Stratigraphic and constructive study of the well of San Marcial: archaeology and water architecture in a Late Medieval conquest settlement (San Marcial de Rubicon, Yaiza, Lanzarote)

The expedition led by Gadifer de la Salle and Jean de Bethencourt, under the auspices of the Castilian monarch Henry III, arrived on the coast of the island of Lanzarote, officially inaugurating the process of the seigniorial conquest of the Canary archipelago in 1402. The site of San Marcial de Rubicon contains the remains of the first permanent settlement of this European host, including the well of San Marcial de Rubicon, the subject of this paper. This is the first time that a constructive and stratigraphic study of this building has been undertaken, which has allowed us to conclude that its construction responded to a project conceived in advance and executed with professional criteria by the stonemasons who accompanied De la Salle and Bethencourt in that enterprise.