An excavation to delve deeper into the medieval past of Cervera Castle has ended up opening a window to a much more remote past. This summer's archaeological work has brought to light a trail of fossilized footprints 30 millions of years old, corresponding to the Oligocene period. An exceptional discovery that allows us to go back millions of years in the history of this place.
The discovery was made as part of the research project "Population dynamics in the Ondara valley: from Protohistory to the Middle Ages", promoted by the archaeological research group of the Associació La Nova de Cervera and selected in the call for Quadrennial Archeology Projects of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
The main researcher of the project, the archaeologist Sabina Vall, explains that this year's campaign was planned to intervene again in spaces excavated at the beginning of the year 2000 and check the state of the deposit, especially in the northern sector of the castle. There was nothing to predict that the work would end up revealing a paleontological trace.
"During the intervention in one of the areas where we were working, a trace of fossilized footprints appeared to us that we did not expect. It was a great find, exceptional, especially because of the state of conservation they are in", points out Vall. The researcher points out that the footprints have survived to this day despite being in a walled and fortified area that has undergone numerous transformations over the centuries.
The discovery, adds, "gives added value to the project", because it expands an initially archaeological research into the field of paleontology.
An animal related to horses
The paleontologist and director of the Museum of the Basin Beyond Isona, Angel Galobart, places the footprints approx 30 millions of years. "They have found the trace of some animal that stepped on this area some thirty million years ago. It's funny because you see all the constructions and, all of me, there is a very well-defined trail", explains.
The identification of the animal is still preliminary, but the first studies indicate that the footprints could correspond to a paleotherid, an extinct mammal
related to horses. It would be a herbivorous animal smaller than a current horse and which could have three fingers on its limbs.
The footprints, of among 10 i 15 centimeters, they have already been identified as fossilized footprints and will now be the subject of a more in-depth study. The researchers have carried out photogrammetry of the surface and generated a three-dimensional model of the track, which will make it possible to analyze their morphology in detail and make progress in identifying the animal that left them.
The find is also interesting for its location. According to the specialists, until now there was no evidence of a trace of these characteristics so far south of this area, a fact that can provide new data on the Oligocene fauna and landscape in La Segarra and expand the paleontological study area.
From archeology to paleontology
From the Paeria de Cervera, the paer in head, Jan Pomés, has celebrated a discovery that reinforces the commitment to recover and study local heritage. "We are very happy about this find, because we embarked on a new path in the archaeological field. It was many years ago, archaeologically, he did not look towards the castle and, in general, nor had this area been worked on much in Cervera", states.
Pomés values the continuity of research and collaboration between professionals, institutions and administrations to deepen the knowledge of Cervera's past.
For his part, Montserrat Parra, director of the Territorial Services of the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia in Lleida, highlights that action was taken immediately after the discovery. "As soon as the footprints were found, we contacted the Archeology Service of the Territorial Services. We came to see it with the paleontologists and we found that they really were footprints with possibilities and that it was necessary to study and analyze them", explains.
Later, Reports must be requested from organizations specializing in paleontology to determine the supply and relevance of the discovery.. According to Parra, the first results are "really encouraging" and open up a new field of study to delve into the most remote past of the territory.
Cervera looks further back than ever
The discovery comes in a particularly symbolic year for the city. Cervera commemorates this year the thousand years of the settlement charter, but the footprints found in the castle now force us to look much further back.
"We bet a lot on archaeology. Everything that has been worked on from a more historical point of view is very good, but there is also prehistory, that which goes beyond the moment when the documents disappear and nothing remains but the stones", the pair stands out in cap.
Like this, while Cervera celebrates a thousand years of documented history, the castle has unexpectedly revealed a testimony of an immensely more distant past: the footsteps of an animal that walked through this place a few years ago 30 millions of years.