Dusting off the past

Archaeological sites surround FSU’s Valencia study centers, and Juan Salazar shares why his field is so important

By Miranda Sullivan

The bell chimes clear and loud, adding to the melodic chatter and bustle of the Plaza de la Virgen below. El Miguelete, or as the locals say, Torre del Micalet, has stood watch over Valencia’s Carmen district for centuries.

The landmark has become a thread in the fabric of the city itself, pacing people’s day from the opening of shop doors, through the afternoon siesta, and then on to the paseo at night.

Marvels such as El Miguelete are planted throughout Valencia’s city center like flowers. They are beautiful, yet they aren’t considered rare in Europe. For students in Florida State University’s study abroad program, the walls of El Miguelete become one of the first familiar faces of their time spent in Spain.

When I first saw the bell tower, I felt so small compared to it and it was kind of terrifying,

says Stephanie Newman, a senior who studied in Valencia during the Summer 2019 second session.

Then we climbed [the tower], and it made me feel so lucky to have the chance to love this city.

In Valencia, FSU students have the opportunity to take interactive archaeology courses and visit important excavations. Ruins and archaeological sites, some within easy walking distance of the study centers, are a good way to learn about cultural development. To Valencians, they remain an important symbol of the past.

Valencia certainly has a rich history. Underneath the city’s streets lie ruins dating from the times of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths, the Moors, and the eventual Christian conquest in 1238. Each of these groups influenced the city in some way, leading to the Valencia we see today.

With sites such as Los Torres Serranos (the gates of the medieval city) and L’Almoina (a museum that showcases part of the Roman city under Valencia) within walking distance from students’ front doors, it’s easy to get glimpses of how the city must have looked ages ago. In FSU’s Garnet study center there even is part of an 11th-century wall, which once circled the city during the Islamic period.

The view from the top of El Miguelete showcases some of the other ancient buildings in the city.

“It’s nice to be in an ancient city and to have a classroom where we can touch the walls built by the Moors,” says FSU archaeology major Carlos Fernandez, who took related classes at FSU Valencia in the 2019 Summer II session. “It puts things into perspective and really sets the mood for the class.”

The Moorish wall and El Miguelete are essential reminders of life in Valencia. They bridge the gap between the city’s interesting past and its flourishing present.

“We are very lucky in the sense that Valencia is a 2000-year-old city,” says Dr. Juan Salazar, who is a professional archaeologist and FSU Valencia instructor.

We can explore buildings, collections, and objects...you can really experience the history of the city first hand.

Salazar, along with other locals who grew up in Valencia, has a different appreciation for the ruins from what tourists sense when they see them. Salazar often works on projects that include rescue archaeology, where he and others excavate ruins that have been discovered during construction work in an area.

This can delay the new building from being completed, but the importance of preserving the past outweighs the timeline of construction, and Salazar says these archaeological sites are important to the culture of Valencia. Locals do not come to the ruins to marvel at how old the city is—that’s a given fact to them. Instead, the ruins represent everyone who has come before them and everything that has shaped their nation.

“They mean something to me. They are a part of my identity,” Salazar says. He elaborates on archaeology’s value to Valencia.

From an academic point of view, it is of huge importance because we consider those sites [to be] part of the identity of the city and of the people. People still celebrate the ninth of October as the conquering of Valencia by the troops of James the first [in 1238]. The medieval city is present…it’s very much alive”

EWM students Kayla Walston and Ericka Rivera study in an FSU Garnet study center room, surrounded by a Moorish wall.

In contrast, in the U.S. a new narrative is being written. Because the country is young by comparison and is so diverse, Americans are less connected with the physical past surrounding them than those in Europe. There aren’t medieval streets lying beneath Tallahassee. Therefore, archaeology in the U.S. is approached differently than archaeology is in Europe.

“You have this influence in archaeology of anthropology because your native people are alive,” Salazar says. “For example, in New Mexico you have Taos, the oldest neighborhood in the States, and it’s still alive.

“That’s like having a Roman architect living today. It’s amazing.”

In Europe, archaeologists rely much more on practical skills. They interact with construction companies, building owners, curators, and other archaeologists to unearth the physical footprints of the past. This makes it a very logistical job, with many people involved in one project.

Nevertheless, archaeology has progressed in Europe and in America in solving the past. Even taking a walk in Valencia is like taking a walk through time: Answers to some of history’s mostasked questions lie just beneath a person’s feet. Many question marks are still left in the timeline of human history.

“We still don't know how the people in the Jewish quarter lived because there are not many archaeological excavations in that area,” Salazar says. “We also don't know how the last Moors living in the city disappeared.”

Archaeology is like a giant puzzle because it aims to piece history together and fill in the blanks. Those question marks could hold answers to why our world is the way it is today. There is still a lot of work for archaeologists to do.

Luckily, FSU Valencia students can discover the past through interactive classes and an immersion in history.

“It was fascinating learning about the history and culture of the people who lived here before us,” FSU Valencia program assistant Joshua Meinert says.

FSU student Caroline Vaverek sits at the top of Valencia’s bell tower.