In the 17th century, the civilian population abandoned the town, moving to an area outside the fortress. Most of the houses were abandoned and plundered; that is, the building materials were extracted to be used in new constructions. In some areas, however, the buildings were remodelled and repurposed to meet the new military needs. This is the case with the block which is located to the west of the Carrer Major. A long building was constructed there that even occupied the space where some east-west streets, now obsolete, had previously run.
Military plans from the 17th and 18th centuries indicate the use of some of these new buildings. Some were intended to house garrison officers, while others were used for various purposes. Thus, documents tell us that there was a bakery and other spaces for feeding the troops.
In the end, these buildings were abandoned, and the access doors were walled up. The doors are easy to see because they mostly have brick jambs, while—normally—the rest of the wall and even the infill is stone.
Source: CRAPA.
Source: Biblioteca Virtual Defensa.
| The Small Treasure
Excavations of a building located on the Carrer Major allowed the recovery of a small hoard of coins. These are two hundred deniers melgorenses dated between the 13th and 14th centuries. This is a currency minted in the south of France and highly valued for commercial exchanges. The pieces must have been inside a small leather bag. A fire burned the room, melted the bag, and the heat soldered the coins together.
|
