The Sanluqueño researcher, Manuel Cuevas, has informed the Junta de Andalucía
of the discovery, from satellite pictures, of an ancient city buried beneath
the Pinar de Algaida close to Sanlúcar and the Guadalquivir estuary. La Algaida
is an area lying NE of Sanlúcar which was once marshland but became dry land
after the sand dunes grew into a hill. It is now mostly covered by pine forest
and is a haven for varied wildlife.
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| A view of El Pinar de Algaida (foto:sanlucardebarrameda.tv) |
The
pictures, which came from a satellite 700 km high, show buried structures not
only here but also in the Doñana on the other side of the river, only 6 km from
La Algida where the German archae - ologist, Adolf Schulten discovered the
remains of the ancient city of Tartessos. Cuevas has made out 4 large buildings
along with a village, all of which are at least 2,500 years old. One of the
structures measures 360m by 180m and another 180m by 100m. In the Pinar de
Algaida, which has an area of 8 square kilometres, Cuevas can see structures
which look to be complete, perhaps preserved by the mud from a flood.
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| Some of the satellite pictures (fotos:efe) |
Separately
he has found the remains of other types of structure which are later but still pre-Roman
and he thinks this may be a port with streets. Given the evidence, Cuevas has
asked the Junta to help with geo-physical soundings on the site which would
give an idea of the depth of the remains and hopefully lead to an excavation,
and the participation of a local university. Ancient remains have already been
unearthed nearby at El Tesorillo. There has been much movement of the estuary
over the millennia, and the sea once covered what is now Sevilla. Cuevas is
even daring to hope he has found a lost civilisation possibly predating the
Pharaohs and that of Mesopotamia.
