shitter”) until at the beginning of the 19th century it was canalized, covered and paved, becoming Las Ramblas, perhaps the most emblematic and tourist avenue in the city.
Archaeology, another part of public works
This is the story that the team of archaeologists who are currently working on reforming the road to pedestrianize the entire length of Las Ramblas has been able to deduce from their excavations and who, on Thursday morning, gave a guided tour to journalists. before the curious gaze of tourists and residents of the central street.
“Excavations in an area as busy as this require acting like a puzzle: first we excavate the side of the Gothic quarter; Next year we will do it on the Raval side and finally on the central road of Las Ramblas,” explains Xavier Maese, technician in charge of the Barcelona Archeology Service. He also clarifies that when working in the historic center of Barcelona “archaeology is another part of the work; “We are integrated with the rest of the workers.”
However, they have priority of action. “Our function is to open before anyone else and verify the archaeological remains that are found; then we go to document them and if there are movable remains [que se pueden retirar, como esculturas, piezas de cerámica, herramientas, etc.]we extract them and take them to the Free Zone, where we have the warehouses of the Archaeological Archive of the History Museum and that of the Archeology Service,” continues Maese.
The archaeologist points out that “if we find structures, such as in this case remains of a wall, that have maximum heritage value, we prepare a report for the Heritage Commission so that the works cannot affect them, for example by drilling holes in them to pass pipes.” . Only then can the excavation be covered and the road modified.
The first university in Barcelona
But it is Òscar Matas, the archaeologist director of the excavation section that goes from Plaza Catalunya to the Liceo, who offers more data on the findings made to date. “We have found, above all, remains of the old wall that until the end of the 14th century served as a fortification of the city, which was then summarized in the Gothic quarter,” he explains.
It describes, on a map made by the team of archaeologists, how the wall ran along the Gothic side of the Ramblas, until it reached the sea, and also that outside the walls there was a torrent through which the floods flowed. “On the other side, however, there were convents, workshops and some houses that required protection until the dawn of the 15th century when a larger wall was built that encompasses the Raval,” he says.
The excavation has found numerous remains of the old wall, as well as sections of the canalization system that was created at the end of the 18th century, or the beginning of the 19th century, when the Ramblas were paved. But perhaps the most notable discovery is the foundations of what was the General Study of Barcelona, an institution inaugurated by Charles V and which was launched in 1536.
“It was the precursor institution of the university in Barcelona,” says Matas, who adds that “it remained an institution of higher education until the War of Succession.” After the fall of September 11, 1714, Felipe VI took the university to Cervera and the building became a military barracks.
The building was finally demolished at the end of the 19th century although, the archaeologist explains, a shield and a gargoyle have been preserved and have been placed in the interior patio of the current University of Barcelona, in the square that bears the same name. “It is a building from the mid-19th century designed in a neo-Gothic style, so the two pieces do not clash,” he emphasizes.
La Boquería, moved from the sidewalk
Matas also reveals that before the development of the Mayans torrent, the Boquería market was on the opposite sidewalk, that of the Gothic neighborhood, on the street that bears its name. On the Raval side was the convent of the Discalced Carmelites of Sant Josep. It remained there until it burned down in one of the anti-clerical riots of the summer of 1835. Matas concludes by saying that with the confiscation of Mendizábal, the Boquería was moved to the esplanade left by the ashes of the convent.
The next section of excavations, between the Liceo Theater and the sea side of the avenue, is in charge of archaeologist Irene Cruz. “We are a team of six people, but soon we hope to reach eight to be able to do all the work,” he comments while guiding the journalists down Rambla.
Some tour guides look at the excavations and make up the first thing that comes to mind; when I hear them I hallucinate
Irene Cruz, archaeologist
He says that it is quite complicated to dig amidst all the hustle and bustle, in ground zero of tourist Barcelona. “Tourists frequently approach the ditches and ask if they are Roman remains,” he says. “When we tell them no, they lose interest,” he adds. Furthermore, he places emphasis on some tour guides: “They look at the ruins and invent the first thing that comes to mind; “When I hear them I hallucinate.” Also retirees, as could not be otherwise, and neighbors in general, come to ask about the progress of the excavations.
Rocks carried up to six kilometers
Path of the pla (flat) of the Teatre, now close to the statue of Columbus, where Cruz will show us perfectly preserved remains of the 14th century wall, the archaeologist explains that the Mayans torrent used to carry large quantities of water when the classic Mediterranean downpours occurred.
“We have found buried slate pebbles that come from the Collserola mountain range [a más de seis kilómetros de distancia] and that have undoubtedly been swept away in some flood,” he says. It also explains that the sediments carried by the torrent ended up forming the so-called “Mayans Island” in the 16th century, a deposit of earth in the middle of the sea on which the Barceloneta neighborhood was finally built.
Already in pla del Teatre, the excavation extends to the statue of Pitarra. The 19th century satirical playwright is covered by a large white sheet, as if he were a huge stone ghost. At its feet you can see perfectly preserved remains of the wall, as well as a table with different ceramic pieces that archaeologists have collected.
“The torrent was a landfill where people threw all kinds of waste at the time, which explains why we are finding so many fragments of ceramic objects,” says Cruz. Today, all this accumulated waste constitutes the support of the current Ramblas, which will soon, due to human intervention, change its appearance again.
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