Arriving at a Good Port: Urban and Historical Archaeology in Three Cities of the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

Colombian urban archaeology has been growing since the 1990s, particularly in Caribbean cities such as Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta. The investigations generally respond to the need to comply with protection regulations of archaeological heritage in restoration projects of Assets of Cultural Interest (BIC, the Spanish acronym for Bienes de Interés Cultural), located in historic centers or urban infrastructure works. The results have allowed for the reconstruction of various aspects of daily life in these cities since their foundation, but they have also uncovered data on previous occupations of those same spaces during the pre-Hispanic period. There is still a need to consolidate adequate work strategies adjusted to the needs and particularities of these contexts, which increasingly require the execution of this type of archaeology project.