FINALISTS

Due to the quality of the projects submitted, a pre-selection by an internal committee of experts was necessary.

Almoloya-Bastida Project: power, gender and kinship in a forgotten civilization of the Bronze Age

La Bastida (Totana, Murcia), Spain

The ‘Almoloya-Bastida Project’ started in 2009 with the aim of better understanding the emergence, development, and collapse of El Argar (2200-1550 cal BCE). This society of south-eastern Iberia is one of the best examples of the radical political and economic changes that took place in Early Bronze Age Europe. Our interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research has focused on two exceptional archaeological sites: La Almoloya and La Bastida, both in the region of Murcia (Spain). They are in the homeland of El Argar and were occupied during the whole Argaric period

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Exploring the Wood Technology of the Neanderthals of the Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona)

Abric Romaní, Capellades, Tarragona, Spain

The Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona) is a Neandertal site discovered by Amador Romaní in 1909. From 1983, and under the direction of Professor Eudald Carbonell, the annual excavations were resumed and have not stopped since then. It is a sequence of more than 40 meters of travertines alternating with beds of silts in which the existence of at least 27 high-resolution archaeological levels has been determined. The dating of the complete sequence indicates the existence of sedimentary beds between 40 and 110 ky BP. Highlighting the excavation of about 300 m2 of surface which has allowed, the reconstruction of the domestic areas of the Neandertal groups. These occupations correspond to short-term settlements, of a few days, and long-term ones, which reached several months and would group a greater number of individuals. In addition to the combustion structures identified in all levels, 120 wood imprints have been recovered

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La Draga in the context of the first Neolithic communities in the peninsula

Banyoles, Girona, Spain

La Draga, dated between 5300-5000 cal BC, is the only lake-dwelling site in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. It was discovered in 1990 when the land surrounding the lake was being arranged to accommodate the rowing competition in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Since then, the site has been excavated in several phases. The first field season took place as a rescue project, when the preservation of organic material was observed. Later the excavation continued as a systematic research project under the supervision of Josep Tarrús, Julia Chinchilla and Àngel Bosch. Finally, from 2008 until the present day, the research project continues as under the direction of the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia -MAC-, the Autonomous University of Barcelona -UAB- and the Spanish National Research Council –CSIC-IMF, Barcelona-. The site has an extension estimated around 10.000 and 15,000 m2 and the area excavated is of 1000 m2, representing between 5-7% of the total area of the site

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Archaeology in the city and territory of Tusculum (Italy). From archaic times to the present day

Tusculum, Rome, Italy

Since 1994, the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma (EEHAR-CSIC) leads the archaeological research project focused on the now-abandoned city of Tusculum, devoted to the rediscovery and study of this important ancient settlement, founded over the archaic period and situated 30 km south-east of Rome. This project is the main institutional one and it is currently one of the longest archaeological research frame of a foreign institution in Italy

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Pintia Project: creation of infrastructural and museographic bases for research, conservation and dissemination of knowledge of the Vacceo-Roman oppidum of Pintia.

Pintia Archaeological Zone between the municipalities of Padilla de Duero/Peñafiel and Pesquera de Duero, Valladolid, Spain

The Pintia Project was born in 1999 thanks to a project financed byl the Ministry of Science and Technology in which numerous companies and public and private entities collaborated to create infrastructures and investigate and disseminate the knowledge generated from this vaccaean oppidum. Some of these companies, such as Tempos Vega-Sicilia Group, still collaborate with the project more than twenty years later and have been incorporated into the CEVFW Board of Trustees

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Coinage and Metal in Late Roman Baetica. Scientific Study of the Tomares Hoard

Seville Archaeological Museum, Spain

By now, we have studed more than 10 % of the coins in the treasure. This included cataloguing and graphic documentation of each coin, as well as physical analysis (archaeometry) of the alloys (silver content) We believe that the number of coins studied so far is statistically significantive for the analyis of the hughe historical and economic significance of the Tomares treasure based on the data collected. Only a multidisciplinary perspective can provide a comprehensive understanding of the treasure and its economic context

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