The fluvial port of Medina Larida: reality and hypotheses as to its function.

Since the initiation of archaeological work in the 1980s by theEs tudi General, now the University of Lleida, a feature uncovered in the cellar of the Palau de la Paeria (Lleida Town Hall) was interpreted as steps leading to the entrance of Arab baths. The Secció d’Arqueologia de l’Ajuntament de Lleida (Archaeological Service of the City of Lleida) in 2009 carried out a graphic survey of photographs, drawings of the floor and elevations of the cellar so as to assemble an accurate record of the building’s evolution. This article advances data regarding Medina Larida. The hypothesis is that the
features in the cellar correspond in fact to the remains of a fluvial port that subsequently served in the 13th and 14th centuries as the foundations of the gothic palace (the Palau). It was necessary to place the features in the context and its surrounding area so as to advance a better understanding of the complex’s functions.

Keywords: Medina Larida, Segre River, river port, interpretative hypothesis