After more than thirty years, the Archaeological Museum of Alicante has resumed excavations at the Cova de l'Or archaeological siteThe site is a Neolithic reference point in the western Mediterranean. The recovery works are part of a new General Research Plan developed as a result of an agreement between the Alicante Provincial Council and the Beniarrés Town Council.
The First Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture, Julia ParraThe importance of restarting this study in the field after more than three decades of inactivity, an essential work to continue bringing to light relevant information for the investigation of this important archaeological enclave", he said.
The last interventions took place in the 1980s and provided valuable information about the way of life of the first farmers and stockbreeders who occupied the lands of Alicante 7,500 years agoand their artistic creations that speak of the complexity of their symbolic world. Those findings - preserved in the museums of Alcoi, Alicante and Valencia - also allowed us to interpret the cave as a space for the relationship of these first Neolithic communities in the nearby valleys.
Under the scientific direction of Jorge A. Soler, Consuelo Roca de Togores and Carlos Ferrerand with the required authorisation from the Conselleria de Cultura, the most immediate objective is now focused on finding out in greater detail about the succession of phases of Neolithic occupation of the cavitydeclared an Asset of Cultural Interest. This work is carried out through the opening of stratigraphic profiles and raids in different areas of the cave. -interior and exterior- to determine its use as a funerary space in the 3rd millennium BC.
Thus, this first year the work has focused on two areas of the cavity that have never been excavated before. On the one hand, in the so-called Eastern Gallery, levels from the most recent Neolithic period have been excavated, with evidence of livestock housingwhere, among other elements, a white flint arrowheads, fragments of ceramic vessels and bone awls.
In addition, the study of external cracks close to the entrance to the cave in order to document the funerary record of the Late Neolithic period. During its excavation, several human bones were recovered, including a fragment of the skull of an adult male and a necklace bead that would have formed part of the funerary trousseau.
The new research project has been launched following recent interventions by enhancement and opening to the public of the site that culminated in 2020 with the exhibition "La Cova de l'Or. Museo de Sitio" exhibition at the MARQ and the creation of a service of visits to the cave and the Interpretation Centre managed by the MARQ Foundation and Beniarrés Town Council.
The timetable for visiting the cave is 9:00 to 14:00 hours and 17:00 to 20:00 hours on Saturdayswith departures in a vehicle to reach the area around the Cova de l'Or at 9:00, 11:30 and 17:00. On Sundays and public holidays the opening hours are from 9:00 to 14:00. and departures will take place at 9:00 and 11:30. Anyone wishing to consult more information you can do so by clicking on the link https://bit.ly/3tzeV7J or on the MARQ website.
