Jews began to settle the Mediterranean coast at the beginning of the Roman Empire. Records of the Jews in Girona date to the end of the 9th century. The community prospered and experienced "true splendor" in the 12th and 13th centuries. Moshe ben Nachman, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, a master of the kaballah, was an internationally known figure.In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Girona. Some Jewish families chose to sell their properties to Christians before leaving Girona. Other members of the community believed they would return one day. They blocked off their properties and streets in hopes of reclaiming them in the future. The Christian neighbors who were left behind were reluctant to move into these vacant homes for fear of being labeled secret Jews by the Catholic Church. As a result, the homes of the Jewish ghetto or Call (derived from the Hebrew “Kahal” meaning “community”) remained unoccupied for 500 years. New construction projects covered and entombed the vacant Jewish properties through the 18th century, completely burying the Jewish "call.".In the 19th century, when a railway line was being built from Barcelona to France. When the construction crew dug through Mount Juic (Mountain of the Jews), 20 tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions were unearthed.