Ermomir and Riquil·la: the 10th-century magnate couple who appeared intact in Castellar del Vallès

Castellar del VallèsErmomir and Riquil·la were buried with great care in the year 966. The intention was clear: that no one could violate their eternal rest. To achieve this, a structure was designed that today we would describe as an impregnable tomb. At almost three meters deep, in an anthropomorphic pit, the couple was deposited naked, only wrapped in shrouds.

"On top of the bodies, they placed stone slabs and, afterwards, an immense volume of earth to fill the pit. On the surface, they built the monumental part with stones, mortar, side walls, and an apse arch that served as a housing for the marble tombstone," explains archaeologist Jordi Roig Buxó, head of the archaeological excavations at the Castellar Vell site, in Castellar del Vallès. The strategy against looting worked for a millennium, until the last campaign at the site, on top of a small hill a few kilometers from the urban center and where the church and parish of Sant Esteve are located, has brought the remains to light in an exceptional state of conservation.

The exceptionality of the case is that we can know who they are and that their remains can be related to documentary information. In the eighties of the last century, the tombstone was found – also quite unique, because there are not many for civilian figures – which identified them: "Beneath these rocks rests the body of Ermomir; may he go to rest with the benevolence of Christ. He died on the 2nd day of the kalends of October (September 30th) in the year of our Lord 966". The tombstone had been kept in the church of Sant Esteve, but until now it had not been possible to link it to any tomb.

Ermomir and Riquil·la were likely members of a rural elite with significant economic capacity and political connections. A document from 965 places them making donations of estates to the church of Sant Miquel in Barcelona, which confirms their status as magnates linked to the orbit of the County of Barcelona. At that time, nobility was in its infancy.

The couple lived through a period of frontier transformation. "We know that there had been a Carolingian fortification here, but by 966 the border with the Muslims had already shifted 60 kilometers south, to the Penedès," explains Ramon Martí, professor of medieval history at the UAB. "As military defense was no longer necessary, the ancient castrum was transformed into the parish church of Sant Esteve, of which Ermomir would have been one of the founders. As a curious fact, the magnate died only ten days apart from the Count of Barcelona, Miró I," adds Martí. The analysis of the remains can provide more details about who Ermomir was or the moments leading up to the consolidation of feudalism. For example, Martí points out, it will be possible to know "if he was a warrior or a clergyman".

A wealth of information for science

The archaeological site does not end with the couple. So far, and in different campaigns, 223 tombs and about fifty silos that function as time capsules have been exhumed. "Having a collection like this is what all universities would wish for. We will be able to know what diseases they had, their eating habits, their movements...", points out the excavation team. In addition, the silos have revealed a treasure of utensils, coins, and tools that explain the daily life of that era.

Castellar Vell maintained its administrative and economic function –collecting tithes from farmers– until 1773, when the center of the town moved to the plain and the parish was abandoned. Thanks to the civil initiative of the Amics de Castellar Vell in the late seventies, the space began to be dignified. Today, the Castellar del Vallès City Council has an ambitious objective: with only 20% of the site excavated, the intention is to continue research and museumize the space.