How a solar project revealed one of Spain's greatest archaeological finds

How a Solar Project Revealed One of Spain's Greatest Archaeological Finds
ACCIONA Energía's Extremadura I-II-III solar plants have led to the discovery—and protection—of a site that holds over three thousand years of history, from the Copper Age to the Roman Empire.
Marco Flavio perceived the pattering of the rain on the armors and the wet clay of the ground against his cheek. His mind drifted back to the rainy nights when his mother would comfort him from the thunder in distant Thrace.  “Jupiter is angry,”  she’d whisper, lifting him onto her knees. The  soldier of the  Legio VII Gemina   had gone on patrol the previous evening with a fixed plan: to desert by nightfall. He’d heard rumors that Emperor Aurelian was preparing to send a detachment to distant Palmyra.
Under the cover of darkness, the  legionary  set off lightly, carrying only an iron dagger and a  loculus , a knapsack with some unleavened bread. Marcus Flavius had barely advanced a league when he heard shouts of alarm from the camp. If he failed to escape, he faced the  fustuarium , the brutal execution for deserters. The next day, it rained.
Nearly two millennia later, a group of archaeologists began to excavate the limestone soil of a hill near Almendralejo, a town in the Spanish region of Extremadura. They soon discovered the remains of a  male skeleton with a  pugio , the dagger of the legionaries. The body,  dated between the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D ., was buried face down, perhaps a sign of dishonor, in a shallow grave suggesting a hasty burial.
How did he end up there?  Was he an executed legionary? A deserter? We named him Marco Flavio, but  his true story remains a mystery . This was yet another surprise from the Cortijo Lobato archaeological site. Together with ACCIONA technicians, the team of archaeologists was uncovering  one of the greatest finds of recent decades .
Archaeology is the narrative built from tangible remains preserved over time. We still don't know what that body was doing in the middle of a much older site, but we do know that its remains likely would  never have seen the light of day if not for the installation of ACCIONA Energía's  Extremadura I, II, and III photovoltaic complex, located in the municipality of Almendralejo.
In this article, we explain  how renewable energy and archaeological research are working hand in hand  in a pioneering collaboration that respects the legacy of our ancestors while ensuring the future of our descendants.
The Iberian Peninsula is rich in archaeological sites. From the Atapuerca chasm to Arab fortifications, Neolithic dolmens, the necropolis of the enigmatic Tartessos, Iberian busts, and Roman amphitheaters, each civilization has left its mark.
However, few places have traces from such diverse periods as those found at Cortijo Lobato. Specifically, remains  from settlers dating from 2800 B.C. to the 5th century A.D.  have been discovered in the area. That means the Copper Age (or Chalcolithic), the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Low Roman Empire—all coexisting in the same space: the Extremadura I-II-III photovoltaic complex, which encompasses 11 sites.
On March 1, 2021, during preliminary surveys of Extremadura III, significant traces of prehistoric human activity began to emerge. This led to discussions with the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Regional Government of Extremadura. The goal was to  locate, delimit, and safeguard the sites while finding ways to enable the construction of the photovoltaic installation .
Modern archaeology is costly in terms of economics, time, and human resources, so research must often be selected and postponed. One way to overcome this is through collaboration between companies and the public sector. This is the path we chose to follow.
“Preserving this heritage has been a priority from the start. We hired an archaeology company and worked closely with regional authorities to ensure the site’s margins were not compromised,”  says Mikel Ortiz de Latierro, ACCIONA Energía’s Environment, Social, Health, Safety, and Quality Director.
According to  Montserrat Girón , archaeologist at TERA S.L., coordinating the excavation work, this is a  “very big commitment”  from ACCIONA Energía, which includes the participation of a team of some fifteen archaeology specialists, in the commitment to research the archaeological site that it has acquired .  The work has already begun and will continue for the coming years.
Cortijo Lobato
This farmhouse, located in the province of Badajoz near Almendralejo, lends its name to this unique archaeological site in Spain, where remains dating back over 5,000 years have been discovered.
Prehistory among solar panels
The site is located within ACCIONA’s Extremadura I-II-III photovoltaic complex on the outskirts of Almendralejo, a small town in Western Spain.
A succession of cultures and civilizations
So far, remains from the Copper and Bronze Ages and some Roman settlements have been found.
A majestic fortress
One of the most spectacular finds is a Copper Age fortress designed to protect the territory and resources of the communities that lived there.
Weapons, looms, handicrafts and ceramics
Currently, remains of ceramics, loom plates, and arrowheads have been found, some made of flint and others of copper.
The time traveler: a Roman “infiltrated” in the Copper Age
This pugio, likely belonging to a Roman legionary, was found buried in a pit at the site. It stands as one of the most fascinating and mysterious discoveries. What he was doing there and how he met his end remains unknown.
Archaeologists highlight the overlapping of different periods in one place as the most exciting aspect of the Cortijo Lobato site. Besides the abundance of  loom plates, plates, flint arrowheads, chisels, stone axes, and ornamental and religious slate elements , the settlement’s structure is remarkable.
The site includes an enclosure with three concentric walls and four moats carved into the rock, corresponding to  a Chalcolithic fortification  known as a moat enclosure. It’s also where a Roman legionary, buried under unusual circumstances,  was found—a Roman,  “infiltrated”  in the Copper Age.
At its peak, the fortress walls stretched 550 meters and featured 25 towers, with moats over two meters deep. What prompted such a defensive effort?
The peninsula had been gradually turning into a fertile granary, initially for Neolithic settlers and later fully consolidated by the Romans. However, it is believed that in  the third millennium B.C., a severe drought  severely limited agricultural production. It became necessary to erect large  fortifications to protect crops of wheat and barley , legumes such as lentils, and possibly olive and grapevine plants. Those settlers also had to face their own climatic emergency.
The consolidation of agriculture and the advent of metallurgy, specifically copper tools, place the Chalcolithic in a  crucial position for the development of modern societies . This is why the Cortijo Lobato site holds significant importance in the Spanish archaeological context, alongside other major Chalcolithic settlements such as the impressive village of Los Millares in Almería.
These five-thousand-year-old settlements speak to us of some of the earliest complex social organizations. Moreover, Cortijo Lobato takes us by the hand and leads us from that foundational moment to a society as evolved as the Roman one. The current excavations within ACCIONA's photovoltaic park have only just begun, but they will surely help us unravel some of the mysteries of those prehistoric ancestors and their place in time.
To grasp the magnitude of the solar plant where the Cortijo Lobato site is located, consider that its three sites supply 125 MW of renewable energy,  equivalent to the annual consumption of over sixty-five thousand families . As construction progressed, the areas needing archaeological protection within the plant expanded to 35 hectares.
This is where  rec…

Text scraped from the landing page for research purposes. © respective owners. This text is sourced from the advertiser's public landing page; for removal, contact dmca@luba.media.