Introduction:
    Since 1996, Dr. William Fowler (Vanderbilt University) has directed archaeological investigation of the 16th century Spanish Colonial site of Ciudad Vieja. In addition to Dr. Fowler, Roberto Gallardo (lic., CONCULTURA) has served as field director for the project, and has conducted excavations on Structure 6F1. Sheila Timmons has written a masters thesis for Vanderbilt University on a surface collection of Ciudad Vieja, and Conard Hamilton (Tulane University) and Jeb J. Card (Tulane University) continue to conduct research at Ciudad Vieja towards the goal of writing dissertations on the site. I personally would like to thank E. Wyllys Andrews V and the Middle American Research Institute for arranging and supporting my research on this project.

Background
        Ciudad Vieja is located in the Cuscatlán province of El Salvador, approximately 10 km south of the town of Suchitoto. The site has been identified as the second of three attempts to found the settlement of San Salvador (Barón Castro 1996). The first attempt to found the Villa de San Salvador took place at an unknown location in 1525 CE, but was abandoned due to indigenous revolt in 1526. A second attempt was launched at the site of Ciudad Vieja on April 1, 1528. During the next 17 years, historical documents show that between 50 and 70 Spanish male citizens resided in the town at any given time.
        History also records some of the military and political events involving the Villa de San Salvador, including the suppression of indigenous Pipil revolts in the late 1520’s, and resistance to predatory incursions by Spanish forces sent by Pedrarias Dávila, Governor of Nicaragua. San Salvador also founds the town of San Miguel, a stepping off point for attempts by the Alvarado family to conquer Peru.
        By 1545, the townspeople of San Salvador had petitioned the Spanish Crown for permission to move the town from its “bad site”, and resettle to the southwest, where the current Ciudad de San Salvador, the capital of modern El Salvador, still exists. Though the site of Ciudad Vieja has been under milpa cultivation, what few people lived there before the 1980’s fled during El Salvador’s civil war. The lack of significant post-colonial overburden makes Ciudad Vieja an important resource for understanding life in early Colonial El Salvador and Central America.
        Below is a map of the site, with site grid designations for various excavated structures and a hypothetical street plan. This map focuses specifically on the colonial period urban plan and architecture, but is based off of a more detailed topographical map. This map was created by Conard Hamilton (Tulane University) in 2002.

Map of Ciudad Vieja (courtesy Conard Hamilton, 2002)

Much of the historical data on the Villa de San Salvador can be found in

Barón Castro, Rodolfo
        1996 Reseña histórica de la villa de San Salvador desde su fundación en 1525, hasta que recibe el título de Ciudad in 1546.
                  (Second Edition) Dirección de Publicaciones e Impresos, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte Ministerio de Educación. San Salvador.