Neolithic jewellery pieces found at La Draga

06/07/2016

The excavation campaign this year at the Neolithic site of La Draga, Banyoles, has led to the discovery of a double ring and a bone pendant with triple perforation, two unique pieces of jewellery found in Western Europe until now. The items were found in the filling of one of the excavated pits, together with six cut horned skulls and an abundance of archaeological material, which according to researchers from the UAB and the IFM-CSIC working there, make up the greatest and most important evidence of ritual practices found at the site until now.

These findings have led to the end of the excavation of this sector, began in 2015, and the localisation of several pits which last year were interpreted as being places in which debris was deposited.

One of these pits, however, presented a special filling which led researchers to hypothesise something quite different to their initial interpretation. The complete excavation has yielded an abundance of archaeological material, including a double ring and bone pendant with three holes; to date no similar items had been found in Europe. The skulls of two oxen, three goats and one roe deer were also found; as well as numerous animal remains in excellent conditions, some still anatomically connected. The filling also yielded other objects such as polished adze blades, decorative elements and flint and bone tools.

“The structure's filling and the material recovered together are of special significance and can be related to some type of ritual practice, where specific parts of animals - such as the horned skulls - were deliberately placed inside the pits. These type of practices had been documented in La Draga before, but not with the magnitude and clarity of this year, and the intention might have been some type of offering in which horned animals were of special significance", explain Antoni Palomo, lecturer in Prehistory at the UAB, and Xavier Terradas from the Milà i Fontanals Institution (IMF-CSIC).

The presence of ox skulls specially transformed to be exhibited is a practice known to have existed since the beginning of the Neolithic period and common throughout the Mediterranean. The ox is considered to have traditionally been the animal to represent attributes such as fertility, strength and water, and was used often in foundation rituals for cabins and also as an accompaniment element in funeral rituals, say researchers.

The Neolithic site of La Draga is located on the eastern banks of the Banyoles Lake. The site was discovered in 1990 and since then digs have been conducted under the coordination of the Archaeological Museum of Banyoles. Given the importance of the site, in 2008 a research project was built to continue works and includes the participation of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia and the Spanish National Research Council (IMF, Barcelona). The joint efforts of these institutions, different in nature and in objectives, has enabled archaeologists to take on a more complete approach towards the singularity of the site by conducting research tasks, training new researchers, conserving the remains discovered and disseminating all their findings.

In this year's excavation campaign, which finalises on 8 July, a group of twenty students from the UAB bachelor's degree in archaeology participated as part of their compulsory work placement subject. Students from other universities and centres around Spain also took part in the excavation (University of Barcelona, University of Valladolid, the School of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property of Catalonia - ESCRBCC), as well as from Europe (University of Rennes 2 and University of Thessaloniki).

Images (UAB-CSIC):
http://www.uab.cat/uabdivulga/img/UAB_LaDraga2016_1.jpg

http://www.uab.cat/uabdivulga/img/UAB_LaDraga2016_2.jpg

http://www.uab.cat/uabdivulga/img/UAB_LaDraga2016_3.jpg