NECROPOLIS DE LOS REMEDIOS

The necropolis came to light in 1969 during the remodeling of the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, but it was not excavated until 1999. In 2003 it was included in the Plan of Visitable Sites of the General Directorate of Historical Heritage. This necropolis, like the nearby Fuente del Moro, presents two types of tombs: cist, with some variants, and excavated in the rock, also with various models.

The tombs excavated in the rock have given rise to discussions about their chronology, since some authors consider that they date from the 6th and 7th centuries while others believe that their builders were Mozarabic. They are trapezoidal, bathtub or anthropomorphic graves. And what is striking is an inhumation located in a privileged position, in the basement between the old chapel and the nave built in 1969, a reused space: above the anthropomorphic grave of an adult, another child’s grave was chiseled in its central part.

The first tombs have higher elevations, with vertical stones or with several courses of gneiss masonry, generally using a vertical stone for the minor sides, head and foot, looking for the rock for the flooring, and with a large slab or two or three as a cover. A family pantheon stands out, graves 7 and 8 of Remedios, which are distinguished by having a lime plaster.

Not much is known about the population buried in this necropolis, due to the roots and the acidity of the soil, which has hindered the analysis. 23 individuals have been studied, who died at a very young age, between 20 and 40 years.

The orientation of the tombs is characteristic of this era, with the head facing northwest and the feet facing southeast. All the graves radiate from the highest area.

The trousseau is scarce, consisting of some jugs and some rings. Some nails have also appeared from the coffins used in tombs in which individuals were not buried only wrapped in shrouds.

Elena Cardenal for URBS REGIA

Hernández Souza, J.M., 2016: El fenómeno de las tumbas excavadas en la roca en la cuenca alta del río Manzanares (Madrid) y su relación con el poblamiento rural, Revista Historia Autónoma, 9, 29-50

Escribiendo sobre Arqueología: la Necrópolis visigoda de Remedios en Colmenar Viejo (Madrid)

Necrópolis Visigoda de Remedios