The subdelegate of the Government in Lugo, Isabel Rodríguez, highlighted today in Mondoñedo the commitment of the Government with the research, conservation and enhancement of the Lucense historical heritage, with an investment of 154,000 euros to carry out the archaeological excavation works of the medieval necropolis located in the place of Combarro, in the parish of San Vicente de Trigás. These actions, financed with two grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation to the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), are allowing since August 1 a team of experts and professionals to document the conditions and lifestyle of this area of the Mariña during the medieval era.
Isabel Rodríguez traveled to Mondoñedo this Tuesday to learn in situ the progress of the research, accompanied by the mayor of the municipality, Manuel Otero; the coordinator of the project and professor in medieval archaeology at the USC, José Carlos Sánchez; the municipal archaeologist, Abel Vigo; and the owner of the land, Miguel Chao, in addition to the specialists in archaeology, anthropology and medieval history who are working in the necropolis.
In this regard, the representative of the Executive in the province stressed the importance of these investigations “to promote knowledge and reflection on our history as a way to deepen the Galician culture”. He also stressed the value of this action, whose impetus “demonstrates the sensitivity of the Government for the recovery of vestiges of the history of the province of Lugo, in this case through a site that comes to record the important feudal presence and activity in this territory.”
The interdisciplinary team that develops the work presented to the subdelegate the progress in this first phase of the project. The performance in Combarro will allow us to determine the area of the necropolis and document part of the funerary complex so that, in future phases of the program, we can know how these people were and how they were related. “It is an opportunity to bring the historical heritage closer to the neighbors and neighbors of Mondoñedo, to value it, raising awareness and sensitizing, making them participate in these archaeological studies that delve into the social and economic relations of the Central Navy, of which there is great ignorance about this time,” said Isabel Rodríguez.
He also thanked the intense research work carried out by the USC to influence the knowledge of heritage by Lucense citizens. In this sense, the University is planning informative actions in the coming months to inform about the discoveries that are being registered.
The archaeological work in Combarro is linked to the project ‘Ecologies and local economies in the high Middle Ages’ (ECOLOC), funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and to the research ‘Archaeology of monastic landscapes in altomedieval Galicia’ (ARPAMED) funded by the State Research Agency through the call for the ‘National Plan Generation of Knowledge 2020’.
Children's tomb, pottery and other important discoveries
The funerary complex under study dates from the 9th century and is located in a very large area, which is composed of different spaces, focusing these days on the polls of three analysis zones: the interior of the hinca, the exterior and the plot to one side. The land is currently covered with vegetation that did not exist at that time, but the excavation allowed two graves to emerge on the property of Miguel Chao, a child, in very good condition; and another of an adult person, deteriorated by the progressive passage of time. In these days the process of opening the tombs will begin to know the conditions that present the bone remains.
On the other hand, the professionals carried out two surveys in which they found a possible area of occupation prior to the cemetery, between the 5th and 7th centuries, with several ceramic pieces. The intervention will be completed this week to determine the stays of that site. Once the field work is finished, all the recovered remains will be taken to a laboratory to be analyzed and documented.