Everything you'll discover at Catalonia's largest (and most unknown) Muslim site.

BalaguerAt first glance, the Pla d'Almatà is a vast and desolate wasteland. It covers 27 hectares surrounded by the remains of a wall and 27 very deteriorated towers. From the road, only the Sant Crist de Balaguer fortress, a fire station, and a high school are visible. If you wander around, some clues emerge about the past life of the plateau overlooking the town of Balaguer: the remains of four 10th-century houses, when the capital of the Noguera River was Madina Balagí, and there were mosques, baths, markets, houses and streets that followed an orderly and planned layout, and a fortress. Practically everything is buried; only 2% of the site has been excavated, but, apart from hiding remains from the Andalusian past, the plateau, as it has hardly been urbanized, is a veritable source of knowledge. Excavations have been ongoing for forty years, but one of the problems is that it is not even recognizable as a site and is not protected.

Those responsible for the Noguera Museum have been demanding a plan to protect the plateau for years. and halt the deterioration of the wall. It has finally arrived, and they've named it The Renaissance of the Almatà Plan. In the first phase, which will last three years and have an investment of 6.1 million euros, the aim is to raise awareness of the site, adapt it, and build an interpretation and dissemination space. Work and study spaces, as well as archaeological laboratories, will also be created. Furthermore, the wall and towers will be restored. "We've given it the name Renaissance because in 1105 the Almatà Plan died when the city was conquered by the Count of Urgell. In a way, we want to revive it, because it's a past that historiography has hidden for too long," says Carme Alòs, director of the Museo de la Noguera. "It's the largest preserved Andalusian site in Catalonia," adds Alòs.

Evidence of coexistence between Muslims, Jews, and Christians

The origin of Balaguer dates back to the 8th century, when settlers from Arabia and North Africa arrived, eager to conquer Europe, and set up a military camp. They had the Segre River, which was a communication route, and could monitor the border area with the Christian counties. Troubadours would also praise the river for the gold hidden on its banks and in its bends, which these early settlers also sought. "We know that Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived together from written sources. In 863, there is talk of Saint Vincent's transfer from Zaragoza to France, and it is mentioned how many Christians who lived in the Pla d'Almatà came to see him, and that one woman recovered her sight; and we also have the names of Jewish citizens.

"It is not only a site, but it is key to understanding the history and Andalusian roots of our country," says the Minister of Culture, Sonia Hernández. "Loving Catalonia is not about denying its Muslim past, but rather recognizing it," he adds. What can emerge from that past? The incursions to conquer Madina Balagí by the Counts of Urgell began at the end of the 11th century. The city suffered various sieges until 1105, when it finally fell and its ruin began. The Almatà plain was never inhabited again because its inhabitants preferred to live in the Torrent neighborhood (the current historic center) and the Firal neighborhood, which had begun to grow in 898 because too many people lived within the walls and there was saturation. The fact that no one lived there again is part of its exceptional nature because only the Muslim ruins remain.

"One of the great enigmas is where the entrance gate or gates are. If we find it, we can understand how the city was configured and how it evolved," explains Marina Miquel, deputy director general of Patrimoni. So far, no remains of the baths have been found either, but it is not ruled out that they were outside the walls, nor of one of the mosques, which could still be buried. It is known that not a stone of the Avimoni mosque remained after the Church of Sant Salvador was built on top of it. Archaeologically, this was confirmed because San Salvador was burned and looted in 1936, and it was found that nothing remained of the Andalusian building. The great mosque that was beneath Santo Cristo is also irrecoverable. A new georadar will be built throughout the site to gain a better understanding of the entire urban layout. "We do not rule out finding some surprises," says Alòs.

The necropolis within the walls

The other major challenge is ensuring the protection of the wall. Forty years of excavations have revealed many things. Another peculiarity of Almatà is that the cemetery was within the walls, and it has been excavated in recent years. Eighty-two individuals buried according to Muslim rites and their remains have been exhumed: they range from victims of violent deaths to pregnant women, and they can provide many clues about what the population was like and how they lived. It is known that they had a fairly rich diet and ate vegetables, fruits, cereals, and plenty of meat and fish. "The excavated houses demonstrate quite careful planning," says archaeologist Helena Kirchner. They were between 120 and 150 m in area.², were ground-floor, had a courtyard and latrines, and were built to avoid prying eyes. Further studies will provide more details about the diet, the plants—the Andalusians contributed many new species—or whether, for example, the courtyard was also used as a corral.

The site has been on the verge of disappearing twice. In the 1980s, a large sports area was planned in the Pla d'Almatà, which at that time consisted mainly of highly divided cultivated fields. The council became its sole owner. When the excavator that was supposed to dig the hole for one of the swimming pools encountered many stones, the work was halted. It was discovered that there was an Andalusian pottery industrial area there. "In 2006, there was another attempt to urbanize it. They wanted to build 400 terraced houses, but it was halted, thanks in part to public pressure," says Alòs.