Rubicón Archaeological Excavations to Resume in September

The archeological dig at the Rubicón site on Papagayo beach will resume on the 21^st September, with funding of €200,000 from the Canarian Government.

The project is now guaranteed for two more years at least, with the ultimate aim of creating an archeological park for locals and visitors.

María del Cristo González and Esther Chávez will continue to direct the project, which is shedding fascinating light on the earliest days of the conquest of Lanzarote.

The Rubicón site is the earliest settlement of the modern age of colonialism, established by the French mercenaries Jean de Bethencourt and Gadifer de La Salle who landed on Lanzarote in 1402.

The dig has uncovered 17 human skeletons so far, all dating from the earliest days of the European presence on the Lanzarote. 

Yaiza Mayor Óscar Noda announced that “the Canarian Government, the two Canarian universities and Yaiza Ayuntamiento remain absolutely convinced of the importance of these discoveries relating to the first European city in the Canary Islands.”

Although not a city by any modern standards, the tiny settlement was the site of the first cathedral on the Canaries, establishment of which permitted the conquistadores to lay claim to supplies and subjugate native peoples.