The Archaeological Museum of the Provincial Council of Alicante (MARQ) has concluded the fieldwork and research planned in the Illeta dels Banyets archaeological site as part of the 2021 Excavation Plan with outstanding results that have confirmed the existence of a new production facility for the preparation of canned fish in this settlement from the second half of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd century BC, located in the municipality of El Campello.
The excavation team led by the director of MARQ, Manuel Olcinaand the archaeologist of the Fundación C.V. MARQ Adoración Martínez, has brought to light a new area The building is characterised by a street or passageway and an open-air area lined with basins, lined on the inside with a thick waterproofing lime mortar. Although no similar examples are known from this period, fish waste found confirms the use in the fish salting process. This discovery opens up new fields of study in relation to the technical procedures used in this Mediterranean industry.
This new discovery is in addition to previous ones that have led to the discovery of other facilities for the transformation of raw materials, including wine presses, an oil press, an esparto grass workshop and a pitch kiln. All these elements make the Illeta dels Banyets is the archaeological site from the Iberian period with the greatest diversity of productive installations concentrated in a small area and in a good state of preservation.. Archaeological research has also made it possible to establish the degree of influence of the Punic world on certain buildings and forms of construction.
The Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture, Julia ParraHe congratulated the work team "for the important advances they make every year with the aim of deepening our knowledge of the way of life of our ancestors". He also announced that the new exhumed structures "are expected to become part of the musealised and visitable route of the site once they have been consolidated and protected by the Department of Architecture of the Provincial Council of Alicante".
This year's campaign has been carried out with the volunteer collaboration with the aim of further developing a didactic function aimed at students and new professional archaeologistsThe visitors have the opportunity to gain experience and learn first-hand about the excavation and laboratory work involved. With regard to the informative work, visitors to the site have been able to see the process and learn about the development of the work and the methodology used.
The Illeta dels Banyets is located in a privileged place, included in the National Plan of Cultural Landscapes of the Ministry of Culture. This small peninsula occupies the central part of the coastal area that stretches from the Serra Gelada to Cabo de las Huertas. Many cultures have settled here at different times in history, from the late Neolithic to the Romans.. Among the constructions, the famous fish hatcheries known as the Queen's Bathswhich give the site its name. The site contains traces of each of the cultures that inhabited the area, revealing the type of life they lived. Thanks to the archaeological method and the material remains, we can learn about their degree of technological development and their political organisation and customs.
