A team of researchers from the Department of Prehistory of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona will be directing a research project, creating a museum and scientific dissemination of findings at the archaeological site La Bastida located in the municipality of Totana, Murcia. In addition to the excavations and the study of archaeological materials, the project includes the installation of a monographic museum about the site and the creation of a research institute dedicated to the Bronze Age in the Western Mediterranean, the first of its type in Europe.
La Bastida, located in Totana, Murcia, is one of the most important archaeological sites of European prehistory. The site was inhabited during the Argaric Bronze Age, more than 3500 years ago, and now contains an enormous treasure that will shed light on the past and the cultural and patrimonial history of Murcia.
La Bastida will soon be the source of different research projects, a museum and scientific disseminations which have two objectives in mind. The first is related to systematic research which combines extensive archaeological digs and specialised scientific analyses. The second focuses on developing a programme for the new museum and dissemination of findings at the site, as well as to set the bases for a future centre of international reference in the archaeology and prehistory of the Mediterranean.
The project is directed by UAB professors Vicenç Lull, Rafael Micó, Cristina Rihuete and Robert Risch with the support and funding of the Regional Ministry for Culture and Tourism of Murcia. Participating in the initiative are also the Spanish Ministries for Industry, Tourism and Trade and for Science and Innovation, as well as the UAB and the City Council of Totana.
At present some thirty professionals are collaborating in the project from a variety of scientific and technological fields, most of whom come from prestigious research centres such as the University of Arizona, USA, in the field of physical anthropology; the University of Cambridge, UK, in the field of micromorphology and archaeological sediments; the University of Kiel, Germany, in radiocarbon dating; the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and the University of Tübingen, Germany, in the field of archaeometallurgy analysis; the University of Murcia, Spain, in palynology and botanical reconstruction; the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in the field of carpological analysis; and the University of Reading, UK, in the analysis of ceramic contents.