Last day at the cave - july 19th

Friday morning was the last day working at the terrace of the Can Sadurní cave. Our goal was to level the five different areas around the entrance of the cave in order to be able to have guided visits and thanks to the hard work of all Work camp members we were able to achieve it. Now the inner terrace inside the fence is all levelled and ready to start for excavation purposes, and the outside has two extra meters of space to accommodate the visitors.

The group has worked during two weeks cleaning the Lime oven at the foot of the hill where the Can Sadurní cave is located, and levelling, digging, cleaning and drawing at the terrace in front of the cave. Thanks to this tasks we have been able to remove the rocks fallen down from the shelter of the cave, and the surrounding area will be able to be excavated in following campaigns. Thanks again to all of you that have made this possible, easy and enjoyable.

We still have a surprise to share during the following days, from Russia with love - Tom we are waiting for your video-.

During the afternoon some of us went to visit the Rhinoceros Cave, and could see the little elephant that is being dug out. Another group visited the Can Sadurní wine cellars in Begues.

Chus, Eli, Pablo, Manel & Jordi

July 16-17-18

July 16- Costume party

      Tonight we had a costume party after dinner. Each work group had to come up with a theme, and we prepared costumes instead of doing lab work. The Roman group dressed as hippies, the Iberians as Romans, the Greeks as zombies, and the Egyptians stayed Egyptian. At the party, each group had to perform for the others, and for the judges (who were dressed as The Just Ice). The judges awarded points after each performance, and prizes were given to winners (and losers!). The winners, the Iberian-Romans will receive a massage from anyone in the group, the Greek Zombies receive a master-class in the preparation of Aigua de Valencia, the Egyptians are now required to do the wave whenever anyone says “carrot”, and the Roman Hippies must sing to Manel, the head archaeologist of the site, a love song.

 July 17 – Barcelona

       On Thursday morning we took the bus and train to Barcelona, where we were given a guided tour of the City Museum of Barcelona. We got to see the remains of the Roman, Gothic, and Medieval city. We learned how the site changed over time, from a crafts district, to an important religious site, and then into the royal palace and chapel. The expansion of the city was also demonstrated through wooden dioramas and audio-visual presentations.  We also got to hear about how the Romans used to do their laundry, take baths, dye their clothes and make their wine.

        After the museum, everyone went to lunch at an all you can eat restaurant which was a good idea as many of us were quite hungry. Many members of the group were excited about the paella and the dessert.  When we finished eating, we split into three groups; one group went to Sagrada  Familia, another to Parc Guell, and one went shopping.

      When we got back from Barcelona, we had a visit from Julia, the program coordinator from Fundacio Catalana de L’ Esplai, who showed us some traditional Spanish, German, and French folk dances.  Most of us were not very good, but we still had fun.

18 Back to work!

       Last night there was a thunderstorm which began around 3:00 am and continued on and off until 7:30. Most people slept through the storm, but several woke up. Each clap of thunder echoed off the mountainsides of Garraf, and sheets of rain pattered on the gym roof. The group leaders waited until the rain stopped to wake us up. The extra time was welcomed by those who could not sleep earlier in the morning.

            The ground at the worksite was only a little muddy and digging was easier today. This was most notable around the mouth of the cave where we continued removing dirt and rocks. Work on expanding the terrace continued at the same rate as the last work day.  Many pieces of bone, pottery, and rocks moved by ancient people were unearthed. Nothing spectacular was unearthed, but more pieces of glazed pottery were found in comparison to previous days.  

            Afterward we continued our usual daily routine and noticed workers erecting tents for the festival in a field near the pool. Tonight we will do our first festival event and dine with the youth of Begues. It is a potluck style dinner and await it with ambiguously positive expectations.   

Cheers from Julia, Ben, Haroula, Dmitry and Burcu!!!

Free day, working and hiking.

Hello to all of the fans out there!
We're sorry that we haven't been updating much since Friday but these have been busy days.

Starting on Saturday we had our free day (we deserved some relaxing!). The majority of us went to the beach in Sitges although some others went hiking to Montserrat. Later on we caught up and finished the day altogether. Meanwhile, a bulldozer was working on the cave site removing the big rocks...

On Sunday we got the pleasure of carrying the smaller rocks away from the site. A long day standing in line under the hot sun. It has to be admitted that the terrace looks much better now and we might start finding more interesting objects there.

In the afternoon we set out for trekking to the natural park in Garraf. We spent 2.5 hr walking in the more challenging path there. It was tough and tiring but the scenery was amazing. We could see the ocean , magnificent mountains and many towns from the mountain we climbed. We picnicked on the mountain and spent an exciting night playing smugglers until 12 o´clock. We slept  under the sky, and the stars were great.

Today we just woke up and we started the paleokiller game with someone alredy losing his life at 7:30 in the morning, until 3 o'clock there were already 8 people dead. During the morning we went to Escorxador where a guy explained us some of the history and some of the traditional festivities of the city of Begues and after that we just played randomly the drums the young guy introduced us.      

Day 5 -

Yesterday evening we had night time activities with the Xino-Xano youth association. We had to search for different places in town, and in each place we were given a task. For instance in one place we had to make a human pyramid, and in another we had to perform  as a dance team. We finished very late in the night, so we were allowed to sleep an extra hour. Because the bulldozers are coming tomorrow to remove the heavy rocks, we had to measure and draw them so that the archaeologists will have a record of their original position. We were almost half an hour late leaving the site, so we were in a hurry to get to the pool, and then to lunch.

At lunch we had both pasta and pizza, which is not a very common combination of food. Then we were very full, but we still had room for the incredible lemon cake, which was for some people even better than the chocolate cake.

Now we are back at the school, doing lab work, except for the Iberian group, who have gone back to the work site to finish preparing. Tomorrow we will have a free day after five days of hard work, so we are all trying to find something relaxing to do. Many of us will be going to the beach of Sitges, and some of us are going the monastery of Montserrat, maybe for some hiking too.

That’s everything for now; next update will be posted Sunday. Hopefully you can wait that long!   

Hasta luego from Bastian, Julia, Tom and Haroula.

Here is the group that won last night, performing their excellent dancing. 

Day 4 - Rainy day

As yesterday we were up until late, drinking sangria that some of the girls prepared and playing games all together (the game called Lupus was the one that took most of our evening, but we also played some drinking games), we woke up very tired and we didn’t want to go up to the site to work our asses off. In the end, though, we had to start moving and we were at the caves at 8:30.

Today the kids of the youth association Xino-Xano were supposed to came from Barcelona to help us with our task on the caves, but they didn’t catch their train to come here, so they arrived when we were finishing, at around 1 o’clock. And although at first it seemed like the clouds would be covering the sun all day, when we were cleaning and drawing rocks and finding bones, the day cleared up and some of us decided to go to the pool after all the hard work.

The food at the restaurant has improved since that first day we went to sleep hungry, today we even had a chocolate cake for dessert! By the time we got back we suddenly heard thunder and it started to rain heavily!!! 

And that’s all for today! We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Geiaaaaaa! from Alex, Theresa, Bára and Ileana.

Day 3

So,to all the people who stumble upon this,the third day of our little adventure has been as sunny and as hardworking as can be expected. Not to scare off the possible readers,the work itself is very enjoyable,especially when you find some pieces of pottery,which were used thousands of years ago,or even better a ribcage bone of some Roman guy or even better when you get your breakfast .But what is even better,after taking care of others bones,we have time to rest our own,and enjoy ourselves,whether on the swimming pool,or playing ·briscola·(where some of us only embarass ourselves),or to eat carrots,it doesn't really matter.

We spent last night sitting outside  playing different table games,talking,and still getting to know eachother,and we went to bed pretty late,so it was very difficult to wake up for work this morning.

Today we continued our work in the terrace of the cave,which was basically removing rocks,and measuring,and making sketches of the stones,so we really progressed,cleared the sections,and we found some objects that are of great importance for the history of this area,thus adding another piece to our unfinished puzzle(and we ate the most delicious melons on our break).
So,things are going smoothly so far,there is still alot of work,alot of expectations,and apparently alot of surprises,which our incredibly sly organizators won't reveal to us,but so far they have been better than expected,so we are really enjoying ourelves.
Until very soon,
Cheers mates!

Day 2

Day 2

Here we go, it’s already the second day.

We were tired after yesterday’s night games but after a good night of rest we woke up full of energy.

After the breakfast, at about 8 am we went to the Can Sadurni cave and changed the areas of work. At 8:30 we started to prepare the equipment for excavations and each group went to their new zone. This day was much more fruitful, we found some pieces of pottery, bones and interesting red stones in front of the cave. One of the pottery pieces was dated for 18^th century. Most of the girls were looking for archaeological objects and boys were carrying out buckets full of heavy stones. After the 30 minutes of break the groups came back to their work and several Egyptians helped Manel to draw a map of the site by measuring the height and the position of the rocks.

Meanwhile at the lime oven the Greeks continued the work the Egyptians started. The majority of the work today was removing trees.  Approximately thirty-five small trees were removed with chain-saws and axes. The reason for removing the trees is to create an entrance to the exhibit of the lime oven for the archaeological park. Now people can easily reach the oven having to avoid trees and thorns.    

Finally at 1 o´clock, when we were done with our work, the majority of us went to the swimming pool to relax. The rest of us went to the school to take a nap.

“Today´s tasks were extremely fascinating. I didn´t expect to find something valuable and that actually happened. I´m so glad I have an opportunity to be here and enjoy this new archaeological experience.” Asia

“Work was longer today, but it felt like it went faster. I also learned some more Spanish!” – Ben

The First Day

We are in the international work camp in Garraf, Barcelona. We’re here to clean up the area right at the entrance of the cave of Can Sadurni, where there is an archaeological excavation, to make space for future prehistoric park open to public. People from all over the world have come to help with this project: Spain, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Taiwan, Germany, Finland, France, Serbia, USA, Greece, Czech Republic, Canada, and Denmark.

We were supposed to meet at half past 3 in the afternoon yesterday in front of the church of Begues, but although most people showed up, some of us were stuck in the airport. In the end, all participants of the work camp met at dinner and because nobody knew anybody, the organizers prepared an ice-breaking game to get to know each other better. Afterwards we went to sleep in the gym of the school of San Cristòfol, where we’re staying at.

Today, we woke up at 7 o’clock and we had a little (and I repeat, little) breakfast and then we went to the caves. Manel, the head archaeologist, showed us a presentation of the work camp and the discoveries they have made over the last 35 years in the caves. Then we had the REAL breakfast and we separated into groups to work more efficiently. The groups are named after ancient cultures: Iberians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. Every group had its own task: Greeks, Romans and Iberians were all centred on cleaning the entrance to the cave, and the Egyptians had to move to another area to clean the vegetation around the lime oven from the 18^th century.

After four long hours of back-breaking work, we decided to stop for the day and some of us went to refresh ourselves to the swimming pool, where we felt like swimming in the sea because of the salty water. At about 2 o’clock we had lunch in the restaurant Casino de Begues, where we eat all our lunches and dinners. In the next hour and half of free time some of the volunteers went to swimming pool again, some stayed doing chores on the gym and some had a siesta.

Now the groups are doing lab work: some are cleaning, classifying and numbering objects found on the excavation, and we’re writing this blog entry.

Hola! from Alex, Ileana, Theresa, Bára.

I ara què? Doncs continuem! Queden 18 dies!

Com ja sabeu, hem aconseguit recaptar 3.500€, que era l'objectiu fixat per a poder dur a terme, en les més mínimes condicions, la campanya d'excavacions de 2013.

Tal i com hem anat explicant, aquests diners, junt amb les petites aportacions de l'Ajuntament de Begues (1.200€) i del Centre d'estudis Beguetans (600€), tret les despeses que la pròpia campanya de micromecenatge comporta (aproximadament 750 €), conformen una xifra aproximada a l'entorn dels 4.500 € que aniran directament a cobrir la manutenció de les 37 persones que intervindran en l'excavació d'enguany (la mitjana diària és de 30 persones, amb una despesa de 10 € diaris per persona. Com veieu és una despesa ínfima ja que suposa allotjament, esmorzar, dinar i sopar).

Com encara manquen 18 dies, és possible aportar més fons al projecte un cop arribats a l'objectiu.

Escrivim aquesta entrada per tal que sapigueu que, a partir d'aquest moment, totes les aportacions que depassin els 3.500 € aniran, igualment, a la campanya d'excavacions, encara que cobriran altres despeses. Per exemple, encara ens manca efectuar una datació de Carboni 14 per a l'Encantat, així com d'altres que no hem pogut fer per manca de fons econòmics. Cada datació C14 té un cost de 495 € + IVA. Una campanya d'excavació de Can Sadurní pot arribar a generar necessitats superiors a 10 mostres de C14, encara que nosaltres sempre pressupostem al voltant de les tres datacions anuals. Altres de les despeses que l'excavació implica són la reposició de material d'excavació, de material de medició, material de dibuix, així com complementar l'equipament de la bastida de l'interior de la cova. Tanmateix, si es pogués, abordaríem el lloguer d'un sanitari químic mòbil per a tot el període de l'excavació o, segons el seu preu, la compra d'un de definitiu...

En fí, ja ho veieu, no penseu pas que si depassem la xifra els diners es perdran, no!... seran invertits en totes aquelles necessitats que estan previstes en els pressuposts de l'excavació i que anem ajustant fins a límits insospitats mentre no arriben els diners concedits per l'Administració.

De moment, l'assoliment de l'objectiu suposa no interrompre la tasca d'investigació desenvolupada des del CIPAG en aquests darrers 35 anys, que era el lema de la campanya.
Així doncs, us agraïm molt intensament el vostre esforç de solidaritat i animem a aquells que encara no heu fet cap aportació i ara pensarieu que ja no cal fer-la a participar del projecte i a fer-lo avançar una passa més.

Ajuda'ns a continuar...

¿Y ahora qué? ¡Pues continuamos! Quedan 18 días...

Como ya sabéis hemos conseguido recaudar 3.500 €, que era el objetivo fijado para poder llevar a cabo, con las mínimas condiciones, la campaña de excavación del 2013.

Tal como hemos ido explicando, este dinero, junto con las pequeñas aportaciones del Ayuntamiento de Begues (1.200 €) y del Centre d'Estudis Beguetans (600 €), quitando los gastos que la propia campaña de micromecenazgo comporta (aproximadamente 750 €), conforman una cifra aproximada entorno a 4.500 € que se destinarán directamente a cubrir la manutención de las 37 personas que intervendrán en la excavación de este año (la media diaria es de 30 personas con un gasto de 10 € diarios por persona que, como véis, es un gasto ínfimo teniendo en cuenta que incluye alojamiento, desayuno, comida y cena).


Como aún quedan18 días para hacer aportaciones, es posible recaudar más fondos para el proyecto una vez alcanzado el objetivo.

Escribimos esta entrada para que sepáis que todas las aportaciones que sobrepasen los 3.500 € se destinarán igualmente a la campaña de excavación para cubrir otros gastos. Por ejemplo, aún nos falta efectuar una datación de Carbono 14 para el Encantado, así como otras dataciones que no hemos podido hacer por falta de fondos. Cada datación C14 tiene un coste de 495 € + IVA. Una campaña de excavación de Can Sadurní puede llegar a generar necesidades superiores a 10 muestras de C14, aunque siempre presupuestamos alrededor de tres dataciones anuales. Otros de los gastos que la excavación implica es la reposición de material de excavación, de medición. de dibujo, así como complementar el equipamiento del andamio del interior de la cueva. Asímismo, si se pudiera, abordaríamos el alquiler de un sanitario químico móvil para todo el período de excavación o, según los precios, la compra de uno definitivo...

En fín, ya lo véis, no penséis que si sobrepasamos la cifra el dinero se perderá ¡no!... se invertirá en todas aquellas necesidades que están previstas en los presupuestos de la excavación y que vamos ajustando hasta límites insospechados mientras no nos llegan las subvenciones concedidas por la Administración.

De momento, el alcance del objectivo supone no interrumpir los trabajos de investigación llevados a cabo desde el CIPAG en los últimos 35 años, que era el lema de la campaña.
Así pues, os agradecemos muy intensamente vuestro esfuerzo de solidaridad y animamos a aquellos que aún no habéis hecho ninguna aportación y que ahora pensaríais que quizá no vale la pena hacerla, a participar en el proyecto y hacerlo avanzar un paso más.

Ayúdanos a continuar...

Mil gràcies de tot cor!

Estimats amics i amigues, entre tots ho hem aconseguit!
Hem assolit l'objectiu de recaptar 3.500 € per cobrir les despeses mínimes de l'excavació!

Quan sembla que res surt com volies, que sota l'argument de la crisi es posa fre a molts projectes i que no podem fer-hi res, que tot està fet un desastre, que quasi és millor no obrir el diari, que... Es demostra que en la unió està la força! Nosaltres, les persones que cada dia ens llevem ben d'hora, ben d'hora, estem aconseguint mantenir amb molta dignitat la cultura d'aquest país, i de l'altre i del de més
enllà. Som nosaltres els qui tenim a les nostres mans la cultura d'aquest món. La desmesurada capacitat de reacció de les persones que s'han interessat per aquest projecte ens ho demostra. Heu posat diners, n'heu fet difusió, ens seguiu a les plataformes de difusió, ens aporteu idees, contactes, cops de mà ... Què més podem dir? Estem estupefactes davant l'èxit que ha tingut la campanya i les portes que ens està obrint. Realment Can Sadurní és un jaciment especial, tant si parlem d'arqueologia com d'altres aspectes que genera la investigació i la implicació personal en el projecte.

Esperem que pogueu venir a visitar la cova durant l'estiu i que poguem conèixer-nos personalment.

Moltes gràcies de nou i felicitats a tothom!

¡Mil gracias de corazón!

Queridos amigos y amigas ¡Entre todos lo hemos conseguido!

¡Hemos alcanzado el objetivo de recaudar 3.500 € para sufragar los gastos mínimos de la excavación!

Cuando parece que nada sale como querías, que bajo el argumento de la crisis se pone freno a muchos proyectos y que no podemos hacer nada para impedirlo, que todo está hecho un desastre, que casi es mejor no abrir el periódico, que... ¡Se demuestra que en la unión está la fuerza! Nosotros, las personas que cada día nos levantamos bien temprano, estamos consiguiendo mantener con mucha dignidad la cultura de este país, y del otro y del de más allá. Somos nosotros los que tenemos en nuestras manos la cultura de este mundo. La desmesurada capacidad de reacción de las personas que se han interesado por este proyecto nos lo demuestra.  Habéis puesto dinero, lo habéis difundido, nos seguís en las plataformas de difusión, nos aportáis ideas, contactos, nos echáis una mano... ¿Qué más podemos decir? Estamos estupefactos ante el éxito que ha tenido la campaña y las puertas que nos está abriendo. Realmente Can Sadurní es un yacimiento especial, tanto si hablamos de arqueología como de otros aspectos que genera la investigación y la implicación personal en el proyecto.

Esperamos que podáis venir a visitar la cueva durante el verano y que podamos conocernos personalmente.

¡Muchas gracias de nuevo y felicidades a todos y todas!

Web del CIPAG inoperatiu

Durant aquests dies i, en principi, fins el 8 de juliol, estan migrant les dades del web de CIPAG cap a un nou lloc web. És per això que no heu pogut accedir els últims cops que ho heu intentat. Així que tota la difusió de la campanya de micromecenatge, el workcamp i la campanya d'excavació la seguireu més còmodament via facebook, twitter i aquest blog.
Disculpeu les molèsties que us hagi pogut ocasionar aquest canvi que esperem que serveixi per millorar. Moltes gràcies.

Durante estos días y, en principio, hasta el 8 de julio, están migrando los datos de la web de CIPAG hacia un nuevo sitio. Es por esto que no habéis podido acceder las últimas veces que lo habéis intentado. Así que toda la difusión de la campaña de micromecenazgo, el workcamp y la campaña de excavación la seguiréis más cómodamente a través de facebook, twitter y este mismo blog.
Disculpad las molestias que os haya podido ocasionar este cambio que esperamos que nos sirva para mejorar. Muchas gracias.

Ja tenim 88 mecenes! Ens falta molt poquet!!!!!

Campanya de micromecenatge "Ajuda'ns a continuar 35 anys d'investigació"

Campaña de micromecenazgo "Ayúdanos a continuar 35 años de investigación"

EN RECONEIXEMENT ALS NOSTRES MECENES 

EN RECONOCIMIENTO A NUESTROS MECENAS

Des del Col·lectiu volem reconèixer i agraïr la col·laboració d'aquestes persones i/o institucions que estan fent possible la continuïtat en el programa d'excavacions de CIPAG. Gràcies!!

Desde el Colectivo queremos reconocer y agradecer la colaboración de las siguientes personas e/o instituciones que están haciendo posible la continuidad del programa de excavaciones de CIPAG. ¡Gracias!!!

AITOR LABAJO ROMAN
ALEX CANYA
ANGELINA MATEU
ANNA CAMATS
ANNA ORTIZ
ARACELI MARTÍN COLLIGA
ARNAU BALCELLS
ARQUEOTUR RED DE TURISMO ARQUEOLÓGICO
ASSUMPCIÓ ESPÀRIZ
BERNAT DOLZ (LLUCROURE)
BRUMA
CANDELÀRIA BENAIGES COMPANY
CAROLAVI
CAROLINA ALBORS
CESC SÁNCHEZ
CHUS BARRIO
DÈLIA IBÁÑEZ
DIANA EDO & NIGEL STAPLETON
DOLORS
ELICINIA FIERRO MILÀ
ENCARNA MOLINA
ERNESTO LAMBISTO
EUSEBI SÁNCHEZ
EVA FORNELL
FILOMENA ORELLANO
FRANZ BAYER
GEMMA HERNÁNDEZ
GRUETZE
ISABEL MUÑOZ
JAUME OLIVELLA I RIBA
JAVIER LÓPEZ CACHERO
JOANA MADURELL
JORDI BALTÀ
JORDI DILOLI FONS
JÖRG LINDSTÄDTER
JOSÉ ANTONIO SANTIN ÁLVAREZ
JOSEP LLUÍS CAÑADAS
JOSEP MARIA FUENTES
JOSEP MARIA PEJÓ
JOSEP MULET
JOSEP MUNTAL MUNS
JOSEP NOGUÉ FELIP
JUAN CARLOS
JUAN VICENT
KARLOSRL
LIDIA UVE GUILLEN
LYDIA GORDO
M. ÀNGELS PETIT MENDIZÁBAL
MADOZ
MANEL ALONSO FIGUERES
MANEL EDO BENAIGES
MANEL TANTULL OLIVA
MANUEL ROJO
MARGARITA SALLA
MARI
MARIA ROSA
MARTA GARCIA MORCILLO
MERCHE ARCE
MOLIMUNIA
NAIARAVO
NOÈLIA
NURIACB
NÚRIA MASIP
NÚRIA RAI
ORIOL VILLORO
PABLO MARTÍNEZ RODRÍGUEZ
PAVOTROZO
PEPGUIM
PILAR RAMIS PASCUAL
PILAR RISPA
RAQUEL
RUIZGIL
RICARDO ARTASONA
ROBERT & ROSEMARI STAPLETON
ROSA MEMBRADO
ROSA PLAYÀ
ROSA RODRIGO
ROSA SEVILLANO
ROSA VENTURA
ROSER BATLLE
SALVA ROJAS T. & CAROL DÍAZ
SHORTHEETH
TELENO
TONI MATA I RIU
TRINI CASTILLO
VEGA ASENSIO
WALTER ALEGRÍA