Images

Developers in Toledo recently found the remains of what may be a 10th Century cemetery just outside the medieval city walls.  press reports have suggested that the estimated 200 graves may be part of a muslim burial ground dating from the 10th – 12th Centuries.

I joined the curious onlookers this evening to take a look at what is Toledo’s latest archaeological site.

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The bodies appear to be buried in shrouds laying on their sides facing a south easterly direction towards Mecca.

The location of the cemetery is squeezed between the medieval city walls and the remains of the roman circus, an area that has been at continuously inhabited for thousands of years.  The city of Toledo has been inhabited and fought over by the Romans, the Visigoths, a capital city for Muslims, Jews and Christians of the Iberian peninsular.  This area of the city is known to be rich in archeology.

What is striking is how close to the road these graves are.  I had the feeling that you could excavate in pretty much any direction and keep finding graves.