The Mediterranean Archaeology Connections, Materialities and Writing (GRACME) research group at Pompeu Fabra University, led by Ana Delgado Hervás, a professor of Prehistory at the UPF Department of Humanities and an expert in Mediterranean archaeology, has successfully completed a new archaeological excavation at Turó de Vilanera, in L’Escala (Girona).

As in previous years, the intervention has yielded important discoveries, which will enrich our understanding of the communities that inhabited this enclave, both during the Iberian era and in earlier periods. The results of this campaign will be key to delving deeper into the relations between the local Iberian communities and the Greek settlement of Empúries, located just 1.7 km away.

Three excavation areas with noteworthy finds

This year, the team of archaeologists has worked on three different points on the hill, each with significant results. In the first sector, a new domestic structure with a rectangular floor plan has been identified, located near the building excavated in the 2023 campaign. Among the remains found, a combustion zone stands out, possibly associated with culinary activities, and a storage space, where the base of an attic glass and an Iberian amphora have been recovered in a very good state of preservation. These findings indicate the presence of a complex Iberian dwelling at the top of the hill, erected towards the end of the fifth century or during the fourth century BC.

In the second sector, an area comprising at least two buildings, again with a rectangular floor plan, has been delimited. The magnitude of these constructions and their stratigraphic complexity have led efforts to focus on the northern section of one of the buildings, consisting of three quadrangular rooms. Numerous materials dating from the Iberian period have been found in this dwelling. The building is located next to a street or open space, where large quantities of ceramics -especially amphorae- dating from the second and first centuries BC have been recovered, which indicates the significant continuity of this settlement over time.

The third sector of the excavation, though smaller in size, has provided important information concerning periods prior to the Iberian era. Although no clear building structures have been located, the ceramic remains recovered provide new clues for future research projects. These remains are part of the study of everyday life over the centuries, and establish Turó de Vilanera as a key space in the territory where the dynamics of settling and transformation span several historical stages. They also provide a broader view of the cultural and social evolution of the Ter river basin and its surroundings. “These findings offer a unique opportunity to explore how the groups that inhabited this Iberian settlement interacted with the Greek port of Empúries”, Ana Delgado Hervás asserts.

Ana Delgado Hervás: “These findings offer a unique opportunity to explore how the groups that inhabited this Iberian settlement interacted with the Greek port of Empúries”

A project with institutional and voluntary support

This year’s campaign, directed by Ana Delgado Hervás (GRACME/UPF), Mateo González Vázquez (University of Trier, Germany), and Arnau Lario Devesa (University of Barcelona), is part of a research project funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia-Empúries and L’Escala town council.

In addition, the excavation has enjoyed the active participation of students and volunteers from several universities: Pompeu Fabra University, the University of Barcelona, the University of the Balearic Islands, the Complutense University of Madrid, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and the University of Salamanca, who have contributed to the success of this new campaign.

> Report broadcast on the Radio 4 - RTVE programme “Sense Memòria”