Number of human skeletons unearthed on site of future car park in Ronda rises to 300

Hundreds of skeletons have been uncovered at the construction site of a future car park in Ronda.

Ronda town hall said 300 have been located, so far, in the San Francisco neighbourhood where the council is hoping to build a car park, and which used to be the site of the town's cemetery during the Nasrid period.

Archaeological excavations are taking place and will delay the project by about a year as the site is located in the historic part of the town that was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in the 1960s. The remains date back to the 14th centuries, with the first skeletons unearthed during initial works in July 2022.

At that time, it was noted that these burials were not in a good condition and that there was a significant representation of children and elderly people. Two types of tombs were found, in simple graves and those built by stone and brick.

500 parking spaces

The future car park will play a crucial role in the plans of the current council, led by mayor María de la Paz Fernández. It is one of the most important projects, along with the new bus station, as Ronda is currently suffering from a serious lack of parking spaces. The new car park has been designed by the Diputación provincial authority in Malaga. It will be semi-open and take advantage of the slope of the land. It will have about 500 spaces spread across seven levels. The planned investment is about five million euros. The council acquired the land from a private individual for 60,000 euros.