New archaeological dig campaign at La Draga
The new dig campaign which recently started at the Neolithic site of La Draga, Banyoles, will allow studying new remains of wooden constructions and the monitoring of their state of conservation. This year, two open days will be offered on 13 and 20 June, at 4 p.m., to explain the tasks of the archaeologists, explained by the scientists themselves.
The campaign will be conducted until 28 June and focuses on the southernmost part of the site so as to continue with the sector worked on last year. The dig will consist in the total excavation and documentation of the earlier identified wooden constructions. In addition to the digs, the campaign allows researchers to register and monitor the state of conservation of the wooden remains, which date back more than 7,000 years.
All this will complete the knowledge that is gradually being generated about the Neolithic farming communities that settled around the lake, their way of life, social organisation and the landscape that surrounded them.
This year also includes the participation of students of the bachelor's degree in Archaeology of the UAB who are carrying out their field practices, as well as a large group of specialists, project collaborators and volunteers from other universities in Spain.
The Archaeological Museum of Banyoles, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IMF), the Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia (MAC), the Center for Underwater Archaeology of Catalonia (MAC-CASC), and the UAB coordinate the excavation campaign of the Neolithic site of La Draga, in which researchers from IPHES-CERCA (Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution) also participate.
The differentiated nature and objectives of these institutions allow a more complete approach to the uniqueness of the site and enables carrying out different research tasks, training new researchers, conserving the remains and disseminating data.
The Museum of Banyoles additionally organises two open days for visitors to learn about the latest discoveries made at the site.
The campaign is carried out within the framework of the project “La Draga (Banyoles) i la neolitització al nord-est de Catalunya. Formació i dinàmiques d’ocupació de jaciments a l’aire lliure" [La Draga (Banyoles) and the Neolithic period in northeastern Catalonia. Training and dynamics of occupation of open-air sites], within the four-year research projects in Archaeology and Paleontology for the 2022-2025 period called by the Ministry for Culture of the Government of Catalonia.
The excavations conducted at La Draga and the research activities are financed by the Archaeological Museum of Banyoles, the Ministry for Culture of the Government of Catalonia, the CSIC, the UAB and the MAC, as well as the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.