The Consell de Mallorca and the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics (IEB), are launching a new archaeological excavation campaign at the San Francisco convent in Soria to further investigate the possible location of the remains of Jaume IV of Mallorca, the last monarch of the kingdom’s own dynasty. The excavation will take place from 15 to 30 September 2026, resuming research first undertaken in 2008.
The new intervention will focus on the former Chapel of the Conception, identified as the area with the greatest archaeological potential on the basis of historical documentation and the findings from the first excavation.
The professional team will comprise three archaeologists — Helena Inglada, Maria Llinàs and Llorenç Vila — together with an assistant technician and additional specialists if required. The research is coordinated by Professor Gabriel Ensenyat and includes researchers specialising in the history of Jaume IV and the Kingdom of Mallorca, including Climent Picornell and Josep Mas.
Antònia Roca, First Vice-President and Councillor for Culture and Heritage at the Consell de Mallorca, said that “this project is an opportunity to continue recovering and highlighting the history of the Kingdom of Mallorca through scientific rigour”.
She also stated that “continuing research that began almost twenty years ago demonstrates the Consell’s commitment to research, heritage and knowledge of our past”.
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Archaeological excavations in Soria seek to locate the remains of Jaume IV of Mallorca
Llorenç Perelló, Director General for Culture of the Government of the Balearic Islands and Vice-President of the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics, stressed that “history still has unanswered questions, and research is the best tool to answer them”.
Perelló also defended the importance of promoting projects that “through scientific rigour contribute to expanding knowledge about key episodes and figures from our past, as is the case with Jaume IV”. Both Roca and Perelló highlighted the value of cooperation between institutions and research teams in the new campaign.
The project builds on the results of the first archaeological intervention carried out in 2008 and on historical documentation identified during the research. Jaume IV’s will, preserved in the National Archives of France, states that the king died in Soria and ordered that he be buried in the city’s San Francisco church.
However, the available documentation does not definitively confirm that his burial actually took place there. Archaeological evidence is therefore essential to advancing the investigation.
Research has identified the apsidal area of the original church as the zone with the greatest archaeological potential. This corresponds to the former Chapel of the Conception, where historical documentation places a burial area.
The 2008 excavation confirmed the existence of structures and a built space beneath the former altar. However, the work did not fully explore the stratigraphy and could not determine whether the remains of Jaume IV were among the structures found.
The 2026 campaign will continue work in this area and extend the excavation towards the apse as far as the closing wall of the former chapel. The planned excavation area covers approximately 115 square metres.
The aim is to identify stratigraphic units and possible tombs associated with historically documented burials, while also expanding archaeological knowledge of the site.
The campaign forms part of a broader research project into Jaume IV and the end of Mallorca’s own royal dynasty. Previous documentary research has included material from archives in Mallorca, the Crown of Aragon, France, Italy, the Vatican and England, as well as various municipal and provincial archives.
The documentary investigation seeks to deepen knowledge of Jaume IV’s life, his political alliances, his attempts to recover the Kingdom of Mallorca and the circumstances surrounding his death.