The Archaeological Museum of Alicante is putting the final touches to its annual excavation plan which in 2015 will be extended to ten sites archaeological sites in the province, spread from north to south. Nearby 120 volunteersAll of them students, graduates in History and Archaeology from Spain and abroad, will participate in this edition, which will take place between the months of May and September. The aim of this action is to continue research into prehistory, Iberian, Roman and medieval-modern culture at strategic points in the province.
The team of archaeologists from the Alicante museum will intervene at the sites of Cabezo Pardo and Cabezo de los Ojales in San Isidro, Granja de Rocamora and Albatera; Slopes of the Castle in Callosa de Segura; the Randero Cave in Pedreguer; Cova de L'Or in Beniarrés; Penyal d'Ifac in Calp; the Albufereta Bay and the Tossal de Manises in Alicante; the Illeta dels Banyets in El Campello; Juncaret ravine in Mutxamel and Plot 604 of Polygon 16 in Monforte del Cid.
The Deputy for Culture, Juan Bautista Rosellópointed out that This year the MARQ continues with its programme of archaeological excavations, considered by professionals to be one of the most complete and rigorous in the Valencian Community, both for the historical periods it covers and for the extensive territorial scope in which it is carried out..
To carry out these tasks we will have the logistical support of the town councils of Callosa de Segura, Calp, Pedreguer and Monforte del Cid through various collaboration agreements with the Diputación de Alicante.He also thanked the work of the volunteers who help in these tasks. while at the same time gaining practical training that gives them greater competence in their future professional activity..
The Diputación de Alicante will allocate a total of 119,500 euros to promote archaeological interventions, as well as the corresponding multidisciplinary work and studies in these areas of work, with the aim of documenting and conducting extensive scientific research of the findings that are recovered, as well as advancing our knowledge of the ancient civilisations that populated different enclaves in the province of Alicante.
The objectives and work plan in Cabezo Pardo and Cabezo de los Ojales are maintained in the areas already intervened previously. In the first of these, we are working to verify the possible existence of a maqbara The second was to verify the documentation of a building with a rectangular ground plan, possibly a handicraft complex.
The work to be carried out on the slopes of Callosa Castle will concentrate on the lower part of zone I to complete the recording of structures exhumed from the Bronze Age during the last campaign, while in the prehistoric cave of Randero work will continue in the central gallery and entrance hall and the inventory and drawing of materials, analyses and laboratory studies will be completed. In Cova de L'Or (Neolithic), volunteers will work on the planimetry of the entire cave.
On the other hand, in Penyal d'Ifac, one of the strategic points of the province, the eleventh campaign of excavations in the Natural Park will be promoted with field work that will consist of extending the work already begun and delimited in the gate, the west wall, the church, the necropolis and the north wall.
In the Bay of Alicante, the underwater prospecting work and the soundings for the preparation of the Underwater Archaeological Chart will be highlighted, while in the Tossal de Manises the objective will be to locate the Western Gate of the ancient city, located on the side of the site that slopes down towards the sea. In addition, at Illeta dels Banyets, it will be verified that the evolution of the section of street 3 in the southwest quarter that borders the Temple B building is similar to that of the rest of the streets already documented.
Finally, in the Barranco del Juncaret ravine, archaeological documentation will be carried out on the scarce remains of a Roman cistern, while in Polígono 16 de Monforte, work will be carried out on the adjoining plot that uncovered a necropolis from the Iberian period, next to the River road and in the area of the Huerta.
This campaign, which will begin next May, has the collaboration of the Fundación CV MARQ in the dissemination of the activities carried out and in the support of the research tasks. The Department of Architecture of the Diputación de Alicante is also participating in the coordination and advice on the consolidation of exhumed structures and the implementation of safety systems, as well as the Prevention Service of the provincial institution in advising on the prevention of occupational hazards.
