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Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Progress in tracing remains in the prehistoric settlement of es Cap II

The Consell de Formentera and the Institute of Heritage Sciences of the CSIC have signed a new collaboration agreement to continue researching the prehistoric sites of Formentera, the settlement of es Cap II and cave 127 on the cliffs of La Mola

Nine years ago a group of archaeologists noticed the potential for research, excavation and documentation of the prehistoric era on Formentera. At the time the archaeological map of the island had located, since the eighties, more than 40 sites from the Bronze Age in the area of es Cap de Barbaria alone.

Progress in tracing remains in the prehistoric settlement of es Cap II
Pau Sureda, director of the project, on the left with some of the volunteers. C.C. / ARQUEOBARBARIA

Such a quantity of prehistoric remains (1800-1600 BC) can give an idea of what the island and its inhabitants were like. That is to say, what life was like for the first humans who inhabited Formentera and who arrived by saililng from the mainland. This presence must have been important as it is associated with funeral ceremonies such as the megalithic monument of Ca na Costa (es Pujols), a funerary construction from the same period and, now, the 127 de la Mola cave, which allows us to reconstruct the life cycle of these first settlers.

Progress in tracing remains in the prehistoric settlement of es Cap II
The current work is based on the consolidation and tracing of remains. C.C. / ARQUEOBARBARIA

With the passage of the archaeological campaigns carried out since 2012 by this team, grouped in the ArqueoBarbaria project, they also began to excavate, four years ago, cave 127 in La Mola. There they found the remains of three individuals and various objects related to funeral ceremonies.

Progress in tracing remains in the prehistoric settlement of es Cap II
Archaeologists in the Mola cave during the 2019 campaign. C.C. / ARQUEOBARBARIA

Now, the team led by Pau Sureda (CSIC) and Edgard Camarós (University of Cambridge) is back to the excavation campaign both in the settlement of es Cap II and in cave 127, which they will finish excavating in the coming days. In addition, they have specialists Marian Cueto and Luis Teira, scientists from the International Institute of Prehistoric Research at the University of Cantabria, plus a long list of specialists in different disciplines.

Progress in tracing remains in the prehistoric settlement of es Cap II
Tooth with the pearl found in cave 127C. C. / ARQUEOBARBARIA

New agreement in the prehistoric settlement es Cap II

From the very beginning all these campaigns have had the support of the Heritage Department of the Formentera Island Council, which this year has signed a new agreement to complete these studies with the Institute of Heritage Sciences, an organisation belonging to the Higher Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC) for which Sureda works.

For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.

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