← HomeExcavations for new hotel in Dénia centre uncover 12th-century Islamic homes
Archaeological surveys ahead of a hotel development on Calle Colón, next to the Condado, have brought to light dwellings from Islamic Daniya organised in nearly geometric blocks. Almost 900 years ago they already had a system for draining wastewater.
La Marina Times newsroom
Sunday 11 October 2026, 10:42 · 2 min read
Islamic Daniya emerges again
An almost thousand-year-old Dénia has resurfaced in the city centre. Archaeological excavations being carried out as a mandatory preliminary step before the construction of a hotel on Calle Colón, next to the Condado, have discovered new dwellings from Islamic Daniya, according to a report by La Marina Plaza.
The houses, dating from the 12th century, have a central courtyard and three wings, and are organised in nearly geometric blocks. They already had a system for draining wastewater.
A neighbourhood beneath Calle Colón
This is not an isolated find. The dwellings are very similar to those found in other excavations in the city centre and on the same Calle Colón, such as those on the El Penal site, at the corner with Diana, where two Almohad houses, also from the 12th century, were uncovered in 2017. Those houses were built during the expansion of the medina of Daniya to the south, in the mid-12th century, particularly during the Mardanisid period and later under the Almohads.
The Condado itself bore fruit years ago. The municipal Archaeology Service then discovered, beneath the old cinema stalls, three dwellings from the early 12th century and part of an Islamic street. Municipal archaeologist Josep Gisbert explained that they were part of an expansion of the medina towards the south-east, extending into the Saladar, and described it as a relevant find for documenting the urban layout of Islamic Dénia.
What remains to be discovered
Archaeologists will need to complete the excavation to establish how many houses, blocks and streets have appeared on the site.
Two hotels on the same street
The hotel next to the Condado will be linked to the entertainment venue itself and has been designed to accommodate its clients.
It will be one of two new hotels on Calle Colón. The other is at El Penal, where work to convert it into a four-star hotel with 27 rooms is about to begin. Both add to the proliferation of small hotels in a city where nearly nine out of every ten tourist places are in homes rather than hotels.
