This garden was projected in the main courtyard of the palace built by Peter I of Castile (1334–1369) in the Alcázar of Seville. The excavations undertaken in 2002 and 2004 brought to light a garden with a long pool and two flowerbeds one meter beneath the pavement. The garden was buried after the assassination of Peter I and it seems that it was never used. The courtyard was then paved and the pool finally disappeared in 1584.

This discovery has thrown light on other examples of similar courtyards in the Alcázar, such as the Patio del Yeso and the Patio de la Casa de Contratación, as well as in other places outside Seville, such as the courtyard of the Convent of Santa Clara la Real in Tordesillas (Valladolid). The original fourteenth-century garden has been recently restored.

Source: Archaeological Analysis, 2002–2004

-Antonio Almagro, Luis Ramón-Laca

Resources:

La recuperación del jardín medieval del Patio de las Doncellas (Open in Zotero)

Originally published at: Almagro, Antonio, and Luis Ramón-Laca. “Patio de las Doncellas, Alcázar of Seville.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, November 18, 2014. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/catalogue#b_start=0&c6=Andalusian++Gardens. Archived at: https://perma.cc/J8KF-DV5P