“New history” revealed in this year’s Isla del Fraile dig in Águilas

Confirmation of a Byzantine settlement on the Águilas island in the 6^th century

This year’s archaeological dig on the Isla del Fraile in Águilas has now ended with significant progress having been achieved in the excavation of “new” evidence of the historical development of human settlement on the tiny island.

This seventh annual dig was overseen by Alejandro Quevedo of the SCIC institute and Juan de Dios Hernández García (the director of the Museo Arqueológico de Águilas) and focussed on the phases of occupation related to the Roman Republic in the 1^st century BC and the “maqbara” or burial site of Moorish times, as well as various eras which came in between. These include evidence of severe destruction in the 5^th century AD, and at the same time it has been possible to confirm the existence of a Byzantine period in the 6^th century AD, due to the discovery of a room which dates from the time of the Emperor Justinian as he was trying to reconstitute the former Roman Empire.

Another facet of the investigations this year was the underwater work coordinated by CSIC expert Javier Rodríguez Pandozi, concentrating on the wreck of the Nido del Cuervo. This was a Roman vessel which sank in the bay of El Hornillo in the mid-1^st century BC.

Participants included Sabine Panzram, Professor in Ancient History at the Unversity of Hamburg, who is returning to Murcia in November to take part in a symposium entitled “Monsasterium in insulam” in Águilas and Cartagena.

The full results of this year’s campaign will be made public in the autumn.

For more local events, news and visiting information, contact the tourist office of Águilas (telephone 968 493285) or go to the home page of Águilas Today.