Archaeologists Reveal Site's Past as Chocolate Factory

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a medieval manor house and evidence of a 19th-century chocolate factory at a site in Spain.

The discoveries were brought to light during restoration work on a building at the address Plaça de la Llana, 23, in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain.

The building that stands at the address today—located in the city's old town (known as the Ciutat Vella)—dates back to the 19th century. But archaeological investigations at the building have documented walls, arches and doors attributable to a large medieval house from the 14th century, the Barcelona Archeology Service (ICUB) said in a press release.

"Like any other archaeological discovery, this one helps us to understand our history a little bit better," Laia Macià Plaza, an archaeologist with the ICUB, told Newsweek.

The archaeological works at the address were initiated amid plans to restore the building to accommodate apartments. The works are being conducted by archaeologists from the company Global Geomática SL, under the supervision of the ICUB and the Archaeological and Paleontological Heritage service of the Generalitat, the regional government of Catalonia.

According to documentary sources, the 14th century home was owned at the time by the Pia Almoina—a charitable institution linked to the Church that was founded in the year 1009 to provide food to the poor.

"As the institution grew older and popular, it became common for some people in Barcelona to leave some of their properties to the Pia Almoina in their will," Plaza said. "It probably got to own the building in Llana square thanks to one of those donations."

Sources indicate that the medieval home was converted into a hostel in the 15th century. This hostel ceased operations in the 16th century when the property owner carried out a major renovation project to adapt the building to the style and fashions of the time, the ICUB said in the press release.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the old manor house was divided into three different properties. The archaeologists documented a set of seven ceramic vessels from this period, although it is not yet clear what they once contained.

During the 19th century, the space was occupied by a factory where chocolate was produced, historical sources indicate.

Marta Lucas, the director of the archaeological works, told Catalan news outlet Betevé that thanks to the findings made during the archaeological investigations, the documentation referencing the chocolate factory was eventually uncovered. This documentation includes an almanac from the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition in which the factory at Plaça de la Llana, 23, is mentioned. The exposition was Spain's first international world's fair.

The archaeological investigations at Plaça de la Llana, 23, have led to the recovery of certain elements related to this factory. These finds include lead plates that would have been used to make the labels for the chocolate products.

"Most of the time, the archaeological evidence we find [reveals] the structures that existed, but [understanding] what they were really used for is something really hard to know—and it usually requires a lot of research work outside the field," Plaza told Newsweek. "Finding the lead plates gave us the clue to know for sure... that all the deposits and structures that we had at first attributed to some unknown productive process were, in fact, part of a chocolate production process."

"Barcelona had several chocolate factories in the 19th century, some of them are still working nowadays. Our factory was created in 1824, which is interesting because powdered milk didn't exist yet and chocolate was still an expensive luxury product. We also know that our factory took part in the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition.
It's the first chocolate factory that we unveil in the city thanks to an archaeological excavation."

Archaeologists continue to excavate the subsoil at the site and are conducting studies of the building to learn more about its evolution.

"Apart from the chocolate factory, we're now excavating some older remains and we hope we will be able to link the structures we're finding with the documented historical uses of the building," Plaza said.

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Update 2/23/24, 6:12 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional comments from Laia Macià Plaza.