Hallazgo de una garita colonial: historia y arqueología en el temprano camino real a Campeche (siglo XVII)

Abstract

The protection of the city of Merida during colonial times included a small sentry box or checkpoint built (“garita”) at the beginning of the camino real (The Royal Highway) from Merida to Campeche, in the 17th century. The recent discovery of the structure revealed other architectural forms that were designed to meet the city’s defensive needs at the time. This article proposes that this sentry box was related to the construction of the arches erected in the city in 1690. In the mid-18th century, with the modification of the road and the construction of a row of houses its military role ended. After the space was allocated to other uses, the structure was ascribed a different architectural typology.