The many traces of past activity show that Punta Begoña has been a strategic location for centuries. What the UNESCO Chair research team did not expect to uncover, however, were remains that pushed back the history of human activity on the site by several millennia.
The remains of a temporary settlement dating back almost 5,000 years extend across the former gardens of the Echevarrieta family to the very edge of the cliff. Covering more than 400 square metres, this Chalcolithic archaeological site is one of the most significant of its kind in the Basque Country.
The different layers of soil, together with the fragments of flint, pottery and charcoal they contain, tell the story of a community emerging from cave dwelling and embracing shellfishing, farming, livestock herding and new ways of life that laid the foundations for the society we know today. Interpreting this complex evidence is a challenging task, and its results will be shared with the public through creative interpretation and the latest technologies.
