Ritualistic bath chamber used by Jews in the Middle Ages discovered in Catalonia city
Likely originating from a Roman capital, the city of Manresa, Spain, has stood strong since the Middle Ages.
In the centuries since, the Jewish community has grown, eventually building a Jewish sector of the city, an area that still stands today.
But archaeologists and researchers have been unsure of when the Jews first came to Manresa — until now.
During excavations for a new building in the Jewish quarter, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient stone structure, according to an Oct. 4 news release from the City Council of Manresa.
The stones formed a mikveh, or a type of bath used by Jews in a ritualistic cleansing practice, according to the release.
Only two other ancient mikvehs have been discovered in the region, officials said, making this building an exceptional find.
Officials said this sector of the city has survived many changes over the centuries, including major fires in 1713 and 1811. Some structures were also demolished in the past few decades, according to the release.
But when archaeologists examined the stones of the bath, they found they predated the 14th century, officials said.
The dig was carried out behind Consistorial House, a building set to house a city and regional archive, officials said. Among the artifacts in the collections is the “Liber de perfidia iudaeorum,” a religious text from the early Middle Ages written by Amolo, the Archbishop of Lyons.
In the text, the archbishop writes that a merchant rented out a small house in 1341 to be used by the Jewish community for five years, and that they were building a women’s bathroom, according to the release.
The mikveh itself is about 10 feet by 5 feet, and just over 30 inches deep, according to the release.
The bath was next to other buildings owned by the merchant, officials said, and the roofs of those homes directed rainwater into the bath.
Officials said this is the first material evidence that Jews lived in Manresa during the Middle Ages.
Manresa is in the Catalonia region of northeast Spain, about 40 miles northwest from Barcelona.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the City Council of Manresa.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Ritualistic bath chamber used by Jews in the Middle Ages discovered in Catalonia city."
