Murcia Today Spanish News Today

19/11/2020

Carbon dating reveals that the body dates back to the 14th century

A fortified settlement under constant threat of pirate raids
Guardamar was part of the vast swathes of territory reconquered by the Christians in the mid-thirteenth century after 500 years of rule by the African Moors, and after a Mudéjar uprising in 1264 the remaining Moors were obliged either to convert to Christianity or to leave. In 1277 Alfonso X founded the Christian town of Guardamar as an independent municipality on the site of the castle, and this later passed into the hands of the Kingdoms of Valencia and Castille. The Christians built their walled city on top of the remains of defensive structures left there by previous civilizations, part of which included a fortified castle.

Reconquered towns were still vulnerable to attack, and in 1331 an incursion by the Moors from Granada ended in the town of Guardamar being sacked. Twenty-eight years later the castle was burnt during the War of the Two Pedros, and the town was subjected to rule by the officials in charge of Orihuela, the result being a dwindling population who survived on fishing, salt and limited agriculture.

During the archaeological intervention carried out on the western wall of Guardamar del Segura Castle in 2019, the skeleton was found of an individual who had been thrown into a grave. The remains were recovered and have subsequently been undergoing a comprehensive investigation.

The study is still in progress, and recent information published shows that the individual concerned died violently, his bones showing the distinctive grazing of multiple stab wounds!

A Carbon-14 dating process places the moment of death in the second half of the 14th century, coinciding with the War of the Two Pedros, a conflict in which Guardamar del Segura played a prominent role, opening up the possibility that the skeleton may be that of an important figure relating to this conflict.
Click to read more about the history of Guardamar del Segura