One Day Excursion - Serinyà prehistoric cave and Draga Neolithic

4 September

Serinyà prehistoric cave site

Area of rock shelters and caves resulting from the formation of travertine and its dissolution. The caves were used as shelters for animals and later occupied by humans from the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. It is considered a key site in terms of learning about human evolution: from Homo heidelbergensis (about 200,000 years ago) and Homo neanderthalensis (between 90,000 and 39,000 years ago) to Homo sapiens. The most remarkable finding is a skull considered to be the oldest remnant of a modern human being in Catalonia (22,300 years old).

The installations at the site are devoted to research into lifestyles of prehistoric communities and tasks of dissemination. There are guided tours and workshops.

La Draga Neolithic site (Banyoles, Pla de L'Estany region)

Archaeological site featuring the remains of one of the oldest settlements of agricultural and livestock farmers in the Iberian Peninsula, located by the lake of Banyoles and dating back to 5,300-5,100 BCE. Thanks to its location in a lacustrine wetland area, structures and artefacts that would otherwise have decomposed have survived down to the present day: wooden parts of the large huts on raised stands (beams, planks, interwoven branches), wooden bows and arrows, digging sticks, combs, needles, tool handles. The site has also provided a great deal of information about the management of natural resources, eating habits, and crafts (such as the production of textiles and basketwork). This is an exceptional site undergoing continuous research. Visitors can view the reconstructions of huts and barns and join the demonstrations, guided tours and workshops dealing with the Neolithic.

Schedule:

08:30  Departure from Barcelona (Plaça Universitat) by bus
10:00   Arrival to Serinyà , guided visit of prehistoric cave site
12:00  Departure from Serinyà
12:30  Arrival to La Draga Neolithic site (Banyoles), guided visit
14:00  Departure from Draga (by bus)
14:30  Lunch in Banyoles
16:00  Departure from Banyoles
17:30   Arrival to Barcelona (Plaça Universitat)

Fee: 92€

Fee includes lunch in Banyoles.

Reconstruction of one of the neolithic houses in the La Draga Neolithic Park ©Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0