The social archaeology collective Imastanen warned this Saturday of the Work begins on the controversial motor circuit Tenerife, in the Arogo area (southern municipality of Granadilla de Abona). After being notified by local residents, members of this group went to the area and photographed the new sign that had been put up these days yesterday morning, while they spoke with workers present at the company that will be in charge of the excavations, to whom they explained the presence of various archaeological sites that could be affected by these works.
The group also confirmed that the perimeter of the work is being fenced and informed the island’s Heritage department of the news and its responsibility to protect this aboriginal legacy. In fact, and after the relevant permits to carry out the analysis, last year the General Directorate of Nature Protection of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Department of Territorial Planning, Historical Heritage and Tourism of the Cabildo de Tenerife were notified of a total of 19 existing archaeological units, 17 ethnographic and 3 architectural.
The group is confident that, given the commitment of the competent administrations, these sites will be protected, although it fears there will be consequences. It continues to oppose this facility and wonders about the fate of “all this heritage wealth if its existence had not been communicated a year ago, within the framework of a controversial project that has been going on intermittently for years, with clearing work and the construction of structural roads.”
The author also asks what has been the end of the archaeological and ethnographic goods extracted and transferred from their original context, “which have lost much of their value, which prevents their possible study and, therefore, the effect will be irreversible.” In this sense, they remember that “the archaeological context of some engravings contains many keys and meanings that only make sense in the enclave of origin; that is, where they were made. The motivations that led the Guanches to make these rock art demonstrations, in many cases to sanctify specific points of the territory, are still partially unknown and the study of these valuable sites on site “It would offer a lot of invaluable information about our ancestors, their beliefs and way of life.”
Of course, and as until now, they warn of the consequences of this legacy being kept in the middle of a facility such as a motor circuit. “We find it difficult to understand how these other deposits, which due to their characteristics and fragility cannot be extracted without being irreversibly damaged, can coexist and maintain their original dignity and cultural significance among the car parks, stands, curves and asphalt straights of a motor circuit designed to host high-speed competitions.”
For this reason, they warn that they will closely follow the next steps in a project that, in our opinion, clearly shows the incompatibility between the desire to preserve and protect our natural wealth, the cultural legacy and identity heritage and the development model proposed by the current managers of the territory.
Source: www.eldiario.es
