SERP researchers discover new rock paintings in Vilafranca (Castellón)
Members of the Seminar on Prehistoric Studies and Research (SERP) of the University of Barcelona (UB) have discovered twelve new rock paintings in Vilafranca (Castellón). Paintings show two humans and several animals, for example bulls and deer. The find is part of a project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport to study the site of the Covatina del Tossalet del Mas de la Rambla. Researchers Inés Domingo and Dídac Roman were working on the project —which includes the creation of teaching and 3D materials about the archaeological site and a sign-posted route— when they discovered the new paintings which are part of the prehistoric rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin included in the World Heritage list by UNESCO.
Members of the Seminar on Prehistoric Studies and Research (SERP) of the University of Barcelona (UB) have discovered twelve new rock paintings in Vilafranca (Castellón). Paintings show two humans and several animals, for example bulls and deer. The find is part of a project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport to study the site of the Covatina del Tossalet del Mas de la Rambla. Researchers Inés Domingo and Dídac Roman were working on the project —which includes the creation of teaching and 3D materials about the archaeological site and a sign-posted route— when they discovered the new paintings which are part of the prehistoric rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin included in the World Heritage list by UNESCO.
Paintings are very naturalistic; figures evoke hunting scenes. Cave paintings dating to 7,000 years are located between two areas of rock art: Valltorta-Gasulla (Castellón) and Bajo Aragón. The new find contributes to better know the pathways that communicated these two large areas of rock paintings.
The project funded by the Spanish Ministry has different parts. Now, researchers are developing the first phase which aims at evaluating the scientific, artistic, cultural and touristic value of the site. Paintings were found during the archaeological exploration of the surrounding area, included in the first phase. SERP has been working in Vilafranca since 2006; for the last three years it has carried out an excavation funded by the town council.
SERP, headed by Professor Josep M. Fullola, is a research group affiliated with the chair in Prehistory of the Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology of UB. Founded in 1986, the group has focused its activity on the paleoenvironmental reconstruction and the study of cultural evolution in Prehistory from an interdisciplinary approach.