Date Published: 16/07/2020
ARCHIVED - Archaeologists from Barcelona consolidate Argaric La Bastida site in Totana
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The work is costing 95,913.90 euros
The La Bastida Argaric site in Totana has been under excavation for several years, but the biggest problem facing archaeologists is that the very reason the location was chosen is still the same reason why it is so difficult to conserve the site; its strategic location high on a hillside.
The settlement was built on a steeply sloping hillside, which made it easier to defend and protected it from the flooding which would have occurred during episodes of torrential rain in the valley below, but as archaeologists have found in evidence of rebuilds in the buildings unearthed to date, also made it vulnerable to landslip during these same rains.
The walls were built three and a half thousand years ago using stone from the surrounding land, wood and mud so once they are exposed to the elements, they are immediately vulnerable to water run-off and damage by the harsh conditions of southern Spain, so on this site walls must be consolidated and supported in order to conserve the outline structure after excavation.
Most of the site is still buried, but the area which has been excavated is open for public tours at weekends and requires constant maintenance to consolidate the stone and mud walls.
This summer technicians from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) who undertook the original excavations are back on site undertaking the consolidation work, with a 95,000 euro budget paid for by Totana Town Hall.
The site can be visited at weekends
In spite of the Covid crisis visits to the La Bastida Argaric site in Totana have resumed at 09:00 and 19:00 on Saturdays and Sundays during July and August.
The site can only be visited via a guided tour and these are in Spanish. However, information boards are in dual languages and are very good.
Tickets can be purchased via turismo.totana.es
Masks are obligatory.
This is a tantalising site for archaeologists as just 15% of the total surface area covered by this Bronze Age settlement has been excavated to date, the remainder of what would once have been home to nearly 1,000 people still buried beneath three and a half thousand years of soil and vegetation.
The Argaric culture is one of the great mysteries of Bronze Age Europe and archaeologists working at the site admit that the more they learn about this intriguing culture, the more questions they have.
The site was first discovered back in 1869 and although civil engineer Rogelio de Inchaurrandieta uncovered 20 graves, its significance was not fully understood until 1886 when two Belgian brothers, Henri and Louis Seret undertook investigative work on the site as there appeared to be a link to other sites they were investigating in the province of Almería, over the border in Andalucía. Artefacts had a uniformity which indicated a cultural parity between a number of sites and finally the culture was designated the “Argaric Culture”following the excavation of a first major settlement at El Algar.
Since then further sites have come to light and it is now known that the Argaric Culture covered all of Almería, much of Murcia, parts of Granada and Jaén and along the coast into Alicante province in the Comunidad Valenciana.
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Reservations for all visits can be made at the Totana tourist office in person, by telephone on 968 418153, by email at turismo@totana.es