A large keel was found in the parking lot where the ship 'Ciutadella I' was discovered.
The discovery could belong to a second vessel of Atlantic tradition between the 15th and 16th centuries.
BarcelonaWhen it was announced on April 24th the discovery of the side of a boat that had sunk between the 15th and 16th centuries At the former Mercat del Peix and future BSM parking lot in the Ciutadella district of Barcelona, archaeologists have already explained that they would continue searching for more remains. The investigation has been fruitful. So far, they have found a keel (the part of the lower structure on which a ship is built). This piece is 3.43 meters long and could be a dismembered part of the ship found (the so-called Citadel I) or correspond to a second ship. We won't have the answer for at least six months, because a stratigraphic study must be carried out and the materials analyzed. All of this can help explain one of the most fascinating aspects of Barcelona's history: its relationship with the sea.
The keel was discovered while archaeological surveying was being carried out using a machine. It was detected that the piece had become stuck to one of the pilots, with the risk of fracturing if further work was carried out. At that point, it was decided to intervene with a manual excavation to carefully free part of the keel. One of the most notable features of this new piece is the presence of sandstone, a longitudinal groove cut into the upper part of the keel. This incision was used to fit the first planks of the ship's skin, in a very specific construction technique that was used in the Atlantic tradition, especially in the 16th century, and on large-tonnage ships used for commercial purposes. There are examples of other vessels of the same type and from the same period that have been documented, such as the Saint John, a 16th-century Basque ship that sank in Red Bay (Canada), and which has been studied as an international reference.
Within the tasks of archaeological documentation, a a three-dimensional model of the Citadel I, which allows the ship's remains to be viewed from all angles with great precision. It will be a reference tool for researchers and specialists throughout the analysis process. Archaeologists will continue their investigation for at least another two weeks.