“If in 2015 we found a grinder to grind clay up, last year we found a similar construction in the same place, also round-shaped, which has to be studied” is the example Professor Josep Maria Gurt -coordinator of the excavations- gives. During last yearʼs work many façade-décor material was found. Currently, more than sixty works by Tarrés can be seen in buildings around Barcelona. Gurt says that, although the site has construction phases which are previous to Antoni Tarrésʼ workshop, these other excavations have to be carefully carried out in order not to do any damage to the remains of the workshop of the potter.
Dissemination activities: ArqueUB
Until July 21, a total of eight high school students (two per week) will make stays in the site and will work with all this archeological research very closely. They will take part in tasks of the excavations tutored by students of the bachelor degree in Archaeology and they will create a field journal which will be published on the website of the project ArqueUB. Also, on Fridays, July 7, 14 and 21, the archaeological site will offer guided tours for the public (registrations can be done a week prior each of the sessions in the website of the project). The sessions include a lecture in a room of the Faculty, to explain which findings are being worked on in the plot and other practical aspects as well as curiosities of the daily tasks of archeologists.
Moreover, people who walk around the site can see a canvas with texts and images about the archaeological value of this place and the activities that are being carried out, as well as photographs of previous yearsʼ findings in this site.
All these dissemination activities are part of the project called ArqueUB, organized by the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i) from the Communication Area of the UB and by the Area of Prehistory and Archaeology of the Department of History and Archaeology, with the support from Barcelona City Council and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) - Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
An exceptional possibility for the students of Archaeology
The land site of the Faculty of Geography and History in a place in Raval where archaeological testimonials have been documented since the 14th century offers students of Archaeology the -almost exceptional- possibility to take their practical lessons in the same center where they study. Also, during this academic year the site has offered topography and monitoring analysis (geoarchaeology) practicals, aiming to get the highest academic performance. These activities are possible thanks to an agreement between the UB and Barcelona City Council, the owner. The aim of this agreement is to excavate and study the site with a scheduled project that allows developing research -from archaeological intervention in the territory to the study of recovered material- to use the process to experiment a practical teaching proposal in archaeology, and recover and dignify this place as a civic place.
Antoni Tarrésʼ workshop found in the excavations, had three big ovens, big basements to store wood, and several spaces to make ceramics. Although he made bricks, vessels, decoration for façades or ceramic objects, his great talent was terracotta sculptural decoration. His workshop became the first factory to make these ornamental elements to be put in the city architecture. Antoni Tarrésʼ son inherited the business and after partnering with another prestigious potter, decided to move in to ronda de Sant Pere, 11. In 1953 the last refurbishing in the building of Tarrés took place, and it didnʼt undergo any changes until it was demolished in 2005.
The archaeological site in Raval is one of the eleven places where students of Archaeology of the UB can take their mandatory practical lessons. These sites are placed in several parts of Catalonia and cover all history periods: there are the sites of Abric del Xicotó (Alòs de Balaguer) and Can Sadurní (Begues) belonging to the prehistory period; there is also the Iberian site of Puig Castellar (Santa Coloma de Gramenet). From the Roman period, there is Camp de les Lloses (Tona) and Torre Llauder (Mataró); and belonging to the medieval period, there is Santa Margarida (Martorell) and Esquerda (Roda de Ter). The exavations in Born, in Barcelona, belong to the modern period, while the site in the Faculty of Geography and History is framed in the contemporary period, as well as the excavations in Vilalba dels Arcs. There is another subaquatic excavation in Deltebre.