The Member of Parliament for Culture Juan Bautista Roselló has visited accompanied by the Mayor of Calp César Sánchezthe site of the Medieval town of Ifach to learn first-hand about the results of the summer excavation campaign carried out by MARQ in this archaeological park during the months of July and August.
This work has made it possible to discover a large building next to the access system to the medieval city which seems to be a guardhouse for the troops. The building, with a width of six metres and a current length of more than eight metres, although it is probably 16 metres long, has solid walls of masonry and ashlar at the corners, doorways and windows.
Roselló emphasised the good results of this excavation campaign and pointed out that the natural and archaeological importance of this enclave is fundamental, not only for the municipality of Calp but also for our entire province and, for this reason, we will continue to promote year after year this type of initiative that allows us to recover part of the history of our ancestors..
In addition, numerous remains of plaster walls with graffiti and incised marks The fortress is believed to have been built between 1305 and 1325, the period when the House of Llúria ruled. Among the findings that support this assertion are a wall fragment on which is drawn a medieval knight bearing a helmet with chain mail, a standard and a shield that corresponds to the arms of the Empordà branch of the Casal de Barcelona. Specifically, they could correspond to the first Count of Ampuriasson of the King Alfonso IV of Aragon and Teresa d'Enteçasister of Saurina d'EnteçaMrs. Casa de Llúria and Mrs. Ifach.
During the tour of the area, Roselló and Sánchez were accompanied by MARQ's technical director Manuel Olcinathe director of the excavation campaign José Luis Menéndez and various members of the municipal corporation.
In the interior of the enclave have also been found, two banks that run along the perimeter of the building and that were used for the guards' rest, a rectangular shaped brazier built in mortar and bricks to heat the building, as well as a stone basin and water pitcher The guards were allowed to wash and freshen up.
The mayor thanked the work and effort made by the Diputación de Alicante and stated that this type of cultural projects help us to recover part of our history and turn Calp into a tourist town with an extraordinary offer of historical heritage..
Among the advances made this summer was also the discovery of the original access system to the village.hidden by the successive phases of remodelling of the area. This discovery has allowed archaeologists to deduce that the gate was built in different phases, probably between the beginning and the last third of the 14th century. In addition, in the immediate vicinity a OPEN STAY dedicated to the storage of material and tools, as well as numerous ceramic objects, jars, pitchers, decorated plates, metals, glass, obolos and fleece moneyThe most common legal tender coins during this period of the Middle Ages in the Kingdom of Valencia.
All these findings are in addition to the eleven graves recently located at the site which will provide key information for understanding the life and hardships experienced by the settlers who inhabited this mediaeval settlement. A total of forty students from seventeen Spanish and European universities have participated in this project, which has the collaboration of the Calp Town Hall and the Regional Ministry of Infrastructures,Territory and Environment.
