Events

Thursday 28 April MEMOLA project, in collaboration with the Association Alba Nuova, set a meeting of community botany in Calatafimi Segesta (Italy) to conduct a census of old fruit trees in Trapani (Monti di Trapani)

The MEditerranean MOuntainous LAndscapes Project, financed by European Commission FP-7 (nº 613265), is coordinated by José María Martin Civantos, associate professor and researcher at the Dept of Medieval History, Universidad de Granada (Spain).

The project aims to apply an interdisciplinary perspective to study the evolution of Mediterranean mountainous cultural landscapes. In September and October, 2014, the archaeological excavation started, at Pago del Jarafi (Lanteira-Granada). After obtaining great results, documenting numerous settlement structures, silos for grain storage and a necropolis, we are returning to Lanteira for a second excavation campaign.

The MEMOLA project partners that participate in this intervention are:

• Universidad de Granada
• Arqueoandalusí Arqueología y Patrimonio S-L
• Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-CSIC-Escuela Española de Arqueología en Roma

We also count with the collaboration of Lanteira and Alquife city councils, that will provide the necessary infrastructure to host the volunteers.

This year the excavation will be organized in 3 turns of 10 days each:

• August29th- September 9th        
• September 12st- 23^th
• September 26-October 7^th

There is a limit of 20 volunteers for each turn. It is necessary to register by sending an email to: info@arqueoandalusi.com ; Subject: JARAFÍ, including the following:

• Updated Resume
• Turn in which you would like to participate
• Indicate any food allergies.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 1st, 2015

Campaign details:

• Housing will be at the municipal gym of Lanteira, very close to the excavation site.
• Bring a sleeping bag and appropriate work outfit (clothes, footwear and gloves).
• Due to the characteristics of the site it is advised to bring sun protection: cream and hat.
• Meals will be provided from Monday through Friday: breakfast, lunch (at the excavation site), and dinner.
• Working tools will be provided to all participants.
• Volunteers must bring proof of accidental injury insurance, valid during the time of their participation at the excavation.
• Complementary activities such as, working with archaeological ceramics and soil sample flotation will be held.
• Work schedule during the first two turns ( August and mid September) will be from 7am to 3pm. During the second half of September, the schedule is from 8 am to 5pm with lunch break. The schedule could be modified depending on weather conditions.
• For all those who need it, a certificate of participation will be issued.

This year the ‪MEMOLA‬ meeting was in ‪Përmet‬ (‪Albania‬). Thank you ‪CeRPHAAL‬, our friends Ardit, Egla and Stavri for hosting and introducing us to the beautiful ‪Cultural‬ ‪Landscapes‬ of ‪VjosaValley‬.

DG RTD hosted a workshop on Cultures & Citizenship, which gathered policy relevant Social Sciences and Humanities research projects. The workshop focused on different aspects of cultures and citizenship and explored the emergence, the current challenges and the perspectives of cultural and rights-based Europeanisation. Research results, findings, conclusions and recommendations from the workshop will provide scientific evidence for policy making at all levels.

Laboratory of Archaeology of Architecture as a tool for the study of watermills

It has been conducted with students of the IIS Euganeo (Este, Padua) the third laboratory about the archaeological methodologies that allow us to study the different elements related to water management in cultural landscapes of the Euganean Hills. The students have learned to make a stratigraphic sequence of a building using this time the Pontemanco water mill in the town of Due Carrare.

The University of Padova researchers of MEMOLA project participate next february 25 in the conference "The University of Padua for the landscape. Disciplines in comparison".

The conferences are:

Landscapes Archaeology, by Gian Pietro Brogiolo and Alexandra Chavarria

Refunds of ancient landscapesi, by Armando De Guio

2^nd Seminar of the University network of environmental history "Dialogues of Environmental knowledge from the (in) sustainability". Organized by  "Red de Estudios sobre Sostenibilidad, Patrimonio Participación, Paisaje y Territorio", "La Red de Investigación Saberes Instituyentes"  and  "Spin-Off Paréntesis Natural" with the collaboration of MEMOLA project. 

MEMOLA team moderated two panel: "Biocultural Memory, Cultural Landscapes and Natural Resources Management"  and "Agrosystems management and conservation: relience strategies".  Also participated in this panels:

José María Martín Civantos, MEMOLA coordinator, presented "MEMOLA project: an interdisciplinary approach to the mediterranean agro-landscapes".

Margarita García Vila, University of Cordoba, presented "Resilience strategies of the irrigated agrosystemse" .

José Francisco Ruiz Ruiz, University of Granada,  presented "David vs Goliath: historical irrigation systems in the European water directive". 

MEMOLA project, in collaboration with the Association Alba Nuova, set a meeting of community archaeology laboratory to analyse some aspects of the traditional agricultural landscapes in Trapani. 

Cáñar Irrigators Community and the volunteers clean Barjas medieval irrigation channel. Its maintenace is crucial to reactivate the agrarian production.

MEMOLA project participated in the International Mountain Day celebrations.

On 11 December it carried out an activity related to the recovery of the memory of water in a town called Cáñar in the Alpujarra (Granada-Spain). For them, 11 December served to collaborate with the Community of Irrigators of the town of Cáñar, in recovering the traditional distribution system of irrigation. This system of water management has been key to the proper functioning of the irrigation system of Cáñar for centuries, however, it has been falling into oblivion and disuse since a few decades.

This activity, of an intangible heritage and great importance, is vital for the maintenance of cultural landscape of Alpujarra and for the recovery of traditional mountain agriculture. During the activity the older farmers explained to the younger ones how the distribution of water worked, known locally as the "Office". Every night a distribution was made, during the driest months, and allowed the existing water to be shared in a controlled and fair way. This type of traditional knowledge is at the basis for a sustained dialogue that local communities have established with the mountains for centuries. The disappearance of mountains would have disastrous ecological and anthropological consequences.