PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The
University of Valladolid’s archaeological team at the Celtic-Iron
Age necropolis and Roman settlement of Pintia has chosen ArchaeoSpain to
organize international student crews to join its team this summer.
The excavation focuses on the Vaccean necropolis and city walls. The Vaccean culture was an Iron Age people with Celtic links that settled in north-central Spain around the 5th century BC. The cemetery, located about 300 meters (984 feet) from the main settlement, was used between the 4th century BC and the 1st century.
Up to 2004, archaeologists had uncovered about 70 cremation tombs. Since then we have opened around 130 more, including warriors, women and children. Research in this area and the study of the war-related and culturally related artifacts are helping investigators understand the social organization of these pre-Roman peoples.
In 2007 and 2008 teams uncovered around 50 cremation tombs, the majority dating to between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Around 500 funerary artifacts were found, and of those 100 came from a single burial of two girls. Our most important find was Tomb #153 and its 115 grave goods, including some unique ceramic copies of jewelry.
In
2009, Pintia crews excavated 44 tombs containing around 600 man-made artifacts.
In one section around 100 giant limestone slabs (some weighing nearly a
metric ton) covered the tombs, which protected them from subsequent farming
and left the funerary jars and grave goods in excellent condition. The artifacts
recovered included daggers, broaches, spear points, grills, knives, tongs,
tweezers, shaving blades and necklaces.
Over the past two seasons, we uncovered 28 tombs, including a spot that may have served for the cremations. We also found the first Celtiberian coin minted in Navarra, plus one grave in perfect condition with artifacts such as a ceramic tripod, a double-bellied ceramic bottle and a bronze belt buckle inside a funerary urn.
Last year marked the beginning of new research at Pintia: the excavation of its defensive wall, 1 kilometer long and 7 meters wide (see photo below). Remains measure around 1.3 meters high, but we estimate that the original reached 6 meters. We uncovered one of the towers, and it's diameter was 10 meters. The moat and trenches surrounding the wall are providing a lot of organic material, which means we will be using different excavation techniques than those used in the necropolis.
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This
coming summer the plan is to continue in the necropolis in June and July,
and in August we will include work at the city wall/moat and possibly at
a Vaccean sanctuary.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE PINTIA COVER STORY IN
'CURRENT WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY' MAGAZINE
Participants are expected to contribute to all aspects of the project, including excavation, mapping, photography, artifact conservation and cataloguing.
In addition to the excavation and lab work, there will be a number of seminars and workshops related to the fieldwork.
Do
not worry if you do not speak Spanish because it is not a prerequisite to
participate. Bilingual archaeologists will guide you during your stay. Those
that sign up, though, will be immersed in the language daily and we hope
that they will take advantage of the program to improve their spoken Spanish.
The summer heat and the physical nature of the excavation will make the
work demanding, so participants should be in reasonable physical condition
and in good health.
But hard work always reaps its benefits once an archaeologist relaxes and reflects on the day's excavation. With this mantra in place, the group will make time several times each week to experience Spain away from the shovels and picks, either by visiting a café bar or by touring several nearby Roman and Medieval sites of interest.
In cooperation with students' universities, academic
credit can be obtained.
Click here to
learn more about receiving credit.
PLEASE NOTE that the partnership between the University of Valladolid and ArchaeoSpain means that ArchaeoSpain will handle all logistical and administrative efforts prior to the excavation. Once at Pintia, the university is responsible for everything else, including the fieldwork, seminars, workshops, bilingual team leaders, room and board, and excursions.