Man has always needed to express his concerns and thoughts. When writing did not exist, artistic expression was the perfect resource to convey these ideas. The set of Rock Art of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian peninsula consists of 757 sites with paintings, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1998. This is the largest set of rock art sites in Europe. In Catalonia there are the hermitage shelters of the Serra de la Pietat (Ulldecona), Roca dels Moros (Montsià) and the Cave of Vilasos or Els Vilars (Os de Balaguer), among others.
The humans who inhabited the coastal and interior mountains of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia and Andalusia chose shallow caves and shelters in which to paint and engrave symbols and scenes from their daily life. In every way, the decorated walls also raise many questions about their beliefs, organisation and other aspects which are difficult to understand.
The paintings of the Mediterranean basin were made from the late Palaeolithic period up to the bronze or the iron age. Classified as Levantine art, they express ideas that until that point had been non-existent: man showing his relationship to his environment, the links with nature, beliefs and, at the same time, expressing his power and intervention in the environment in which he lives.
The creators of the cave paintings used different techniques and colours, creating various styles that scholars have classified as naturalist, schematic and macro-schematic. These last two were imposed in the final phase, and tend towards an increasingly accentuated stylisation of the expressions and by an increasing prominence of signs and symbols. The most widely used colour is red, in all its varied tones.
Around 65 million years old, more than 38,000 m2 in size and with 3,500 dinosaur footprints. These facts make this spot in Fígols-Vallcebre Fumanya one of the most important in Europe with Cretaceous fossil remains.
Located in Alt Berguedà, the paleontological area includes the old open mining coal operations in Fumanya Sud (Fígols) Fumanya Nord, Tumi (Vallcebre) and Coll de Pradell (Vallcebre-Saldes). In addition to the footprints (ichnites), paleontologists have identified fossil remains of dinosaur eggs and bones, a large number of plant remains (tree trunks, leaves of different kinds, algae ...) and animals (fossilised shells of mollusks and invertebrates).
The discovery of Fumanya area dates back to 1985 when Louis Viladrich and his wife, members of the group Berguedà Natural Sciences, were hiking in the area and suspected that the tracks they saw in the light in Fumanya Sud could be animal footprints. The subsequent investigations of Miquel Crusafont Sabadell Paleontological Institute confirmed their initial theory.
Occupied by man since the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic Age until the Metal Ages, the Serinyà Prehistoric Cave Park consists of several shelters or caves (the Arbreda, the Mollet and the Reclau Viver).
Studies carried out have shown that this is one of the best sites in Western Europe for discovering the progression of Neanderthal man to modern man. About 200,000 years ago (Middle Paleolithic) it was inhabited by the pre-Neanderthals (Homo heidelbergensis); later (between 90,000 and 39,000 years ago) the Neanderthals lived there and finally, during the Upper Paleolithic, the caves provided a refuge for modern man (Homo sapiens). All of them inhabited this place during the last glacial periods, when the landscape was very different to that of today.
The most important discoveries include a skull found in 1973, which is the oldest remains of modern human in Catalonia (22,300 years old).
The first archaeological excavations were started by Pere Alsius i Torrent in the second half of the 19th century. In the 20th century, they were continued by Dr. Josep Maria Corominas (1943) and today, work is being carried out by researchers from the University of Girona and the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia-Girona. In 1996, the County Council of Pla de l'Estany started on the construction of the current Park.
Under the waters of El Port de la Selva bay, resting for more than 2,000 years, the Cap del Vol, a Roman vessel that sank with its cargo of wine and which has been baptised with the name of the beach where the wreck remains. From the outset, the researchers realised that the Cap del Vol was not a conventional Roman ship: the characteristics of its naval architecture were quite different from other wrecks (sunken ships) from the same period.
In particular, the draught of the vessel (the distance between the waterline and the keel) is lower than that of other ships and its keel is not pronounced. Features that made it ideal for sailing in shallow waters or in wetland areas and the scholars believe that in reality it was a ship built by the indigenous population of the area.
El Cap del Vol was carrying a load of wine stored in amphora and it is believed that it made the trip between the Catalan coast and that of Narbonne. Among the most remarkable finds there is a coin from Arse (Sagunt) and the cork in one of the amphora.
What life was like in Catalonia 7,000 years ago? Providing an answer to this question has become easier since the discovery of the archaeological site of La Draga, in Banyoles. This neolithic settlement, currently submerged beneath the waters of the lake, is one of the oldest settlements of agricultural and livestock farmers in Catalonia and is an exceptional site: it is the only one on the Iberian Peninsula where tools made entirely of wood have been recovered intact.
In 1994, the Centre for Underwater Archaeology of Catalonia (CASC) began its excavation and study, work which is underway both on the land and underwater. The wooden tools that have been found are bows, javelins, digging sticks, spindles, ladles, mixers and wedges, as well as handles, also of wood, adzes, sickles and arrow stems. The flooring recovered from the cabins where they sheltered has allowed the reconstruction of some of these prehistoric dwellings.
Currently, the La Draga Neolithic Park, located next to the lakeside village, allows the visitor to discover daily life in the Neolithic period and get to know a little more about its ancient settlers. These shelters, built on the banks of the lake, enjoy surroundings that offer resources in abundance.
At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the Battle of the Ebro was the turning point of the conflict that led to the loss of Catalonia for the Republicans. An intense combat that took place at Matarranya, Ribera d'Ebre, Baix Ebre and Terra Alta. Nowadays, the combination of the historical spaces and interpretation centres form the Espais de la Batalla de l’Ebre (the Sites of the Battle of the Ebro), living testimony to one of the most tragic episodes of the recent history of the country.
The Old Town of Corbera d'Ebre remains a silent symbol of the barbarity of this conflict. Walking among the ruins of the streets and houses recalls the bombardments and the misery of its former inhabitants. From Els Barrancs, (the gullies), in Vilalba dels Arcs, one can see a line of trenches 700 metres long which were part of the Republican defence network. At Fatarella there is a military refuge and the walls of the Castle of Miravet which served as a refuge for national soldiers who manned the town.
The Sites of the Battle of the Ebro has a total of 19 historical locations and five Interpretation Centres: 115 days (Corbera d’Ebre), Soldiers in the trenches (Vilalba dels Arcs), Blood hospitals (Batea), Voices from the front (Pinell de Brai) and Internationals at the Ebro (La Fatarella).
2700 years ago a tribe of the ilergetes created a settlement on a plain near the current Arbeca (Les Garrigues). It was a good place to cultivate the land. But despite the serenity of the place, the ilergetes feared enemy attacks and therefore raised an imposing fortification which was almost impregnable. This makes Els Vilars a unique construction in the Iberian, Catalan and European worlds and one of the essential stops on the Iberian Route.
In an oval shape, the fortress was completely walled and had watchtowers. To access it there were only two, small doors. If entering the settlement was difficult, approaching it wasn’t an easy task either: in front of the walls, a barrier of stones stuck in the ground (chevaux-de-frise) prevented the passage of outsiders on foot or on horseback. A large moat completed the defensive works. Inside, the homes were arranged around a square dominated by a huge pit.
All these structures are visible today, thanks to the restoration and conservation of the site. Seen from the air, its perfectly oval plan can be appreciated and the edges of the rectangular homes that housed the hundred or so inhabitants that lived in Els Vilars.
The ilergetes lived there for 400 years and then left the site abruptly. Why they did is still a mystery. Its strength was so unique it became a model for the Iberians of the Peninsula.
History stops again and again at Roses. Founded as a Greek colony, its location makes it a strategic point in the Mediterranean. For this reason, the site has experienced various occupations and has been a target of numerous attacks. Today, the Ciutadella is a modern cultural centre and an extraordinary site.
Brought together over an area of 139,000 m2 are the archaeological remains of the Greek colony and later Roman colony of Rhode, the Romanesque monastery of Santa Maria and the structure of the old village of Roses, which even retains some medieval fortifications.
The current walls are fortified with large bastions dating back to the Renaissance and modern eras. It was in the 16th century that the King Carles V the Holy Roman Emperor, commanded the Ciutadella and the Castell de la Trinitat to be built to protect them from pirates and Turks.
In 1814 the French themselves were the ones who wanted the Ciutadella, which has been restored and was opened to the public at the end of the 20th century.
Since 2004 within the enclosure, you can visit the Museu de la Ciutadella, a contemporary building which summarises the history of the complex.
The temples of Sant Pere, Sant Miquel and Santa María, which originally formed the Paleolithic "cathedral" in Egara, have undergone multiple stages of construction that have left their mark in a variety of styles, -from late Roman to Gothic styles- and artistic disciplines. It is, therefore, a monument unique to Catalonia.
The first building is a paleochristian complex that served as the bishopric of Egara, of which there are still vestiges of the temples of Santa Maria and Sant Miquel. The fact that there are three churches has historically been interpreted as a "copy" of the ancient Byzantine model -two churches and a baptistery- but after recent excavations (2000-2007), scholars think that the church of Sant Miquel was not used as a baptistery, but rather that it had a funerary use. Therefore, we find ourselves in a paleochristian cathedral, set out as a miniature city with several outbuildings and temples.
The second stage of construction dates back to the ninth and tenth centuries following the Christian conquest of the territory dominated by the Muslims. Therefore, the style is Pre-Romanesque; there are many signs of this era in the churches that were eventually finished in the third and final stage, by this time the Romanesque (11th-12th centuries).
At 6,000 years old, the Gava Prehistoric Mines is the oldest mining area with galleries in Europe. The mines were dedicated to the extraction of variscite (or cal·laïta in Catalan), a semiprecious mineral used to make jewelry.
Apart from the complex mining network, the site is known for archaeological remains that have been found there, which reflect the socioeconomic and cultural context of the Neolithic era in the Iberian Peninsula. Stone, bone and wood tools (metals were still unkown at that time), ceramic fragments and remnants of building materials are examples of these Neolithic remains.
One of the most outstanding objects is the Venus of Gavà, an anthropomorphic figure made of black ceramic. It is an incomplete piece and broken into several fragments, from which one can make out a female form, featuring a proportional and symmetrical structure, sun-shaped eyes and the upper limbs resting on a prominent belly. Venus de Gavà could be the image of a goddess of fertility and is one of the few religious Neolithic representations in existence in the Peninsula.
The artistic demonstrations (Venus and the jewelry) and the complexity of the mines show that the inhabitants of the area were an advanced society with strong religious beliefs.
