In Seville, during the renovation of a bar, 12th-century Arab baths were discovered

Seville – Workers renovating a bar in the historic center of Seville in southern Spain unexpectedly discovered a perfectly preserved 12th-century Arab bathhouse (hammam) with beautifully decorated walls.

At the very beginning of the work, the workers in the house, where the Moorish-style bar is located, came across a star-shaped skylight. The discovery of the medieval Arab baths was "absolutely unexpected," said archaeologist Álvaro Jiménez, who is in charge of overseeing the renovation work in the Seville heritage area.

There were a total of 88 such skylights in the ceiling of the baths, in addition to the star shape, there were also octagons. Rooms have also been preserved where bath visitors bathed in cold water, warm water, and where they warmed up in hot temperatures. The walls feature geometric ornaments rendered in a reddish color from floor to ceiling. The baths were preserved thanks to a house where a certain architect built two more floors above them in the early 20th century, which housed a hotel. "We thought the architect destroyed them, but he saved them. What he discovered has been saved for the future," Jiménez said.

Currently, a popular bar, Cervecería Giralda, is located above the former baths, and it is said to be reopening for visitors soon. La Giralda is the bell tower of the nearby cathedral, which served as a minaret for the mosque during the Muslim rule in this part of Spain.

The Almohad dynasty conquered Seville in 1147, and this city was, along with present-day Marrakech in Morocco, the capital of their empire.