A pioneer project in Mojacar

MACARENA O´NEILL, deputy head of the Junta’s Culture department, visited Mojaca recently.

Accompanied by Almeria’s the Historic Heritage delegate, Eloisa Cabrera Carmona, she was greeted on her arrival by Mojacar mayor, Rosa María Cano and town hall councillors.

This was one of O’Neill’s first visits since her recent appointment to the Junta post and she thanked all present for such a warm welcome from a town with a great artistic heritage and cultural past.

The Culture department’s deputy explained that she was aware of the municipality’s important sites, including the Las Pilas settlement that was inhabited since the beginning of the Bronze Age – approximately 3,000 years ago – until its end in the Third Century BC. O’Neill added that she was also familiar with Loma el Monte, belonging to the Neolithic period (10,000-4,500BC).

However, her main interest, she admitted, centred on Granada University’s excavations in Mojacar la Vieja, sponsored by Mojacar town hall with collaboration from the Valparaiso Foundation.

Restoring Mojacar la Vieja, which dates back to roughly the 12th Century, was a pioneer project for Almeria province in terms of approach and  management, O’Neill said.

During her visit to the site, she also met the 30 archaeologists taking part in the 2021 campaign and was shown their latest finds.