The second excavation campaign of the MARQ in the Cova de l'Or de Beniarrés (Cave of Gold in Beniarrés) have brought to light important Neolithic ceramics with depictions of the sun star. Archaeologists and specialists have been working during the month of July together with volunteer students from different universities.
The Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture, Julia Parrawelcomed the progress being made in all the explorations of the Excavations Plan of the Archaeological Museum, which has a budget of 130,000 euros and with the participation of more than seventy MARQ archaeologists. and volunteers. Parra also assured that "this year we are once again meeting the ambitious objectives set to advance research in such an important enclave as the Cova d'Or, an example of the effort being made by the MARQ to deepen our knowledge of our history".
The Cova de l'Or is one of the most representative sites in the Valencian Community, key to research into the Neolithic period on the Iberian Peninsula, with a sequence that spans from 5,600 to 2,800 BC. The enhancement of this heritage site, carried out by the Diputación de Alicante through the Architecture Department and the MARQ, culminated with its opening to the public in June 2021guided tours run by the MARQ Foundation in collaboration with the Town Council of the municipality.
Investigated at various times in the 20th century, the cave is considered to be a sanctuary used by the first farmers and shepherds in the 6th millennium BC. Consuelo Roca de Togores, Carlos Ferrer and Jorge A. SolerThis year, excavation has been carried out a narrow crack open to the exterior, the recording of which has provided ceramic sherds of large vessels and others with decorationsAmong them, there are astral representations that confirm the religious connection. This record indicates life outside the cave and suggests that production-related rites may have been practised on the esplanade leading to the cave.
This year's campaign has been very successful in documenting more recent levels of use of the cave corresponding to the modern period (17th-18th centuries). In addition to ceramic material such as pots, casseroles and basins, remains of fauna and combustion have been found, which have been interpreted as corral areas for the enclosure of domestic livestock inside the cave. There have also been documented punctual levels of the Roman and Iberian times.
In another of the profiles, the excavation has allowed us to delve deeper into the investigation of the late Neolithic period, in which the record of human remains and elements such as ceramic vessels, ornaments such as pendants made of shell and stone, objects made from animal bones, such as awls and others made from flint stone, such as laminites, confirm the funerary use of the cavity.
