Arqueología, Arquitectura e Historia en el Archivo Histórico Provincial de Jaén

Abstract

From the necessity for restoration and the need to present a conservation proposal for one of the most symbolic buildings in Jaén, Andalucía, a discovery was made of what are, according to researchers, the last remains of the «ancient Arab palaces». Through a combined study of wall stratigraphy, archaeological intervention and the study of documentary sources, it has been possible to prove the historical sequence of the building which is the central office of the Provincial History Archive, located in one of the most historically relevant areas of the city. The building has been occupied since Roman times, later housing the Almohade Muslim dynasty, a royal palace, a convent, a university, a stronghold of resistance during the War of Independence, a men’s hospice and presently the History Archive. This is one example of how buildings stay alive in urban areas, adapting and transforming, and of the reading of these sequences and the mark that this constant state of development leaves on the facings, in the cellars.