Spanish solar project unearths 5,000-year-old fort — and a mystery burial
Excavations for a 21st-century solar energy project have revealed Spain’s largest known Copper Age fort, dating from nearly 5,000 years ago, in one of the country’s biggest archaeological discoveries.
The find has come complete with a mystery from a later date — a grave holding the skeleton of a Roman legionary buried face down, with a dagger placed on his back.
The remains of the massive fortress, which spanned 13,000 square metres with three concentric walls, 25 towers and deep protective moats, were discovered near Badajoz in the western Extremadura region.
The strategically positioned fort was abandoned in 2500BC after four centuries of use
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The site, near Almendralejo and known as Cortijo Lobato, was discovered during the construction of a solar energy project by Acciona Energia, a Spanish energy giant, which is funding the excavation, research and preservation of the archaeological site.
“There is only one similar site in the rest of Spain, in Almería, but this one is twice as large,” said Victoria Bazaga, the region’s culture minister.
Jenifer Andreu, from Acciona EnergIa, said: “We had to modify the project to adapt the panel configuration to the different areas of the site. In the end, we managed to preserve the electricity generation capacity and protect all areas of archaeological interest.”
César Pérez, the archaeologist in charge of the dig, said that the fortress was located at a strategic point and was abandoned in 2500BC after about 400 years of use due to a fire and a possible assault, as suggested by the numerous arrowheads found.
The discovery of a large number of arrowheads suggested the fort met a violent end. The sophisticated design, below, is rare for the period
“It had a violent end. We are seeing more and more in this type of site that the level of conflict in the Chalcolithic period was higher than previously thought,” he said.
“The sophistication of the defensive design and the need for a large workforce reinforce the idea of a structured and well-organised community,” Pérez added.
Milagros Fernández, the excavation technician at Cortijo Lobato, said: “The main importance of this site is the structure and fortification because it combines a moat with a wall, which is rare in the period.”
Pottery shards and arrowheads have been found at Cortijo Lobato.
But the most mysterious find at this site are the remains of a single male skeleton that appears to be that of a Roman soldier buried face down and with his feet cut off with a well-preserved and sheathed Roman military dagger, or pugio, placed on his back.
The human remains date from between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and belong to a male between 25 and 35 years of age.
“The presence of the pugio in the burial, entirely intentional, is a way of indicating the social position of the person buried and his belonging to the army,” Pérez told El Pais. “The shallowness of the grave indicates hastiness and his position face down likely suggests a dishonourable burial.”
But the team said the unusual find remains a “real mystery”.