The Criminal Court number 1 of Huesca authorizes “emergency” access to the archaeological site of the Chaves Cave and its immediate surroundings, following a request from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Department of the Presidency, Interior and Culture of the Government of Aragon. . This access is established only for the two archaeological projects promoted by the Government of Aragon and for open days which may be instituted as the work progresses.
The decree of September 20 authorizes “immediate” access to the site and its surroundings to the team from the University of Zaragoza led by Pilar Utrilla Miranda and Rafael Domingo Martínez, or, where appropriate, to the designated team by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage. of the Department of Presidency, Interior and Culture of the Government of Aragon. The text specifies that access and visits to the caves declared BIC, Solencio I, II and III, “must be carried out during the current 2024-2025 archaeological campaign”.
From Heritage they point out that these works were planned for the summer and now they will have to be moved to the calendar. And it is only from them that the usual open days can be organized – already authorized by the court – to see how the archeology teams work and, as the decree specifies, “to make known to society Aragonese the actions undertaken in the recovery”. heritage. In both cases, the technical visits and those agreed for the public must be communicated to the property “which must leave free passage”, warns the resolution.
The company that owns the cave is opposed to allowing visits. The property, which is still rented, explains Apudepa, is the property of Fimbas SA, which does not prevent the court from considering the authorization as inalienable. “This real estate”, specifies the cited order, “is awaiting delivery to the General Council of Aragon, being the only property registered in its name by the company which was ordered to face damages due to of civil liability arising from the tort”. [destrucción del yacimiento]. Regardless of the alleged rental of the property by a third party, Inversiones Patrimoniales Asturianas SA, the truth is that the DGA is fully legitimate, in accordance with the statutory mandate to defend the Aragonese archaeological heritage, to access the reference property and carry out the investigations. and the interventions it deems appropriate, and by the personnel it deems competent and appropriate.
Since 2018, various entities have demanded that the sentence be carried out and that ownership of the cave pass to the Government of Aragon “and that the space be definitively public.” We also reiterate that the fences that close it be removed and that citizens can recover the trails contained in the property.
The Public Action Association for the Defense of the Aragonese Heritage (APUDEPA), the Valle de la Gloria Association, Ecologists in Action Huesca and the Platform for the Defense of the Heritage of Huesca, celebrated the content of the judicial order and have evaluated the considerations it contains, as well as admitting that the Chaves cave is “an archaeological site of first order whose particular characteristics and the richness of the material culture make it an essential element for knowing the prehistoric occupation of this region Aragonese”.
