Municipality: Guissona
Region: Segarra
Chronology: 2nd century BC – 5th century AD
Promoter: Guissona Town Hall
Dates: April 2014
The work consisted of the visual archaeological control of the opening of two trenches to build the new walls of containment and enclosure of the building. At first, therefore, the dismantling of the existing stone walls was conducted and, later, the width of the foundation trench was slightly enlarged to place the new wall.
The archaeological activity carried out in the Safareigs de Guissona (La Segarra) was motivated by the need to reform the walls of the southern and eastern closures, as they showed symptoms of a possible partial collapse. Thus, the dismantling of the two walls and the enlargement of the trench were carried out because in the new wall it was necessary to add a rear screen wall.
During the control, the remains of a series of structures were documented, which can be placed in a chronological frame between the 2nd centuries BC and the 1st century AD, which would embrace from the foundation moment of the ancient Roman city of Iesso until the Early Empire. We documented structures in the section of the cut of the stairs, belonging to the urban grid of the Roman city. Moreover, negative structures prior to the construction of the city were documented, most likely belonging to the settlement of the Bronze period attested a few meters from the site (Plaça de Vell Pla).
At the same time, the dismantling of the wall allowed us to observe the re-use of several stone slabs coming from sarcophagi of the Late Roman period, probably with an origin in the vicinity of the necropolis located in the current rectory (on the north side of the church of the villa).
