Cova Eirós reveals new evidence of funerary use during the Bronze Age
The archaeological campaign has recovered more than 50 human bone remains belonging to a child aged between 6 and 8 years, associated with fragments of decorated pottery
The excavations, co-directed by IPHES-CERCA researcher and URV professor Xosé-Pedro Rodríguez, have also provided new evidence about the Neanderthals who inhabited the eastern mountain ranges of Galicia more than 45,000 years ago
Excavations at Cova Eirós and the nearby Gruta dos Bloques, in the municipality of Triacastela (Lugo), have uncovered a Bronze Age child burial that confirms the funerary use of these caves between 1600 and 1500 BC. At Gruta dos Bloques, more than 50 human bone remains have been recovered which, according to the preliminary palaeoanthropological study carried out by Dr Marina Lozano, researcher at IPHES-CERCA and professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), belong to a single child aged between 6 and 8 years, together with fragments of decorated pottery dating to the same period.
The discovery expands our knowledge of the different periods of occupation at this site and provides new evidence on the diversity of funerary practices during the Bronze Age in the north-western Iberian Peninsula. The evidence highlights the importance of caves for these communities, not only as places of habitation but also as funerary spaces, at a time when elsewhere in Galicia burials were carried out in cists, small burial mounds or through the reuse of earlier megalithic monuments.
The archaeological excavations are co-directed by Dr Xosé-Pedro Rodríguez Álvarez, professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and researcher at IPHES-CERCA, with the participation of researchers from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and the Universidad de Oviedo.
New evidence on the Neanderthals of Cova Eirós
This summer’s campaign has also confirmed the presence at Cova Eirós of earlier Middle Palaeolithic occupations. In particular, work on the new Level 5 has yielded new archaeological and palaeontological remains associated with Palaeolithic occupations in the entrance area, providing further insight into the Neanderthals who inhabited the eastern mountain ranges of Galicia more than 45,000 years ago.
These groups used the cave as a camp during relatively short stays. This level contains the greatest quantity and density of archaeological remains, including flakes, scrapers and debris from their manufacture.
Continued research into the heritage of Cova Eirós
The work has been carried out within the framework of the Archaeological Action Plan of the Consellería de Cultura, Lingua e Xuventude of the Xunta de Galicia, in collaboration with the GEPN-AAT research group of the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), and the Universidad de Oviedo.
These initiatives aim to continue advancing the research, conservation and promotion of Galicia’s outstanding archaeological heritage.