A Visigoth pitcher used for libations in funeral rites, shown in the display case in the Antiquity Room, serves as a gateway to the Middle Ages, a period of which we have little documentation. Recent archeological finds have shed some light on it, confirming that Muslim settlements existed in the area of La Mesa and near El Castillo.
In 1303, the town of Chiclana, empty at that time, was handed over to Guzmán “El Bueno”, Duke of Media Sidonia, for him to populate and defend. Since then, Chiclana has been continuously inhabited. Guzmán “El Bueno” built en effective defense system including the construction of the Castillo del Lirio (Lirio Castle).
The process of repopulating the zone was slow, reaching completion in the late 15th century at the end of what is known as the Reconquest, or in the early 16th century, when trade with the newly discovered Americas boosted the economy in a market where agricultural products including wine and grains were of great significance. Except for epidemics that adversely affected it, population growth was steady.
Ceramic remains of this period, many Arab in origin, testify to both peaceful and violent encounters among cultures.
