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| These works are the starting point to end the humidity that deteriorates the funeral crypt and its characteristic paintings | Geotechnical surveys in the vicinity of the Punic Wall have allowed the location of a pocket of humidity, about two meters deep, which is affecting the Crypt of San José.These studies, which began just a few days ago, have already reached a cavity in the mountain, about two meters deep, where water accumulates as a result of seepage and rain, and which produces the humidity that seems to be responsible for the deterioration that the surface of the crypt has been suffering, with an elliptical plan and built in solid brick covered with poor quality lime mortar, as well as the characteristic paintings that are on its walls, recreations of the medieval Dances of Death carried out, to a large extent , in 2007.The problem of humidity that affects this Property is not new.

For this reason, since 2004, shortly after the completion of the excavation of the crypt, various interventions have been carried out aimed at investigating the origin of this anomaly, as well as at the conservation of this funerary space and its wall paintings.In this way, all the studies carried out over more than a decade suggest that humidity is a serious problem and difficult to solve due to the heights of the land on which the crypt is located, as well as the nature and permeability of the geological sediment, which causes that by capillarity, and gradually, moisture finds its way out through the walls of the crypt.Up to now, none of the work and interventions carried out have proposed conclusive solutions that allow a definitive resolution of the damage to the deposit.The Cartagena City Council, aware of the importance of the conservation of historical cultural assets, has undertaken, through its Department of Strategic Projects and Historical and Archaeological Heritage, which is directed by the mayor herself, a new process of study and restoration in a coordinated action between municipal technicians and the UPCT.

These new geotechnical works have made it possible to find the moisture source active at about two meters from the surface, but they will continue to probe deeper in order to analyze the soil under this cavity and check if there are more points where leaks occur.Once these studies are completed, the municipal architects, archaeologists from the Heritage Area and engineers from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena will analyze the results obtained to find the most appropriate option to protect and restore this archaeological site in Cartagena."The crypt of San José is one of our most emblematic sites and the humidity was degrading its surface and the curious paintings of the skeletons", has remarked the mayor, Ana Belén Castejón.“It was necessary to identify the sources of humidity and their effects, to advance in the procedures that allow us to resolve this degradation as soon as possible.

We cannot give up in the face of difficulties and, therefore, we will continue working until we find definitive solutions ”, he concluded.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena