06.06.2012
Research
-
This week, archaeologists once again have begun to excavate at the Neolithic site of La Draga, located in Banyoles. Work on the site will continue until the beginning of August and archaeologists plan to finish the sector they have been working on since 2010. The studies are being conducted under the coordination of the County Archaeological Museum of Banyoles and with the participation of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia, with funding from the Government of Catalonia and the Banyoles City Council.
The excavation includes the participation of archaeology students from UAB and other universities in Spain and Europe.
La Draga is the only lacustrine site (located next to a lake) in all the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most important in Western Europe, comparable to well-known sites located in central Europe. Archaeologists have documented two precise moments of the settlement, in which they constructed wooden huts and built stone pathways; the first moment dating back to circa 5,300 BC and the latter to 5,100 BC.
The fact that the site is mostly covered by water has conserved the organic material exceptionally well. It is the only site in the peninsula to conserve remains of wooden huts and different types of tools such as arches, baskets, sickles, ropes, digging sticks, etc. In 2011 archaeologists discovered a tool made completely of wood, which they believe to be a shovel or oar.
As in recent years, researchers are also carrying out underwater survey projects with the aim of finding other archaeological sites in the lake.
Image taken by: J.Casanova
|
PDF