The second campaign of archaeological interventions to the south of the Church of San Francisco in La Orotava ends with the discovery of human bones that “seem to show that this area was used as a cemetery,” says archaeologist Hacomar Ruiz.
After these findings, the research is now focused on analyzing them “to have an approximate dating of when this space was functioning as a cemetery” and on studying the architectural assets “to define the materials that were used in this area at the beginning of the 16th century ”, specifies.
In addition, part of the soil of the old convent of San Lorenzo was located, which was burned in 1801 by a great fire. Specifically, remains of chasnera slab, slate, brick, terracotta slab and pieces typical of the way of life of this time, such as handmade ceramics.
Through the financing of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and in collaboration with the City Council, the team from the specialized company Prored has carried out an extensive excavation in an interior nave of El Escorial de Canarias, a name with which they called Viera y Clavijo to this first monastic foundation.
“This new intervention is key to determining which area of the temple has been reached, whether it is a central or lateral nave, since the chasnera slab has been evidenced, in a primary position, which allows us to state that we are facing the floor of the convent” says Ruiz. Although the construction elements, images, furniture and documents of this ecclesiastical building were consumed by the flames, some architectural assets have been preserved almost 300 years later, such as the stone arch or the Corinthian-style column.
The subsequent reuse of this space, built in 1519 at the initiative of the conquistador Bartolomé Benítez de Lugo, led to the partial concealment of the architectural assets that resisted the fire, since they are covered by several superimpositions of white plastic paint.
Given this panorama, a “team of specialists is analyzing its state of conservation,” explains Ruiz.
