The MARQ will launch, for yet another year, the archaeological excavation programme at six enclaves of the province. A campaign which, with a budget of 130,000 euros, contributes to the increase and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the province.
The Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture, Julia ParraWith this funding, we are once again demonstrating our firm commitment to archaeological research through an extensive provincial excavation programme that covers numerous sites in the regions of L'Alacantí, Vega Baja, L'Alcoià and Las Marinas, with all the resources at our disposal and the participation of more than 70 people, including volunteers and museum staff," he said.
The plan, in which this year's participants are 58 volunteers distributed throughout the province of Alicante, fulfils the objective of documenting and carrying out the a extensive scientific research of the findingsand to advance our knowledge of the ancient civilisations that inhabited different enclaves of the territory. This is one of the most powerful actions carried out by a Spanish museum, covering periods from Prehistory, Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the duration of the work ranges from three to five weeks from July to September.
The team of archaeologists from the MARQ has been working during the month of July at the sites of the Tossal de Manises in Alicante, the Illeta dels Banyents in El Campello and the Cova de l'Or in Beniarrés, in addition, work will be carried out on the sites of the Pobla d'Ifac in Calp, on Cabezo del Molino in Rojales and to the enclave San Antón in Orihuela. Both Orihuela and Calpe town councils have signed collaboration agreements to provide human and material resources.
Tossal de Manises in Alicante. Roman period (1st century AD).
Directed by Manuel Olcina, Antonio Guilabert and Eva TenderoThe aim of this action, which lasted throughout the month of July, was to complete the excavation of the oven room (praefurnium) and auxiliary rooms of one of the emblematic buildings of the ancient city, the Roman Baths of Popilio. This intervention will complete the knowledge of the form and function of some of the rooms of this building and its historical evolution.
Illeta dels Banyets. Iberian period (4th-3rd centuries BC).
The research, with Olcina and Adoración Martínez The project has focused on excavating the lower strata of the esplanade of the pools. The importance of this project lies in the uniqueness of the installations dedicated to the salting of fish in the protohistoric period. Likewise, the consolidation of the structures discovered in recent years has been carried out under the direction of Rafael PérezThe project is being implemented by the Director of Architecture of the Provincial Council.
Cova de l'Or. Prehistory. Neolithic
Consuelo Roca de Togores and Jorge Soler supervised the continuation of the work in the cracks at the entrance to the cave in order to document the Neolithic use levels and their possible funerary use and chronology, as well as to open a new excavation area. A second objective has been to continue excavation work in the eastern gallery inside the cave.
Pobla d'Ifac de Calp. Late medieval period (14th century).
The work to be carried out from 1 August will focus on the sectors set out in the Pobla de Ifach Research Plan 2022-2025. Specifically, work will be carried out in the cemetery area next to the church with the excavation of a maximum of seven tombs and in the western sector of the wall. On the other hand, rubble and construction material will be removed from the former Palace Ifach hotel that prevents access to the archaeological levels with a view to their investigation and to prepare the areas of intervention for future enhancement. Likewise, the work set out in the Preventive Conservation Plan established in coordination with the Department of Architecture of the Alicante Provincial Council will continue.
Cabezo Molino. Hermiral period (8th-10th centuries)
On 29th August the excavation of Sector I of the site will begin, the area where the greatest number of burial structures are concentrated, and the documentation work will continue. This year an extension of the cut will be carried out on the northwest side of the site, where it is also possible to locate industrial structures from the Iberian period. A new excavation will also be carried out near Sector II, where, according to the study carried out by the University of Cadiz in 2019, an area with a concentration of structures similar to those of a large building was identified.
San Antón. Prehistory. Argaric Culture (2nd millennium BC).
It is one of the best-known sites of the Argar of Alicante and the work plan that is proposed covers practically the month of September. There are four objectives: the manual opening of a new excavation area; the archaeological documentation of the structures, sedimentary units and remains detected in this area; the carrying out of a planimetry of the general area of intervention and partial photogrammetric surveys of the structures and areas of activity documented; and the inventory, classification and archaeological and archaeometric analysis of the archaeological remains recorded during the intervention.
