Annual archaeological dig begins on Isla del Fraile in Aguilas

Evidence has been found in recent years that Isla del Fraile was home to Bronze Age settlers before the Romans and the Moors

The arrival of September sees the departure of the peak season holidaymakers from Águilas but also heralds the arrival of an international team of archaeologists who are taking part in the 6th annual dig on the islet of Isla del Fraile, just couple of kilometres to the east of the town.

The dig began earlier than usual this year, on Monday 26^th August, and lasts for two weeks, with many of the participants coming from the University of Murcia and others from those of Alicante, Cádiz, Barcelona, Complutense de Madrid, Aix-Marseille, Jaén and Oxford. All of them are overseen by Alejandro Quevedo (CSIC) and Juan de Dios Hernández García (the Museo Arqueológico of Águilas).

One of the aims in the 2025 dig is to collect artefacts for an exhibition next year at the ARQUA underwater archaeology museum in Cartagena, while on land the search is on for more evidence concerning the earliest known settlement on the island: this is currently thought to date from the time of the Roman Republic, between the 2^nd and 1^st century BC.

However, there are unproven theories that even before the Romans and the Moors settled on the island there were settlements of other cultures, and since 2023 the artifacts found have suggested a possible population going back to the Bronze Age. The main areas of investigation this year are once again three sectors close to the beach, once of which contains a series of Roman water tanks probably connected with the production of “garum” sauce and other fish-based foodstuffs.

At the same time divers from the Instituto Balear de Estudios en Arqueología Marítima (IBEAM) and the University of Cádiz will be investigating the Bay of Hornillo in collaboration with the national ARQVA museum in Cartagena, searching for wrecks and artifacts in areas where boats and ships were moored, while experts in Roman painting and architecture are joining from the universities of Córdoba and Murcia.

It is anticipated that the results of the 2024 dig will be published in international specialist magazines before the end of the year.

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