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The research team that directs the University of Murcia is already working in the San Esteban field, in the city of Murcia.

During the next two months they will carry out excavations and field work, which will be followed by another two months of research in the laboratory to analyze the remains found.

Yesterday the preparation of the land began and today the geotextile has been removed and the oratory and the cemetery have been discovered and the first excavations started with the paletines, shovels, brushes and surgical tools with which they carry out the field work.

The rector of the University of Murcia, José Luján, the mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, and the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Miriam Guardiola, visited the site to see on the ground the work of excavation and restoration of the archaeological remains of Medieval Murcia (12th and 13th centuries).

Jorge Eiroa, archaeologist and full professor of the Department of Prehistory, Archeology, Ancient History, Medieval History and Historiographic Sciences and Techniques of the UMU, has been in charge of explaining, in a route through the site, the details of the work that will be done in the next months and the scientific expectations they have about what they will find once the remains are analyzed.

The team is composed of eight archaeologists, two anthropologists, two restorers and a surveyor, who will be accompanied by undergraduate and master students who will carry out internships at the site.

Eiroa explained that the demand for students to participate in the excavations is so high that, in addition to those who make up the permanent team, shifts will be organized so that the nearly fifty students who have requested to participate in the project can spend a few days learning on site. .

Jorge Eiroa, who has indicated that archaeological remains have been found in good condition, explained that for the research team the project will be focused on knowing how the ordinary people of Murcia lived in the XII and XIII centuries .

The team that runs Eiroa has created the web sanesteban.um.es from where the findings and advances made during the project will be disseminated.

For his part, the Luján rector has made clear his "satisfaction because Autonomous Community and City Council have been linked to the University of Murcia to value the history of the city and thus allow the University to fulfill the role for which it was created. "

José Ballesta stressed that it is "a unique intervention in Europe, in a medieval urban area right in the center of our city, in which a team of top-level specialists and renowned prestige participate" and added that "the works have awakened the interest of the experts at the national level ".

Next week, a wooden roadway will be set up and the visits will be started and those who sign up will be able to see on the ground how the research team works.

Registrations can be made, as of today, at sanesteban.estrategiamurcia.es.

Visitors can access the so-called Enclosure 1 where is the 'funduk', the lodging of pilgrims and merchants of the Murcia of the XII-XIII centuries.

Then they will go to Sector 2, which includes the religious group, formed by the cemetery (maqbara) and a Mudejar oratory.

Field work

The works cover an estimated area of ​​900 m2 and specialists will reach up to one meter deep in their excavations to discover the walls, elements and archaeological remains that houses the site.

They will work from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

The fieldwork will last for two months and the different samples collected will be sent to the laboratory.

Then a specialized research will be carried out in collaboration with different national and international laboratories, which will complete the work developed at the University of Murcia.

This research will encompass different archaeological, anthropological and restoration aspects.

There are also a series of Carbon 14 analytics that allow us to specify the chronology of the bones found in the cemetery, as well as a Mitochondrial DNA study to define possible kinship relationships.

In addition, a stable isotope analysis will be carried out on the skeletal remains, to define the diet of the inhabitants of El Arrabal.

These and other studies will be decisive for the definitive value of the site and the future Interpretation Center.

Source: Universidad de Murcia