A painful story has been revealed from an archaeological rescue project that the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) of Mexico carries out in the old San Roque Hospital, in the city of Puebla.
Inside this hospital, whose construction history dates back to the 16th century, a team of experts has recovered evidence of at least nine complete human skeletons and numerous scattered bone remains, some deposited in what must have been a common grave and others that show violent episodes.
This last case, says the archaeologist responsible for the rescue project, Elvia Cristina Sánchez de la Barquera Arroyo, is that of a male individual who died among the 40 Y 45 years old, and whose skull has two lesions in the central region of the frontal bone.
Discovered by the archaeologist Brenda Suárez, and analyzed by the biologist Felicitas Rojas, the skull of said man, showing no evidence of bone recovery, would indicate that the pair of wounds caused the death due to head trauma.
Other skeletons that call the attention are those of two women, located in different excavation units by archaeologist Carlos Morales, whose ribs contained bones of unborn children with various stages of gestation. The fact that the remains of the unborn have also been located in other sediments, “indicates that there were abortions inside the place and that they were thrown into the graves.”
Founded by members of the Order of the Caridad del Mártir San Hipólito, the Hospital de San Roque was created to serve the Spaniards who came to the New World, Puebla being a midpoint between Veracruz and the capital of New Spain.
The findings recorded by the team, also made up of the archaeologist Jorge Luis Rosales, correspond to skeletons in anatomical position, secondary burials and numerous scattered bones located in the patios of the building that have been excavated up to now, so no reference can be made to a pantheon or a specific place for deposit the corpses.
It should be noted that although many of the human remains are from the Viceroyalty period, given the nearby presence of some glazed and ceramic sherds, some are not so old and could correspond to the 20th century, according to their location in upper soil strata and the material associated with these.
The remains, without Christian burial
In the year 2020, when the archaeologists from the Center INAH Puebla, Sergio Suárez Cruz and Manuel Melgarejo Pérez, inspected the site, the abundance of bone remains could already be glimpsed on the floor of the building, for this reason they recommended carrying out the archaeological salvage, together with to the antecedents of excavations carried out by the archaeologist Citlali Reynoso, in which human bones were also found, and even ceramic and lithic material from the pre-Hispanic period.
What is striking, explains Sergio Suárez, is that there is no coffins, nails or other indications that the bodies received Christian burial have been found. On the contrary, the remains have been found under the floors in patios and in rooms, behind stairs or at the root of columns.
Inclusive, one of the contexts it was located at a depth of two meters, with no indication that pits had been dug for its placement, within a layer of sandy soil, typical of bodies of water.
“I consider that they could have died due to to a flood of the San Francisco River –near the old hospital–, which should be corroborated with geologists and other experts”, says archaeologist Sánchez de la Barquera.
From hospital to museum
After closing its doors as a hospital in the last century, the building entered a stage of abandonment that made it easier for treasure hunters to enter it. Thus, they looted the fountain of its main patio and its construction material, which affected the structural stability of the building.
Now, recovered by the current state administration, the old San Roque Hospital is called to become the Museum of Talavera and Popular Art of Puebla, as an exhibition forum for creators of the indigenous regions of the entity.
Given this, the project archeological rescue of the INAH began last of December and it is estimated that it will last until next July, in its field and office phases, accompanying the company in charge of the restoration before the possibility of registering more archaeological finds.
The recovered bone remains are in the process of being cleaned and registered, to later safeguard them in the INAH Puebla Center and carry out future studies, including their dating to specify their antiquity. Similar processes will follow the ceramic elements, including a group of nine viceregal period objects (jars, plates, among others) recovered with more than 50 percent of its parts, which will be restored as part of the project.
2020
“We are really working on the bowels of the site, and what we have found is a sad story at the human, because of the way in which many of these bodies were thrown into the graves without a legal order and without what is said to be a Christian burial”, concluded archaeologist Elvia Sánchez. 45
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