Roman archaeological discovery delays Lorca high-speed rail works one year on

A year after a late-Roman cemetery was uncovered, experts are still working to carefully extract remains, meaning there is currently no completion date for the multi-million-pound high-speed rail project

It has been a year since the start of the archaeological and palaeoanthropological dig, which occupies a large area of land in the middle of the AVE (high-speed rail) construction works in Lorca. Located next to the old San Diego station, the site is very close to where the tunnel for the underground tracks begins.

A dozen archaeologists and anthropologists are working on the late-Roman necropolis, which dates back to between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. 

The work is still ongoing and there is currently no completion date for the works. Although the finer details will not be known until the excavation is finished and the final report is submitted, the discovery of the necropolis is already considered a significant find.

The completion of the project will be determined by the experts leading the dig, their findings and how the excavation progresses. However, it must be completed with enough time to spare for the construction of the Mediterranean Corridor platform to be finished, as commuter trains are scheduled to arrive at Lorca-San Diego station by autumn 2027.

Over the past year, the work has been halted several times due to rain. Another obstacle has been the hardness of the ground, which has made it difficult to extract the bodies from the graves in optimum condition. The burials were carried out in simple graves dug into the earth, either in wooden coffins or in shrouds, and they were usually accompanied by a personal item.

What makes this cemetery so important is exactly where it sits, right at the entrance to the city. Lorca is no stranger to large-scale Roman burial grounds, but they've never found one in an area this wide open before. It actually fits into a bigger part of local history. Years ago, an excavation at the El Carmen cloister turned up more than 200 burials. Combine that with the human remains found during various building works over the years on Alfonso X el Sabio, Selgas, and Granero streets, and it looks like this massive ancient cemetery actually stretched all the way into the old town.

A medieval wine press up at the castle

Alongside the main railway dig, another excavation up at the castle has ended up stealing some of the spotlight by revealing one of its best-kept secrets: a lagar. This is an ancient stone structure that people living in the fortress back in the 14th and 15th centuries used to make wine and vinegar. It sits right in the old Christian sector, between the San Clemente chapel and the Parador hotel car park. Finding these massive stone vats is a big deal because it shows just how busy the castle really was back then, hinting at a huge Christian quarter that lived side-by-side with the Jewish one.

We also know they were making olive oil somewhere on the grounds. Years ago, a dig on the northern slope turned up a ton of different olive stones. Archaeologists haven't actually found the oil mill itself yet, but that’s not surprising given that nearly half of the massive five-hectare site hasn’t even been touched yet. It's bound to keep throwing up surprises as future digs get underway.

These two very different digs show just how much history Lorca is sitting on. In the meantime, all eyes remain on the railway line, where the delicate balance between unearthing Lorca's ancient past and building its high-speed future will keep the AVE works on pause for a while longer.

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Images: Artistic representation