Remains of 15th-century hospital uncovered during construction of Madrid Apple Store

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
The ruins of a hospital built in the 1400s was unearthed during construction of the flagship Madrid Apple Store on Tuesday, adding to other artifacts recently discovered as modern renovations and construction dig deeper into the heart of the Spanish capital.

Madrid Store
Construction underway at "Tio Pepe" building | Source: El Pais


As first reported by Spanish language publication El Pais (via TUAW), the walls of the Buen Suceso hospital were discovered by construction workers renovating a historic structure at Number 1 Puerta del Sol, in which Apple's outlet will be located.

Built in the early 15th century to treat plague victims, the hospital was demolished in 1854 to make space for the existing square that stands above its buried walls. A church bearing the same name was found next to the site in June 2009 during construction of a light rail station. That project was halted for 10 months as archaeologists studied and preserved the ruins.

Apple won't have to put its renovations on hold, however, as the director of Madrid's heritage department, Jaime Ignacio Mu?oz, instructed the company to merely change the basement's flooring to ?symbolically" trace where the walls stand below.

The Puerta del Sol location will be Apple's third in Madrid, and takes residence in the famous Hotel Paris building, which was erected just five years after the Buen Sucesco hospital and church were torn down. Apple is expected to occupy 6,000 square feet of the building, including some of the basement where Tuesday's discovery was made. The massive amount of floor space of the Madrid flagship store is expected to exceed even that of the company's iconic Fifth Avenue location in New York.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I guess now Apple will accused of destroying Spanish artifacts. Seems only right when Apple does anything these days.
  • Reply 2 of 34
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Pretty cool. But I'd rather have Apple wait 10 months to study, document, and preserve any ruins and artifacts, than settle for some vague "symbolism" hidden within the seldom-seen modern basement's floorplan!

    The most we ever find here in basements here in the States is arrowheads :(
  • Reply 3 of 34


    According to Spanish newspapers, they knew at once that the ruins was a hospital due to the skeletons standing upright, lined up at the entrance, waiting to get in to be seen.   


     


    If they had been found by the back door, picked clean, then it would have been a government tax office building... 

  • Reply 4 of 34
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    I guess now Apple will accused of destroying Spanish artifacts. Seems only right when Apple does anything these days.

    A find like that isn't a big deal in Europe, just about anything is built on top of something else; Europe actually has a history; not like in the US where the "historic district commission" is getting in the way of renovating a largely boring wood house constructed 1933, the year my mom was born...
    If they has found a building of historic significance it would be different, but a hospital is just a utility building...
  • Reply 5 of 34
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member


    If you check out other sites, where they show actual pictures of the "wall" itself, it looks more like shitty partial remains of a 15th century wall that have been irredeemably altered several times in the intervening years.  We're basically talking about a 3 foot high blob of old rough stones from the 15th century mixed with concrete and steel I-Beams from the 20th century.  Not archival, obviously rebuilt several times, and even if you ignore all that, basically a pile of rough stones.  Pieces of wall from the same site have even been discovered several times previously, examined and identified as having no historical value so it's unlikely that this has any value either. 

  • Reply 6 of 34
    jmc54jmc54 Posts: 207member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post



    Pretty cool. But I'd rather have Apple wait 10 months to study, document, and preserve any ruins and artifacts, than settle for some vague "symbolism" hidden within the seldom-seen modern basement's floorplan!



    The most we ever find here in basements here in the States is arrowheads image


    Apple won't have to put its renovations on hold, however, as the director of Madrid's heritage department, Jaime Ignacio Mu?oz, instructed the company to merely change the basement's flooring to ?symbolically" trace where the walls stand below. It seems the man in charge told them to proceed! What are they supposed to do, refuse?

  • Reply 7 of 34


    Almost every old rat infested, ready to fall down building in this town is a registered historic site that cannot be altered, but must be if used for a home or business brought back to code, but at the same time preserved historically correct.    This is the main reason there are no new businesses here in Weaverville, CA on top of all the other regulations piled on people trying to do any thing.

  • Reply 8 of 34
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Built in the early 15th century to treat plague victims, the hospital was demolished in 1854...


     


    I can see the coming headlines now.  Apple releases buried plague on Madrid citizens!


     


    Is this how the zombie apocalypse starts?

  • Reply 9 of 34
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    It is sad to think you can do more in a socialist country than here.

    I don't know of any socialist country in Western Europe, Spain is a constitutional Monarchy. Socialist countries of Western Europe are a figment of imagination and propaganda in the minds of the US right wing political fringe.
  • Reply 10 of 34


    As a Norwegian citizen, I would say most Western European countries indeed are very socialistic. 


    Yes - none are self-proclaimed socialistic states - most are constitutional monarchies or republics.


     



    With huge welfare benefits and redistribution of wealth (50% tax rates - state paid schools, universities, health care, pensions - and state owned [often monopolies] TV-, flight-, radio-, bus-, train-, oil-, electricity-, tele-, and agricultural companies) - you could say that they indeed are socialistic (even though they are liberal, capitalist-socialists).

  • Reply 11 of 34
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    As a Norwegian citizen, I would say most Western European countries indeed are very socialistic. 
    Yes - none are self-proclaimed socialistic states - most are constitutional monarchies or republics.


    With huge welfare benefits and redistribution of wealth (50% tax rates - state paid schools, universities, health care, pensions - and state owned [often monopolies] TV-, flight-, radio-, bus-, train-, oil-, electricity-, tele-, and agricultural companies) - you could say that they indeed are socialistic (even though they are liberal, capitalist-socialists).

    If putting citizens before special interests qualifies as "socialist" you might be right, although that's not how socialist is defined.
    There is a big difference between "social" and "socialist", which seems to elude people here in the US.
    The overall state quota isn't fundamentally different in western countries, it's just that in Western Europe the government is involved in infrastructure and healthcare and in the US it's spying and the military...

    Western Europe is as "socialist" as the US is "militarist, fascist, imperialist".

    I'm not saying the US necessarily qualifies for that description, but if you define "socialist" so loosely as to make Western Europe qualify, then using similarly loose definitions, the US certainly would qualify for the other three terms.

    If you're willing to accept one, you've got to accept the other, and certainly one would have to stop calling China "communist", because it's truly "fascist" in anything but the name of the ruling party.
  • Reply 12 of 34
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NorCal Explorer View Post


    Almost every old rat infested, ready to fall down building in this town is a registered historic site that cannot be altered, but must be if used for a home or business brought back to code, but at the same time preserved historically correct.    This is the main reason there are no new businesses here in Weaverville, CA on top of all the other regulations piled on people trying to do any thing.  


    It is sad to think you can do more in a socialist country than here.



    +1 for successful trolling, as you clearly garnered a response. Perhaps you could show how Spain represents a socialist country. I'm in a silly mood today, but your suggestion is utter nonsense.

  • Reply 13 of 34
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member


    It's time for the Time Team


     


    image

  • Reply 14 of 34
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member


    Europe also has a lot of unexploded ordinance from various wars. If the developer hadn't done research and made plans for digging up old buildings or bombs, they should be promptly fired.

  • Reply 15 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NorCal Explorer View Post


    Almost every old rat infested, ready to fall down building in this town is a registered historic site that cannot be altered, but must be if used for a home or business brought back to code, but at the same time preserved historically correct.    This is the main reason there are no new businesses here in Weaverville, CA on top of all the other regulations piled on people trying to do any thing.  


    It is sad to think you can do more in a socialist country than here.



     


    Odd. Old buildings like that often catch fire when no one is around. Just sayin'.

  • Reply 16 of 34
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member
    Wonder why did Apple build so many stores in Spain when they are too poor to buy the iPhones./s
  • Reply 17 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rcfa View Post





    I don't know of any socialist country in Western Europe, Spain is a constitutional Monarchy. Socialist countries of Western Europe are a figment of imagination and propaganda in the minds of the US right wing political fringe.


    France is trying to be a socialist country but they can't get it right... it figures. 

  • Reply 18 of 34
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post


     


    I can see the coming headlines now.  Apple releases buried plague on Madrid citizens!


     


    Is this how the zombie apocalypse starts?



    Oh no, no, no, those aren't Zombies just your typical Apple customer coming out of the store. Aaaaaggggggghhhhhhhh, iiiiiippaaaaaddd.


     


    I kid, I kid.............

  • Reply 19 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post



    I guess now Apple will accused of destroying Spanish artifacts. Seems only right when Apple does anything these days.


     






    in 6 months, samsung will start building on top of an ancient portugese veterinary clinic.

  • Reply 20 of 34


    Just for you to know, in Spain we have 1 Smartphone of every 2 mobile phones. 55,2% smartphone rate indeed.


    96% of total population has at least mobile phone (in USA it is 85%).


    There are more mobile phone contracts that the actual total population.


     


    Having a crisis is not the same as being poor, please have a little respect and read a little more.


     


    Sorry for my English.

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