Maestranza was the royal arsenal just right outside of Fort Santiago, facing Plaza Militar (now Plaza Moriones), and beside the Pasig River. It was located near the Herrerías (royal foundry) and used to store the ordnance for the military.

A street bearing the name of Maestranza used to exist along the Almacenes walls, but it disappeared when the walls from Fort Santiago to Baluarte de Santo Domingo were demolished in 1903 and the area was turned into river wharves. Together with Baluarte Maestranza Herrerías, the Almacenes walls (now more popularly referred to as Maestranza walls) were reconstructed by the Intramuros Administration. The archaeological excavations began in 2008 and construction works commenced after.

The Almacenes curtain wall’s grand stairway along Calle Maestranza in Intramuros. Photo courtesy of National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian via John Tewell.

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