The President of the Diputación de Alicante and Mayor of Calp, César Sánchezhas visited the site of the Medieval town of Ifach to see first-hand the results of the summer excavation campaign that MARQ is carrying out in this archaeological site during the months of July and August. More than forty graduates and students from different universities are taking part in this work, which has made it possible to discovering the first gateway to this important medieval city.
This find, which is in an excellent state of preservation, has reached more than six metres high The doorway also has a carved ashlar elevation, of which more than two metres high is preserved. The doorway also has a carved ashlar elevation that is more than two metres high and is located at the end of a long corridor that ends in a covered chamber with a double door and access to an advanced tower.
Sánchez highlighted the good results of this excavation campaign, which has reached its eleventh edition, while emphasising that promoting culture and our heritage is one of the commitments of the new provincial government. We are going to work to turn our rich historical legacy into a first class cultural and tourist product that will allow us to place the Costa Blanca in a privileged position worldwide. For this reason, we will continue to promote the recovery of our identity and traditions to turn them into an opportunity for the future through tourism..
In addition, the excavation team has completed its work on the discovering the building he found last summer next to the access system to the medieval city. The building, which is about 20 metres long, has solid masonry and ashlar walls at the corners, doorways and windows. Inside, a multitude of carved ashlar pieces have been found, twelve corbels that supported the roof covering, decorated quoins, as well as the remains of two geminate windows and a trilobate window, suggesting that this building, initially considered as a Guard Corps dedicated to defensive functions, had other functions related to the lordly power in view of the size and importance of the carved stone remains found in the area.
During the tour, Sánchez was accompanied by the deputy for Culture and Education, César Augusto AsencioThe director of the excavation campaign, José Luis Menéndezas well as by different members of the municipal corporation. This initiative has the collaboration of the Calp Town Council and the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure, Territory and Environment.
Among the advances made this summer, the following also stand out consolidation of a six-metre canvas of the north wall. In addition, the volunteers have continued the work of extending the necropolis area, a space located on the façade of the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, built between 1320-1340. This is one of the site's emblematic buildings, discovered in 2008. This work has made it possible to confirm that the end of the funerary space has been reached and to find, among other significant discoveries, two children's gravesin addition to another from an adult, a niche of a woman who appears to be carrying a small child in her arms and a double burial with two young infants.
So far, thanks to the interventions carried out in successive excavation campaigns, about ninety documented burials in the necropolis, giving rise to a valuable archive of data that will provide in-depth knowledge of the life cycle, diet and circumstances of the daily life of the inhabitants of Ifach.
The archaeological heritage that exists in this site makes it a special and unique enclave with enormous possibilities, as its recovery makes it possible to make an important part of the history of our ancestors available to the public.said José Luis Menéndez.
