In this plaque we can read the history of the chapel.
GL: "Declarada Ben de Interese Cultural en 1951 e ubicada nunha área de gran riqueza agrícola a carón do río Miño, a primeira referencia a este lugar data do ano 993 no Tumbo de Celanova. Este documento menciona a existencia dunha comunidade monástica.
En 1156 documéntase a Igrexa de "Santa María de Francelis" que, dende o século XV, se adicou a Santa María Magdalena e posteriormente a San Xes. No século XVII temos referencia a que os terreos próximos á igrexa eran denominados "do mosteiro".
A pesares destas referencias documentais pouco sabemos da orixe desta construción, a planta do edificio orixinal ou as influencias dos seus elementos arquitectónicos. Polo que, desde principios do século XX, foron numerosas as persoas que realizaron investigacións sobre a igrexa tratando de dar resposta a estas preguntas.
En 1985 un destes estudos sacou á luz os resultados das sondaxes arqueolóxicas realizadas no interior e na contorna da igrexa no que foi descuberta unha necrópole altomedieval que excede en amplitude a planta da actual capela. Non obstante, o feito de que non atoparan restos da cimentación da construción orixinal, fai que descoñezamos a día de hoxe como era planta do edificio orixinal.
En 2017 estudos arqueolóxicos analíticos deron un pouco máis de luz sobre esta cuestión mediante a lectura dos paramentos combinada coa datación dos morteiros de terra mediante a OSL (Luminiscencia Óptica-mente Estimulada) e o radiocarbono. Os resultados deste estudo revelan a conservación de parte dos alzados dun edificio dos séculos IX - X na zona Sur, Leste e Norte da capela actual. Non podemos dicir o mesmo para o sector Oeste, onde o feito de que os muros deste sector atravesen as tumbas altomedievais confirma que son posteriores a elas. Polo tanto, aínda non se pode confirmar que as pezas da fachada pertenceran ao edificio orixinal.
A única peza decorada in situ que pertenceu ao edificio orixinal é a xanela saetera do muro sur que, como moitas outras pezas reutilizadas, está ornamentada cun sogueado. Este tipo de decoración pon a igrexa de Francelos na pista da chamada arte prerrománica asturiana (co sogueado característico deste grupo ar-quitectónico e o paralelo da celosía de San Salvador de Priesca, fundada ao redor de 921), que segundo as últimas revisións, hai que datar na época de Alfonso Ill, entre a segunda metade do IX e inicios do X."
EN: "Declared Ben de Interés Cultural in 1951 and located in an area of great agricultural wealth next to the Miño river, the first reference to this place dates back to 993 in the Tumbo de Celanova. This document mentions the existence of a monastic community.
In 1156 is documented the Church of "Santa Maria de Francelis" which, from the fifteenth century, was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and later to St. Xes. No seventeenth century we have reference to the land near the church was called "of the monastery".
Despite these documentary references we know little about the origin of this construction, the plan of the original building or the influences of its architectural elements. Therefore, since the beginning of the 20th century, numerous people have carried out research on the church in an attempt to answer these questions.
In 1985, one of these studies brought to light the results of archaeological probes carried out inside and around the church, in which an early medieval necropolis was discovered that exceeds the current chapel in size. However, the fact that they had not found remains of the foundations of the original construction, means that we do not know today what the floor plan of the original building was like.
In 2017 analytical archaeological studies shed some more light on this question by reading the walls combined with the dating of the earthen mortars by OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) and radiocarbon. The results of this study reveal the preservation of part of the elevations of a 9th - 10th century building in the South, East and North areas of the present chapel. The same cannot be said of the west sector, where the fact that the walls of this sector cross the early medieval tombs confirms that they are later than them. Therefore, it is still not possible to confirm that the pieces of the façade belonged to the original building.
The only decorated piece in situ that belonged to the original building is the window of the door of the south wall which, like many other reused pieces, is ornamented with a decoration. This type of decoration places the Francelos church on the track of the so-called Asturian pre-Romanesque art (with the characteristic decoration of this architectural group and the parallel of the latticework of San Salvador de Priesca, founded around 921), which according to the latest revisions, must be dated to the time of Alfonso Ill, between the second half of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century.
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