El conocimiento del legado judío de Lleida a través de la arqueología. La Cuirassa

Abstract

Thanks to the archaeological excavation carried out in the Seminari district for the first time ever we have a greater understanding of what it would have been like to live in Lleida’s La Cuirassa neighbourhood, one of the most important Jewish quarters in the Crown of Aragon and which with the passing of time had disappeared completely from the urban landscape. We have attempted, as far as possible, to correlate our archaeological finds with existing records to recreate a map of La Cuirassa where we have been able to identify some public buildings as well as to reproduce an approximate layout of the settlement and even to include some street names.

This was one of those rare occasions where the work of urban archaeology uncovered the material remains of a medieval Jewish legacy. Added to the exceptionality of the find is the significance, and state of conservation, of one of the houses in La Cuirassa and the bridal trunk or trousseau found therein which gives testimony to the daily life of a Jewish family who, on 13^th August 1391, were to suffer first-hand the consequences of a Christian attack on the Jewish quarter in Lleida.