Trincheras revestidas de mampuesto: Nuevos datos sobre las primeras defensas terrestres del Canal de Panamá

• Autores: John Griggs, Tomás Mendizábal, Juan Guillermo Martín
• Localización: Canto Rodado: Revista especializada en patrimonio, ISSN-e 1818-2917, Nº. 5, 2010, págs. 1-38
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen
  • español

    Durante las recientes investigaciones arqueológicas relacionadas con el proyecto de ampliación del canal de Panamá, se identificaron y documentaron una serie de trincheras revestidas de mampuesto, en los cerros Aguadulce y Cedro, localizados en ambas márgenes de la entrada pacífica del canal (Griggs et al. 2009a, 2009b).

    Las características constructivas de estas estructuras tienen similitudes con aquéllas reportadas y descritas en el cerro Gatún, en la vertiente caribe de la vía interoceánica. Estas últimas se han interpretado como el resultado del fortalecimiento del sistema defensivo español en el río Chagres, durante el siglo dieciocho, sin embargo, la revisión documental sugiere que se trata de los restos de una extensa red de defensa costera construida por los militares estadounidenses entre 1913 y 1914 para proteger los acercamientos al canal y sus esclusas

  • English

    Recent archaeological research in the Central Pacific of Panama, undertaken by the Expansion Program of the Panama Canal Authority, have discovered a series of stone revetted trenches in two hills, Aguadulce and Cedro, located to the west and east, respectively, of the Pacific entrance to the Canal (Griggs et al. 2009a, 2009b). These trenches are very similar in form and manufacturing technique to those previously described on Gatún hill, which dominates the landscape over the Chagres river, approximately 8.5 km from the Caribbean entrance to the canal (Albright 1971; Manucy y Gagliano 1958; Reverte 1960; Weaver y Bauer 2004; Webster 1971). Several researchers (Albright 1971; Manucy y Gagliano 1958; Reverte 1960; Webster 1971) affirm that the Gatún trenches were built by the Spanish Crown in the mid eighteen century to strengthen its fortification system along the Chagres river � which was the fluvial section of the Cruces Trail � one of the key trans isthmian routes for commerce in colonial times that connected Fort San Lorenzo in the Caribbean coast with Venta de Cruces, the trails terminal near the continental divide.

    This article describes and discusses the recently discovered Pacific side trenches, with a revision of the literature related to those related structures on Gatún hill, and presenting an alternative hypothesis concerning the purpose and antiquity of the trenches on both coasts. This hypothesis, which considers the historical development of military trenches as well as details about the fortification of the Panama Canal published at the beginning of the twentieth century, proposes that the trenches are the remains of an extensive network of coastal defenses built by the American military between 1913 and 1914 to protect the approaches to the Canal and other key installations, such as the locks.