Mojácar la Vieja Dig 2022: Underway in Mojácar

La Vieja Dig 2022: The Campaign Opens. The Mojácar la Vieja dig takes a big step forward in 2022. The MEMOLaB (Molecular Archaeology Laboratory at the University of Granada), together with Mojácar Council, gave an open talk at the Multi-Uses Centre. Because of this, local residents heard the latest conclusions from years of work at the dig site.

Emmanuel Agüero, the Council’s Tourism Councillor, opened the speeches. He thanked the Valparaíso Foundation. He also thanked the property owners near the site, who allowed greater access so both the University of Granada and Mojácar Council could carry out the work. That support has made it possible for Mojácar la Vieja to join the 2022–2025 General Investigation Plan. It also helped secure more State funding through the 1.5% Cultural programme. Mojácar Council will keep funding the project too, alongside the Patrimonio Inteligente (intelligent heritage) company.

What the New Plan Covers

Jorge Ruiz Collazo directs the Mojácar la Vieja General Investigation Project and sits on the MEMOLaB team. He shaped the planning for these years. The group brings together 18 investigators, most from MEMOLaB, plus 13 external researchers from universities and centres such as CSIC, in both Spain and the UK.

The plan’s main aim is clear. It continues the line of the three earlier campaigns. First, it keeps defining the settlement’s occupation sequence and building phases. We already know the abandonment phase, from the late 13th to the 14th century. However, its 12th-century foundation still can’t be pinned down at the archaeological level.

Beyond the Dig Itself

The team also wants to record the productive life of Mojácar la Vieja. They will study the handicraft work and the farming that fed the settlement. Plus, they aim to map the site’s links with neighbouring digs, both cultural and commercial. Those ties, they note, almost certainly reached north Africa, as ceramic fragments suggest.

Parallel to the digging, they will propose a conservation and maintenance plan. That plan, as soon as it is ready, should let residents and visitors walk the site.

Two New Areas Underway

Two fresh zones sit outside the old fortification, beyond the walls. One lies near the entrance gate. Visible remains show more structures there, so the team will check whether it matches the interior’s build. At the second spot, on the south-east slope, they hope to find workshops and homes that reveal daily life at Mojácar la Vieja.

Join the 2022 Season

The 2022 campaign works with 35 volunteers — history and archaeology students from Spanish universities. As always, it stays open to anyone who wants to help for as long as they can, or simply to visit the site. Beyond the two official guided tours planned for September, book a room in Mojácar’s old town and rent a car to reach the village with ease. For more to do along the coast, browse tours and day trips in Almería.

The Multi-Uses Centre hosts the talks, easy to reach in the old town. Locals and visitors alike value this work — and so do the researchers who keep Mojácar la Vieja’s story alive.