Work in La Rambla uncovers centuries of history
New archaeological finds, such as the walls of the former Estudi General, sections of medieval walls and drainage tanks from the 18th century have been unearthed during the work in La Rambla.The archaeological work, carried out in sections to ensure the movement of pedestrians and services, offer an opportunity to document he history of La Rambla from when it was a riverbed to when it was developed in the 18th century. The finds there, from north to south, are:
- Upper section of La Rambla (near Plaça Catalunya)
- Remains of the Estudi General de Barcelona: the walls have been identified from the building known as the Estudi General de Barcelona, built from 1536. This building, the forerunner to the University of Barcelona, was joined to the inner section of the medieval city wall and occupied the upper part of La Rambla. Early in the 18th century, after the Decreto de Nueva Planta, the building became military barracks and was knocked down in 1843 to build the Porta d’Isabel II.
- Initial section of the Raval wall: on the corner of La Rambla with Plaça Catalunya a section of the Raval wall has been discovered. Started at the end of the 14th century, this wall ran as far as Drassanes and around the current neighbourhood of El Raval (currently C/ Pelai, Ronda Sant Antoni, Ronda Sant Pau and Av. Paral·lel).
- Section between the streets of Portaferrissa and Boqueria
- Remains of the Real Fundición de Artillería de Bronce de Barcelona: six columns have been found that are linked to this former cannon foundry, created by the Consell de Cent at the end of the 16th century to defend the city. This building dates back to the 18th century during the renovation of La Rambla, when the avenue was turned into a boulevard and the foundry was moved to its current location at the bottom of the avenue. Initially, in 1776, it was located in the shipyards (now the Museu Marítim), but shortly afterwards it moved to the building at La Rambla,2, for logistical reasons, later becoming the Banc de Barcelona from 1844.
- Part of the northern tower of the medieval gate of La Boqueria: a section of this tower has been located. It formed part of the city’s medieval defences from the 16th century and was one of various defensive towers along the wall in La Rambla from the middle of the 14th century. This means the wall in La Rambla only acted as a defensive element during the second half of the 14th century.
- Section from C/ Cardenal Casañas
- Drainage tanks from the 18th century: three stone drainage tanks have been identified. These were used to channel water and had ceramic tubes inside, indicating that they transported safe water. They are believed to date back to the 18th century, during the process to urbanise La Rambla. Intermittent sections of this infrastructure totalling more than 300 metres have been documented.
- Plaça del Teatre
- Medieval wall from the middle of the 14th century: a section of this medieval wall has been discovered that followed the riverbed and also acted as a holding wall during floods. Elements linked to old flooding episodes have also been documented, such as an accumulation of materials dragged along by water, including earth, stones and medieval ceramics.
These finds come in addition to others that have turned up since the start of the work in La Rambla, such as remains of the modern wall and of the Convent de Sant Francesc.
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