New archaeological excavation campaign begins at the Cova de les Teixoneres and Cova del Toll sites in Moià

A new archaeological excavation campaign is underway at the Cova de les Teixoneres and Cova del Toll sites in Moià. The fieldwork, which began on 22 June and will run until 22 July, is being led by IPHES-CERCA researchers Dr Ruth Blasco, Dr Anna Rufà, Dr Florent Rivals, Dr Ivan Ramírez and Dr Jordi Rosell.

At Cova de les Teixoneres, the main objective of this year’s campaign is to continue excavating the oldest archaeological levels, dating back approximately 200,000 years, where numerous faunal remains have been recovered, particularly those of rhinoceroses.

At Cova del Toll, the excavation will continue focusing on the recovery of cave bear remains in order to better understand the relationship between these animals and the Neanderthal groups that inhabited the area.

Research team

In addition to researchers from IPHES-CERCA and Rovira i Virgili University (URV), the team includes collaborators from several international institutions, including the ICArEHB laboratory at the University of Algarve (Portugal), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET, Argentina) and the Gibraltar Museum, among others.

Funding

Research at the Toll and Teixoneres caves is funded by the European Union through the SCAVENGERS project (ERC-2022-ADG 101097511), by the Catalan Government’s Department of Culture through the project “Humans i Carnívors al Paleolític Mitjà: Cohabitació Real o Percepció Esbiaixada?” (Ref. ARQ001SOLC-258-2025), and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project “Neanderthal behaviour and palaeoecology in Mediterranean ecosystems” (Ref. PID2022-138590NB-C41). The excavations also receive logistical and financial support from the Moià Town Council.