Study of the archaeological structures of the subsurface in churches of the Society of Jesus, city of Valencia (Spain), derived from the GPR technique

Abstract

This paper describes the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys performed inside the two main Jesuit churches in Valencia city. These two churches are located in two different places: "Sagrado Corazon de Jesus" Church in the historical city centre and "San Jose" Church in the ancient field area of Valencia city. The GPR survey objective was to analyse eventual archaeological elements in their subsurfaces. Both locations have an important meaning in the historical development of the city of Valencia. The GPR study which was performed on the "Sagrado Corazon de Jesus" Church (XVII-XIX centuries) has studied cultural levels disposition in the subsurface and buried structures. It was detected a slope14 in long at depths ranging from 2,5 in to 5,25 m. This slope could correspond to the ancient Arab wall of Valencia city. Besides it has been located an unknown crypt (dimensions 5.5x3.5x2.5 m). The GPR technique performed inside the "San Jose" Church of Valencia (XIX-XX centuries) has permitted to locate one cultural level and a channel (its section 3.5x0.8 m) under the church. This channel would be for irrigation it would probably be an old irrigation, which transversally crossed the whole place. The "San Jose" Church location corresponds to an ancient field area of Valencia city. Besides, the three construction stages of the building are differenced in the subsurface, as it is observed in the longitudinal profiles: the primitive church, the first enlargement and the second one. Also, it has been located a gallery (its section 1,50x1,80 m) that crosses the major altar and gets out to the exterior of "San Jose" Church. This gallery was possibly used as a way of an alternative exit in hard historical periods for the Society of Jesus. The results obtained in these surveys are a good example of the GPR application as an efficient and respectful tool in the studies of the Archaeological and Historical Heritage, supporting it as a very useful technique for similar studies in urban areas.