Archaeologists in the southern Spanish town of Utrera confirmed on Tuesday they had uncovered a 14th-century synagogue hidden within a building that was later converted into a church, hospital and most recently a bar.

Archaeologist Miguel �ngel de Dios told journalists that �the first thing to confirm is the presence of the prayer room� following years of analysis of the building�s walls and floor.

�The fundamental elements of the synagogue, such as the entrance hall,� he said, �or the perimeter benches that have emerged in this survey, now confirm that we are indeed in the prayer hall.�

The only hint of the Jewish temple�s existence came from a priest and historian, Rodrigo Caro, who wrote in 1604 that a hospital now stood on a site where Jews used to pray. There are a tiny handful of medieval synagogues surviving in Spain, including in the cities of Toledo and Cordoba.

The Utrera synagogue was converted into a church in the 16th century, de Dios added, when all traces of its Jewish past were erased. His team now hopes to identify the pulpit and a bath used for rituals.

�We now have the scientific certainty that we are standing in a medieval synagogue,� Utrera mayor Jos� Mar�a Villalobos said. �The state of conservation of the synagogue, being partial, is nevertheless exceptional,� he added.

Attracting tourists interested in Spain�s Jewish past has become a key focus for towns with historic traces in recent years.

In 1492, Spain�s Catholic monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, decreed that Spain�s 200,000-strong Jewish population convert to Christianity or be expelled.

Spain has attempted in recent years to make amends for what the government termed this �historic mistake.� In 2015, the Spanish government allowed the descendants of exiled Sephardic Jews to apply for Spanish citizenship, with 132,226 people doing so.

(AP)