A brief report of de works in Cercadilla Site

A BRIEF REPORT OF THE WORKS IN CERCADILLA SITE

In spring 1.991, when the underground works of the new railroad station were taking place, the first vestiges of the monumental site of Cercadilla appeared and were destroyed. After the report of the destruction and stoppage of the works the first archaeological excavation began, taking place between May and August 1.991. Once this first excavation was finished and revealed spectacular results, the Consejeria de Cultura of the Junta de Andalucía, convened a scientific commission composed of international renowned specialists, whose function was to assess the importance of the disinterred remains with the purpose of preserving them. The conclusion was, among other things, that the building found in Cercadilla constitute a monument of extraordinary patrimonial and historic interest, which illuminates many aspects of the Hispanic Antiquity.

Once the significance and the magnitude of the site were confirmed, at the beginning of December 1.991, the works started again with a new intensive campaign of excavation, with a team of more than 100 people, lasting until May 1.992. The preestablished space for this phase covered all the “playa de vías” of the railwaystation , meaning a corridor 700 meters long and 80 meters wide, in which the new station was to be situated. This sector had been seriously affected by the initial underground works, during which the excavation was extended to two-to-three meters beneath the original floor level. This influenced the archaeological information.

Coinciding with the conclusion of these works the public administrations that participated in the construction of the railroad ordered that work begin again , preserving only three parts of the Roman palace that was found : half of the criptoporticus situated on the “playa de vias” , the triconch hall found between the station and a nearby street (Avenida de América), and a cistern located in the East wing. These were partially extracted and stored in municipal rooms in block form.

In December 1.992, once the works of the new railroad station were begun, it was possible to restart the archaeological works, since concentrated in the parts of the archaeological site that were preserved after the construction of the new station.

A little later, between June and November 1.993, we developed one of the most productive campaigns of the excavation in Cercadilla, whose purpose was to prove the “restitution hypothesis” that until that moment we had only outlined following as a criteria the reconstruction by symmetry. Another result of these works was the discovery and excavation of the majority of the thermal enclosure of the palace, located immediately to the North of the main central hall that presides over the architectural organisation of the palatine complex.

A new archaeological excavation campaign was undertaken between the months of June and September 1.994, in the area that we interpreted as the residential zone of the palace.

Between the Spring and the Summer of 1.995, another campaign took place, in this case in the South wing of the palace, where it has been possible to fence off an area of 500 square meters, in which the investigation will continue in the future.

Finally, in 1.996, the archaeological investigation was limited to a small section, to consolidate concrete section of the criptoporticus.

In relation to the carried out works between 1997 and 1998: Works of investigation in course.