Beneath the cover of Valencia’s quaint streets and raftered houses lies the rubble upon which it was built. Before the entry of the Europeans were the Romans and Arabs, followed by a short Visigoth period till it transitioned into the community that now flies its banner above ground. Imagine if you could push aside these covers for a moment to bring the past back to life through remnants of past civilizations still left beneath.

Wide basins cut out of sandstone and patterned along the sides were once filled with water and curtained off, the warmth of the public baths providing welcome respite. Broken cobblestone form intersecting paths that was bursting at the seams with vendors selling trinkets and vases, a constant crushing stream of people busying their way through the main thoroughfare of this Roman City. Painted stone create patterns against the slate-like wall to mark the transition to Balansiya, the Arabic city that stood on these grounds. Fragments of the main Muslim alcazar inspire what once was, towering pillars and multihued mosaics.

Yet a skeleton partially buried in the sand shakes away the illusion and you’re back at the Museo de la Almonia in Valencia. Though long dead, each ornament and article in the collection undeniably preserve a piece of the past to be relived.