• The results obtained confirm the dating made from the stratigraphic study and the ceramic findings, and rule out the Visigothic attribution of the site

• The archaeological work, which is still in progress, will allow completion of the excavation and thus extend knowledge about this important Roman necropolis located in Mataró

Carbon-14 analysis carried out on the individuals found during the archaeological work at the Ca la Madrona site has confirmed that they are not Visigothic remains, as had initially been thought.

The excavations, carried out between 2021 and the present on the plot where the future Mataró-Maresme Circular Park will be located, have uncovered a necropolis with 188 individuals excavated so far, which correspond to various historical periods: High Empire, Low Empire, Late Antiquity and High Middle Ages.

To determine the chronology, bone samples were sent to two specialized laboratories in the United States and France. The results obtained confirm the dating made from the stratigraphic study and the ceramic findings, and rule out the Visigothic attribution of the site. The remains correspond to Roman, late Roman and medieval times.

The chronological distribution of the 188 burials is as follows:

– 47 individuals date from the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries (High Medieval period, in Carolingian context).

– 42 individuals belong to the 5th century (Late Antique period).

– 89 individuals correspond to the 3rd and 4th centuries (Low Empire).

– 10 individuals belong to the High Empire period. In this case, it has not been possible to determine the precise dating: the Carbon-14 analysis of the laboratories place them between the 2nd and 3rd century AD, while the ceramic dating points to the 1st century AD. It is considered that the chemicals of the glass furnace of the old Mataró Glassworks Workers’ Cooperative could have altered the skeletal remains of these individuals because of their proximity to it.

The archaeological intervention, which is still in progress, will allow completion of the excavation and expand our knowledge about this important Roman necropolis located in Mataró.

Excavation of one of the tombs of the necropolis located at the Ca la Madrona / Maresme Circular