Bathroom dating from the 12th century found in the Spanish bar

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 12th-century bathroom at a popular bar in Seville, southern Spain.

The Giralda Brewery has been operating in the heart of the city since 1923, but the bar is housed in a building with a much longer history.

While vaulted ceilings suggested it may have been a bathroom, and historical records said there was one in the area, no one found concrete evidence of its existence, archaeologist Fernando Amores of the University of Seville said on Thursday.

Now red skylights and geometric paintings dating from the twelfth century have been discovered during recent renovation work.

In the 12th century, Seville was ruled by the Almohad Caliphate, a Berber Muslim empire in North Africa, which controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula – now Spain and Portugal – at the time.

Amores was part of a team of experts who helped restore what he called a “very unusual” discovery.

The skylights are made in the shape of eight-pointed stars, and the red ocher paintings make up interconnected geometric patterns.

Star-shaped windows are typical of hammocks and there are four different types of different sizes, Amores said. However, the fact that the paintings completely covered the walls and ceiling is unusual, he added.

“It forms a beautiful sky,” said Amores, with light flowing through the windows reminiscent of the stars at night.

The intricate craft shows the importance of the bathroom, which was located near the city’s main mosque when it was built, he said.

There is more restoration work to be done, Amores said, but additional funding will be needed.

Archaeologists are also conducting carbon dating on stucco – a fine plaster – to get a more accurate date of construction, Amores added.

The project was a collaboration between the building’s owners, the bar’s owners and the team of archaeologists, Amores said, explaining that the whole process was a triumph of cooperation.

“We are very happy,” he said.

The owners decided to carry out some renovation work last summer, a spokesman for the bar told CNN. Until then, the original features had been covered by a layer of decorations installed in the early twentieth century.

As the work revealed evidence of the bath, archaeologists were brought in to monitor, the spokesman added. The bathrooms had at least three rooms, they said, which are now used as a kitchen and two dining rooms.

Architect Francisco Diaz told local television channel Canal Sur that archaeologists did not initially find anything of interest, but then a skylight was found in the ceiling. “From there it was like pulling back a veil and all the skylights started to appear,” Diaz said.

Cerveceria Giralda serves tapas and beer and is well known in Seville.

“We believe that (the bar) could be open to the public in a month, combining the restaurant’s operations with possible visits at certain times,” the spokesman said.