Jill Elvgren
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Archaelogical treasure trove in Old Havana
« on: November 10, 2007, 02:40:50 pm » Quote
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Archaelogical treasure trove
in Old Havana
DECLARED a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Old Havana conceals within her many streets, plazas and mansions the most intimate evidence of daily life during the colonial era.
The search for each one of these details that allow a step-by-step reconstruction of different stages of urban development and customs prevalent in the ancient Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana, has constituted the greatest part of the investigative work done by the Archeological Department of the City Historian’s Office during its 20-plus years of effort.
One of the most interesting discoveries made recently took place at 162 Mercaderes Street, at the corner of Lamparilla when, during the ongoing restoration there, a hollow filled with 16th century garbage fortuitously came to light.
WINDOW INTO THE PAST
For archaeologist Roger Arrazcaeta Delgado, director of the Archaeological Department, this find is the most important from that century made to date, given the magnitude and novelty of the remains of cultural artifacts uncovered there and the excellent condition of the majority of them.
“At the outset, we questioned the primary use of the hollow, since it could have been an open hole where domestic garbage was dumped or a limestone and earth quarry later filled with waste resulting from other human activity. Both of these practices were common among the inhabitants of the Villa de San Cristóbal.
“This explains the existence of these hollows or openings into the subsoil found in many locations around Old Havana which we have studied. After analyzing the stratification of the terrain and the contents found, we reached the conclusion that it was a quarry, more than two meters wide, which was closed in the second part of the 16th century and covered with layers of earth and trash,” the specialist reported.
With the patience and skill of artisans, the department archaeologists have excavated the house at 162, Mercaderes Street over the course of two years. They have used different types of bricklaying trowels and topographical instruments and other tools.
As Arrazcaeta and expert Osvaldo Jiménez explain, the site is a veritable treasure trove of archaeological artifacts, the list of which includes bones from four species of pigeon, ducks, flamingos, cranes, chickens, pigs, beef, skeletons of fish, turtle shells, mussels, oysters and others, leaving a record of the food consumed by the inhabitants of the building and outlying areas in the 16th century.
Among the most interesting discoveries are the first reports, in the Caribbean region, of the presence of domesticated ducks; the size of the cattle introduced by the Spanish (the animals are larger than those from that century studied in the rest of Latin America because of the characteristics of Cuban grass) and an almost complete deer antler, the earliest known evidence of this species in the region.
The findings also include thousands of fragments of more than 30 types of ceramic pottery dating from 1519-1600, among them Italian and Spanish Majorcan, Montelupo blue on white and Santo Domingo blue on white, respectively.
The findings include matchlock gun projectiles, pitchers, Ming Dynasty porcelain, items of personal use such as gold rings, jet stone pendants to protect children from the “evil eye,” amulets, pins, buckles, buttons, dice made of bone and even Spanish coins from the reigns of Carlos III, Juana and Philip II.
Also significant is the presence of a large number of pottery shards identified as traditional aboriginal, used for culinary purposes and presumably made by the few Indians who lived in San Cristóbal de La Habana and those settled in the town of Guanabacoa during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Even with the excavations yet to be concluded, the building that housed for part of the 19th century the famous Isasi ironworks - destroyed by the fierce fire of May 17, 1890 – 162, Mercaderes Street is today a vivid portrait of the city’s colonial past.
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/noviembre/vier9/tesoro.html 