The discovery occurred during expansion works on the phreatic water network on Consell de Cent Street, between Passeig de Sant Joan and Independència Street, when stone and brick stairs surfaced. Initial findings confirmed it was a Civil War air-raid shelter, located opposite number 605, prompting intervention by the Servei d’Arqueologia de Barcelona and the company Global Mediterránea-Geomática.
Although the entrance and the first section were in a good state of preservation, archaeologists encountered an unexpected obstacle: the main gallery of the bunker had been completely severed. The destruction occurred during the construction of the parking lot for an eight-story apartment building erected in the 1980s, which occupies the route of the former shelter.
The localized section is not viable for public visits, as it is abruptly cut off by the parking lot.
The preserved section, which advances in a zigzag pattern, is just over 17 meters long and saves a six-meter drop. It is believed to correspond to shelter number 313 (or 445) from the 1938 list of anti-aircraft enclosures, a space designed for 720 people and originally 200 meters long. During the intervention, metallic objects were found, such as preserved food cans and an undetonated fragmentation grenade.
Due to its condition, the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) has ruled out opening it to the public, opting instead to seal the stairs and create a register well for exclusively technical access. This finding coincides with the demolition of three city blocks around Plaça de les Glòries to create a new green area, a project that the Associació de Veïns del Clot wants to proceed without delays, although they propose a temporary use for the vacant lots.
