With the beginning of September, the Archaeological Museum of Alicante has set up the excavation works for the 2020 campaign in both the Tossal de Manises Lucentum as in the Illeta dels BanyetsThe first two years of the five weeks.
At Lucentum, this year's excavation project is being led by Manuel Olcina, Eva Tendero, Antonio Guilabert and Rafael Pérez and is part of the Research Plan called "...".Excavation of the access road to the ancient cities of the Tossal de Manises (Sector A)". The objectives are aimed at adaptation of the excavation space of areas I, II and III of the sector chosen for its subsequent museumisation, focusing on the documentation of the remains of the urbanisation of the area from the Augustan-Tiberian periodThe project will be carried out by unifying those surfaces already intervened in previous phases.
Similarly, the excavation of a space to the north of the Area I of intervention to learn about the preserved stratigraphy outside the wallsThe documentation of the structures related to the time of construction of the original wall in the Barquid period, its adaptation in the Sertorian period, its extension in the Caesarian period and its subsequent transformation in the Flavian period, when it was obliterated, both with the tavern and with the domus of the Eastern Gate.
Meanwhile, in the Illeta dels Banyets and under the direction of Manuel Olcina, Adoración Martínez and Rafael Pérez will work on the Research Plan of the ".Excavation of the Southwest Quarter of the Punic settlement of Illeta dels Banyets (Sector J)". The objective is the excavation of the upper strata of the esplanade of the basins, bounded to the northwest by flat Ib 50, to the northeast by street 3, to the southeast by flats Ib 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57, and to the southwest by the fence of the site.
The MARQ Annual Excavations Plan has been seen this year conditioned by the health situation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic which has made it necessary to adopt preventive health measures to avoid viral infection.
In this regard, the Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture, Julia ParraDespite the limitations imposed by the coronavirus, great achievements are being made in the 2020 excavation campaign thanks to the extraordinary effort being made by the directors and the teams involved to adapt without losing the pace of work," he said.
Among the measures implemented, it is worth highlighting the reduction of the number of volunteers to 50% than initially planned without decreasing the programmed area to ensure the interpersonal safety distance. In addition, the mechanics of the excavation and documentation process have been organised in order to avoiding proximity, contact and the involuntary crossing of people, who are obliged to use a mask when the interpersonal distance cannot be maintained, while at the same time making use of liquid disinfectants and proceed to the frequent hand washing.
In addition, each volunteer manages non-transferable tools and other excavation equipment from the beginning to the end of the campaign.
