The Pope's Chair

Mobile phone masts invaded
the Roman ruins

TARIFA There is a spot near Tarifa - and close to the Roman ruins at Baelo Claudia - called locally La Silla del Papa (or The Pope's Chair). Alas, these Roman ruins have never been properly excavated, and they have suffered modern day pressure with an invasion of the area by several mobile phone masts. But a recent meeting held at the Baelo Claudia centre there has set the bases for a number of projects aimed at revealing more about the Pope's Chair. This thanks to an ongoing agreement between the Council for Culture and the Casa Velázquez High Spanish Studies, based in France.>>>

History & Archaeology Workshops coming up

JIMENA This year's History & Archaeology Workshops, the 19th edition (already!) is scheduled for the weekend of March 30 and 31, with a full programme of conferences and events, as it always is. The spirit behind this event since its inception is the Official Chronicler of Jimena, Don José Regueira Ramos, once the village pharmacist and father of the two present incumbents. He started them with others, including Hamo Sassoon, long time resident of the village, sadly absent since 2004. Read the whole programme below, untranslated; if you want to attend, you will have to have Spanish.>>>

Carteia to show unseen places this weekend

SAN ROQUE An extraordinary guided tour of areas at the Roman ruins of Carteia is scheduled for this coming Saturday. Enthusiasts of Roman ruins (of whom we seem to have been meeting more lately - something in the water?) will get to see places that are not included in the usual tour, such as the theatre and what has been called 'the shops'. The tours, of 50 people maximum, take place at 10 and 11.30am, lasting about an hour and a half. Also, we're told, a visit to the top of the town gives a magnificent overall view of the 30 hectares so far unearthed. An optional addition is a visit to the Municipal Museum in San Roque. If you're interested, here's where to book and find out more: Carteia: 956 670 122 from 10am to 2pm; e-mail: cacarteia.ca.ccul@juntadeandalucia.es - or the Municipal Tourist Office, 956 694 005 from 10am to 2pm; e-mail: turismo@sanroque.es.

Fishing with 'art' in the Straits

Baelo Claudia

TARIFA The museum at the Baelo Claudia Roman Ruins site near Bolonia (officially, Conjunto Arqueológico de Baelo Claudia) is holding an exhibition of sea fishing equipment as used by Phoenicians and Romans, and therefore as used in Andalucía. Called 'Pescar con arte. Fenicios y romanos en el origen de los aparejos andaluces', it is on until July 31, 2012 and is described as a 'journey' that, although centered on the stretch between Bolonia and Algeciras, it also travels through the Mediterranean, from the Algarve to Sicily, via North Africa, 'in antiquity', showing the links between the different (or not-so-different) cultures and their influence upon each other. Several museums have cooperated in allowing 'priceless' objects to be shown, and there is information, too, from some 15 archaeological sites all over Andalucía. Worth seeing, we think. (note for Spanish Conversation students: the word arte means 'art', yes, but it is also applied to fishing tackle, particularly of the type used in the Straits area - fishing being an art, according to fishing people of our acquaintance.)

The 'Venus of Estepona' makes her appearance

ESTEPONA (Agencies) The team of archaeologists working on the site where the future Estepona hospital is to be located, and a prehistoric burial site, has found a clay piece they believe to be over 5,000 years old, which would place it toward the end of the Nelolithic period. It is five cms in height and represents the female figure, according to the head of the dig team, Ildefonso Navarro. The piece is the only one of its kind to have been found in the province of Málaga. It is thought to be some kind of amulet or fertility/fecundity symbol linked to the spiritual world, given that although it has no features other than those attributed to females. Some further one hundred objects of the same period have been found at this site, inside prehistoric structures resembling wells but believed to be graves, including vessels that have remained practically intact, sculptured arrow heads, polished axes, necklace beads and stone idols, among others. Clay pieces of other periods have also been unearthed, particularly some that have been dated to the 7th and 8th century BC.

Weather looks good, Jimena's battle re-enactment is confirmed

One of the star attractions of this year's History & Archaeology Workshops (inauguration tonight at 7pm at Misericordia church) has been confirmed. Weather forecast says it will be sunny on Sunday, so the event is in two parts: At about 11.30 a parade will start from El Paseo (Plaza de la Constitucion) and head up the hill to the castle. After that, with no time established, the re-enactment of a battle in Spains's War of Independence in 1812, takes place in and around the castle grounds. (Check our UpComing Events Calendar at bottom of this page for the complete programme for History & Archaeology Workshops.)

Events related to the 18th History & Archaeology Workshops get under way tomorrow

JIMENA The 18th History & Archaeology Workshops get under way tomorrow Wednesday, at least for the children. In an ongoing effort to involve school children in the history of the region, several events for them are planned from tomorrow to the end of the workshops on Sunday (You can see them all on our Upcoming Events Calendar). The first such is a guided visit to the castle for the kids in sixth grade primary school, in the company of educators. Other activities follow, including a story-telling of the French invasion of Spain under the title 'The French are coming!' (poster), a prelude to the scheduled battle re-enactment on Sunday.

20 years recording, investigating and researching the history of the Campo de Gibraltar

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The Instituto de Estudios Campogibraltareños (IECG, or Institute for Campo de Gibraltar Studies) was born on April 5, 1991. Twenty years ago a group of local researchers came together to volunteer their cooperation to study the history of the area. There are more than 200 members today, many of whom will be at the several lectures of the eighteenth edition of the History & Archaeological Workshops at Jimena de la Frontera. At various times and places the institute has organized workshops on history, on flora & fauna, on archaeology and Prehistory and on literature - all related to the Campo and Gibraltar. The institute's magazine Almoraima (photo of cover for number 16, about the Siege of Gibraltar), which contained the results of these and many other investigations and the workshops, was published on paper for 37 editions. However, financial constraints have meant that the magazine has not been published since 2007. A digital version of the workshop contents continues to be issued, nevertheless.>

Full programme for Jimena's History & Archaeology workshops

JIMENA You will find all the details of this year's History & Archaeology Workshops on our Upcoming Events calendar (just scroll all the way down). Starting on Thursday, April 6, there are all kinds of interesting lectures (in Spanish), including lectures on the restoration of the castle, on the Algeciras-Ronda railway, on the War of  Independence (i.e. the Peninsular War), a battle re-enactment, and, importantly to those of us who knew the long-time Jimena resident, a tribute to archaeologist Hamo Sassoon. These among other things. Check the UpComing Calendar.

War of Independence battle to be re-enacted in the castle as part of 18th History and Archaeology Workshops

JIMENA (Press release) This year's annual History and Archaeology Workshops, the 18th, take place from April 6 to 10 next. Given that much of the subject matter this time centres on Spain's War of Independence (called the Peninsular War in British history), as well as the Constitution of that same year (nicknamed La Pepa), one of the features of the edition is the re-enactment of an 1812 battle that is scheduled for Sunday, April 10, starting at 1.30pm. Among various lectures and round tables (see the full programme below), the one by History Professor Pablo Martín Gómez on the Battle of Jimena that took place on September 25, 1811, which sparked the idea for a recreation. The battle will be created and performed by the Asociación Histórico Cultural 'Por la Resistencia', from Algodonales, which has been organizing similar events in the mountain villages for a number of years. The idea is to recreate as closely as possible the battles that occurred at the time, using the uniforms, clothing and armament of the time. This is Jimena's way of being part of the celebrations for the bicentenary of the Constitution of Cádiz of 1812.>

Algeciras's largest Islamic cemetery disinterred

ALGECIRAS (Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur) A dig at the site that will eventually become a centre and library for documents in Algeciras has revealed what had been expected by archaeologists: a 700 year old Islamic cemetery containing about one hundred partial or full skeletal remains. These are not only of great archaeological value but, given the ritual simplicity of Islamic burials, Given the ritual simplicity of Islamic burials, they are easily catalogued and archived. Placed in simple earth graves facing Mecca, some of them have stones placed at the feet, though rarely do they have any form of headstone. If so, these are almost exclusively of the mqabriya type. Islamic cemeteries were usually placed outside the towns, often near the gates. This one was at the gate that lead to Gibraltar, at the upper corner near where the Marinid ruins were revealed last year.

Wonderful story emerges from Jimena's History & Archaeology Workshops

The History & Archaeology Workshops are in full swing in Jimena despite the rain, but there is a human story that emerged at yesterday's tribute to the municipality's Favourite Daughter Ángeles Vázquez (photo), who died recently. In one of her books, Vázquez tells of an incident that happened when she was fleeing, on foot, the advancing Nationalist forces on the Carretera de la Muerte (Road of Death) between Málaga and Almería. Exhausted and terrified, the young girl threw herself into a ditch by the side of the road ready to die. Hearing a horse and rider approaching she thought this was the end of her. It turned out that the horseman was a Republican, who scooped her up and took her to safety. Ángeles Vázquez spent the rest of her life trying to find the unknown rider to thank him for saving her life. She never did, although she discovered indirectly that he had died many years ago. But here's the good part.>

Jimena's History & Archaeology Workshops get under way tomorrow evening

JIMENA
The 17th edition of Jimena's History and Archaeology Workshops get under way tomorrow, April 15 at 6.30pm, at the Leopoldo de Luis Cultural Centre in Jimena village (across the street from the Town Hall), with the inauguration of the event. There are a large number of lectures and activities, which you can see in a large version of the poster below or, even larger (and clearer) on this PDF document. Many of the events will be taking place at the old Misericordia church, just below the castle and, among others, the activities include a walk through the Historical Quarter to hear stories, anecdotes and traditions from residents in situ. Also, talks on the Spanish Civil War, the Roman ovens on the Guadiaro River, a walk through Finca Las Limas to visit a prehistoric burial ground.>

2010 History & Archaeology Workshops of Jimena: April 15 to 18

JIMENA
The 17th edition of Jimena's History & Archaeology Workshops are scheduled the weekend from April 15 to 18 next. The programme follows last year's format that combines technical lectures with field trips to nearby places of interest. This year's field trips include a walk through the village's Historical Quarter with the objective of hearing the oral history from the elderly 'before it disappears altogether (Saturday 17th), and another to the anthropomorphic burial grounds at El Coto, which leaves from Las Limas into Los Alcornocales Nature Park. See the entire programme (in Spanish) here.