Cal Sitjo expands its stratigraphic sequence with new datings reaching 10,200 years
The sixth excavation campaign at the Cal Sitjo site (Sant Martí de Tous, Anoia), directed by Dr. Bruno Gómez de Soler (IPHES-CERCA) and carried out between 27 October and 14 November, has made it possible to expand and consolidate the site’s chronological sequence with new datings reaching 10,200 years before present. This development strengthens the potential of Cal Sitjo as a key location for studying Mesolithic and Neolithic communities in central Catalonia, a period still poorly documented in the region.
Located on the left bank of the Tous stream, the site preserves more than eight metres of Quaternary fluvial deposits (travertine, clays and sands) exposed thanks to natural erosion. The various radiometric analyses obtained this year place the sequence between 10,200 and 5,700 years before present—an exceptional time frame that allows for precise analysis of the transition from the last hunter-gatherer societies to the first farming and herding groups.
According to Bruno Gómez de Soler, “Cal Sitjo has the potential to become a key site for understanding how the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic unfolded in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The data we are obtaining are helping us reconstruct subsistence strategies and cultural changes during this period.”
A campaign focused on expanding the sequence and exploring new areas
The 2025 work has enabled researchers to deepen the Neolithic levels (Level 4) and the Mesolithic levels (Levels 7, 8 and 9) of Trench 1, with excavated surfaces of 15 m² and 1 m² respectively. At the same time, Trench 2 was opened, measuring approximately 4 m² and located 15 metres north of the first trench, with the aim of locating Mesolithic levels at higher elevations and identifying layers older than those documented to date.
A privileged site for studying the earliest human groups in the Anoia region
The stratigraphic depth of Cal Sitjo and the presence of features such as hearths, possible hut floors, and postholes demonstrate intense domestic and technological activity. The abundance of flint in the surroundings highlights the importance of this resource in tool production and in the economic organisation of these early communities.
Together, these factors make Cal Sitjo a key site for analysing the cultural and technological processes that shaped the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in central Catalonia. Future campaigns will help complete this unique sequence and provide new data on social organisation and daily practices thousands of years ago.
During the fieldwork, the Councillor for Culture of Sant Martí de Tous, Oriol Ribera, visited the site to learn first-hand about the progress of the campaign. “These excavations help highlight a space of enormous scientific and heritage interest within the municipality of Sant Martí de Tous. It is an opportunity to better understand our past and to strengthen the town’s commitment to research and heritage conservation,” he stated.
Funding and participants
Nine people took part in the campaign, including researchers from IPHES-CERCA and students from URV and UOC, as well as two residents of Sant Martí de Tous, Javier Cámara (University of La Laguna) and Vicenç Guinart, who fully integrated into the excavation tasks and actively contributed to the progress of the campaign.
The intervention is part of the four-year project Prehistoric Territories of the Anoia Basin (2022–2025), approved by the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia.
The work has been funded by the Department of Culture (CLT009/22/00044), AGAUR (017 SGR 836 – GAPS), MICINN (PID2022-138590NB-C41) and the Sant Martí de Tous City Council, with support from the Amics de Sant Martí de Tous association and the essential collaboration of the landowner, Jordi Cañellas.