Lobos - only 200 visitors at the same time

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from Diario:

The Marine Litter Observatory (OBAM) of the Ministry of Environmental Sustainability and the Biosphere Reserve of Fuerteventura developed a revegetation project in the area of Cofete, in the municipality of Pájara. In total, one hundred sweet tabaibas were planted in the tabaibal cardonal of Fuerteventura, in an action carried out together with the Association of Volunteers of Help to Nature of Fuerteventura (Avanfuer), the local brand Biosphere Reserve of Fuerteventura, Rural Quality and Ecotourism, as well as RedPromar of the Government of the Canary Islands.

The activity was part of the I International Festival of Ecoexperiences, organized by Beforplanet.org and Ecowildlife Travel, contributing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) produced by the festival. This footprint has been assessed taking into account values such as energy consumption, transport use or accommodation. During the meeting, sustainable initiatives such as those developed by THE OBAM or Avanfuer were also announced.

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In addition, the OBAM and RedPromar participated in the Bioblitz held at the Islote de Lobos, an event in which citizen science became especially important and which consisted of identifying, cataloguing and photographing the different species that inhabit the Islet. Using the RedPromar app, participants were divided into two groups, identifying a total of 63 species.
OBAM is a project of the Fuerteventura Biosphere Reserve, in collaboration with the MITECO Biodiversity Foundation and co-financed by the PLEAMAR program of the European Maritime-Fisheries Fund. For its part, RedPromar is a project co-financed with the European Regional Development Fund ERDF.

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Radio Sintonia:

The Historical Heritage Service of the Cabildo has renovated the fence that protects the archaeological work of the Lobos I site, which is located on the Playa de la Calera or La Concha of the Islote de Lobos and which presented a certain state of deterioration. This is an urgent measure to protect not only the site, but also people, as it is an area of passage for visitors, especially in summer.
 
From the Historical Heritage Service it is reported that the protection of the sites corresponds to the owner of the same. In this case, the Directorate-General for Coasts. However, the Cabildo has carried out this urgent measure to safeguard the well-being of both visitors and the site itself. Likewise, an informative sign has been placed alerting visitors to the prohibition of transit through the area.
It should be noted that the site itself has not suffered any condition, beyond the sand, which is normal to be in the jable zone. There has not been any type of serious condition, since the Cabildo installed at the time (2016) a structure that covers the site.

The site of Lobos I is located southwest of the Islet of Lobos. Archaeological data show the presence of a purple production workshop from Roman times, dated between the first century BC and the first century AD. In the shell and its surroundings have been located materials of Roman manufacture, both ceramics made of lathe, as well as metal pieces of bronze, iron, lead and lithic, related to the work of the purple process. In addition, in other areas of the site, objects related to domestic activity are recorded, such as kitchen ceramics and tableware, as well as combustion spaces. The seasonal presence of the Roman Empire was also confirmed with the discovery of a second site (Lobos II)

Last November, the Cabildo signed the agreement with Museums of the Cabildo de Tenerife to give continuity to the work.

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Noticias:

New footbridge in the area of Las Lagunitas in Isla de Lobos.

This ensures the safe use of the road and the protection of the natural resources of the salt marsh.
The Cabildo de Fuerteventura, through the ministries of Sustainability and Environmental Management, will improve the path that runs through the Islote de Lobos Natural Park with the installation of a wooden walkway in the section that runs through the area near the salt marsh of Las Lagunitas. An area that is flooded with the rise of the Tides, hindering the passage of hikers.

 

This action requires an investment of 144,744 euros, co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the framework of the Development Program (RDP) of the Canary Islands.

 

The Islote de Lobos Natural Park has a path that runs throughout the island. On its way, the road passes peripherally through the area known as Las Lagunitas, a salt marsh of great natural value endowed with a remarkable biological endemicity, uniqueness and scenic beauty. So much so, that it houses an exclusive endemic as is the evergreen of Lobos (Limonio Bollei).

 

With the process of the Tides, the path is flooded and becomes impracticable by the users. In addition, it happens that, before these situations, some visitors circulate through the outer area of the trail, ignoring the informative signage, which can seriously compromise the natural resources of this area so rich from the point of view of biodiversity.

 

In its objective of improving the experience of hikers and guaranteeing the preservation of ecosystems, the Cabildo has sought as an alternative the location of a wooden walkway 75 meters long and 2.74 meters wide, anticipating its installation in the coming months.

 

According to the counselors Lola García and Pedro Martínez, "this action will allow the use of the trail safely, enjoy the unique landscape of the Islet of Lobos and maintain the conservation status of the natural habitats present in the area."

 

The Ministries of Sustainability and Environmental Management also call for the responsibility and environmental awareness of those who pass through the Islote de Lobos Natural Park and the rest of the natural spaces of Fuerteventura. So that hikers and visitors always do it in an environmentally friendly way, using the official trails and "taking with them" the garbage that is generated to deposit it in the appropriate containers.

 
These ministries carry out continuous improvement work in the 255 kilometers of trails that form the island network. These actions consist of the improvement of the pavement, cleaning, restoration of paving and repairs of stone walls, as well as conditioning and improvement of the rest and shade areas that belong to the network of trails.

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Radio Sintonia:

Cabildo de Fuerteventura in a press release communicates that together with the autonomous body Museums of Tenerife have restarted archaeological work at the Lobos I site, thanks to an agreement signed between the Minister of Culture and Historical Heritage, Rayco León, with the Minister of Museums of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Concepción Rivero.
 
The institution points out that after the results obtained during the archaeological excavation already carried out at the Lobos I and II sites, both museums resume some work of international relevance, since it is these investigations that would determine the presence of the Romans in the Archipelago. The excavation will last for two weeks.

Research
The site of Lobos I is located on the beach of La Calera or La Concha, southwest of the Islet of Lobos. Archaeological data show the presence of a purple production workshop from Roman times, dated between the first century BC and the first century AD.
In the shell and its surroundings have been located materials of Roman manufacture, both ceramics made to lathe, as metal pieces of bronze, iron, lead and lithic, related to the work of the purple process. In addition, in other areas of the site, objects related to domestic activity are registered, such as kitchen ceramics and tableware, as well as combustion spaces. The seasonal presence of the Roman Empire was also confirmed with the discovery of a second site (Lobos II).
 The works are developed by the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura, University of La Laguna and Museums of Tenerife, with the participation of scientists from the Research Project 'Settlement and Colonization of islands in the Atlantic-PYCIA'. The direction of the archaeological excavation is shared by both institutions.

Directors
 As directors, the curator of the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura, Isidoro Hernández, as well as Carmina del Arco of the University of La Laguna and Mercedes del Arco Aguilar curator of Museums of Tenerife act.
Wolves, the search for the presence of the Romans in the Canary Islands

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Canarias 7:

In the Rome of Lobos there is a purple processing area, a shell middench and a 'dump'.

For fifteen days, and within the seventh archaeological campaign, the Cabildo of Fuerteventura and Museums of Tenerife delves into the footprint of the Roman Empire in the Lobos I site. The Minister of Historical Heritage hopes that the funds of the Roman workshop of purple elaboration return to Fuerteventura and are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum


TheRoman Empireit continues to appear -and with all the force of a century of occupation, between almost the middle of the first century of the era until the middle of the first century after the era- in the archaeological site of the Island of Lobos. Ten years after its accidental discovery on La Concha beach, the purple production workshop enters its seventh campaign that takes place for fifteen days on 18 square meters where a purple processing area has emerged, with combustion remains and purple spots that are indications that the dye was prepared there; a new shell midden; and an area of detritus, or 'garbage dump', where remains ofcetaceans, ceramics and metals (including hooks) have appeared.

These new structures confirm that the archaeological site Lobos I extendsto the southwest, something that will have to be corroded in successive campaigns organized by the Cabildo de Fuerteventura with the autonomous body of Museums of Tenerife and co-directed by the chair of the University of La LagunaCarmina del Arco, Dr. Mercedes del Arco, and Isidoro Hernández for the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura. During this seventh archaeological campaign, a multidisciplinary team made up of eight archaeologists (including the three co-directors), a paleontologist and four workers works in the Roman purple workshop.

From the metal plates and the fence it is known where the deposit of the dye factory is located on the beach of La Concha. Under the roof, protected from the sun, wind and the curious, are the sixL-shaped housing structures and the six shell middens (two of them excavated) that emerged in the six previous campaigns and occupy about 480 square meters.

Of these six quadrangular receptacles, their exact usefulness is still unknown, although they would surely be used to deposit the tools of the purple processing workshop and for dye processing work areas.

Brush in hand to clean the sand of the remains that are going to appear, archaeologists work this morning under the sun of Lobos in the 18 square meters – nine meters long and two meters wide – that focus the current campaign and that are divided into four grids.

In the grid of the purple processing area, Ramón Cebrián-Guimerá, doctor in History precisely with the thesis on the work of the operators of the fishing and extraction workshop in Lobos of the purple dye of Muricidae at the time of Imperial Rome, finds remains of the mollusk stramonita haemastoma -which in Fuerteventura is called canaílla- and shows it to the cameras. "You can see the blow they gave him to remove the hypobranchial gland."

Like the mollusk taught by Ramón Cebrián-Guimerá,184,507 specimens have been found so far, which means a dyeing capacity of 26 kilos of wool. The process of making the dye began with the fracturing of the thais through the dorsal area looking for the hypobranchial gland that is housed in the paleal cavity. "Once the mollusk is fractured, the hypobranchial gland is extracted with a metallic element and depositedin large lead pots with other alkaline substances and salt water."

This mixture of hypobranchial glands, alkaline substances and seawateris macerated for a week with subdued heat, as recorded by the most important textual source that isPliny. After seven days, the first dyeing tests began to be done: "the fleece of wool or silk was submerged to check if it already had the right color," says Cebrián-Guimerá.

In front of the grid of the doctor in History, the vestiges ofa new wall structurethat may have protected this work area of the Roman dye workshop appear. "The objective of this new archaeological campaign is to expand the division of Lobos I to the southwest, that is, how far the site goes," says Isidoro Hernández Sánchez, co-director of the prospection and technical curator of the Archaeological Museum Fuerteventura.

Hernández Sánchez recalls that the deposit of the purple factory of the Isla de Lobos is theRoman site further south in the Atlanticand that marks the limit of the Roman Empire. To which he adds that it is theoldest archaeological site in Fuerteventura, dated between almost the middle of the first century of the era until the middle of the first century after the era, and that you have to look at the site of the town of Butihondo, in Jandía, to find the second in antiquity: century II and related to another culture very different from the Roman, that of the mahos.

The ceramics, metals, molluscs and remains of marine and terrestrial fauna found at the site of the Roman purple workshopmust be displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura. It is the demand that the Minister of Historical Heritage of the Cabildo, Rayco León, made in the same excavations.

Right now, the funds of the six campaigns (two surveys and five excavations) are deposited in the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife, so León asks that they return to Fuerteventura. To which he added that the site "is one of the most important places in the archaeological history of Fuerteventura and the Canary Islands. That is why we claim the importance of these continuous campaigns, thanking the University of La Laguna and Museums of Tenerife for the continuity of the investigations. They will be one of the most important pieces that will be part of the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura, an institution that should lead the study and research on the island".

link to article for pics

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Noticias:

An investigation finds eggs of two types of extinct shearwaters in Isla de Lobos.

The remains were at the site of the islet's Roman purple workshop and are more than 2,100 years old.

Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), the universities of La Laguna and Zaragoza and the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife have described for the first time the structure of the eggs of two types of paréela that nested on the Island of Lobos about 2,100 years ago.

 

The research, published in the journal 'Diversity', has been led by IPHES researcher Carmen Núñez-Lahuerta found the fossil remains of these eggs at the site of the Roman purple workshop on the islet of Lobos.

 

It should be remembered that in the spring of 2012 on the beach of La Calera on the islet of Lobos there is the fortuitous discovery of ceramic fragments around it. Between them part of an edge, neck and handle of an amphora Haltern 70, associated with an outcrop of shells that due to its density corresponded to a shell middench very different from those known in ancient Canarian cultures.

 

"Two aspects, a monogenic conchero of purples with traces of processing and ceramics to Roman lathe, led to qualify it as a purple workshop of that time and to point out that the Canary Islands appears as the limit of the Ecúmene of the Roman Empire in the central-eastern Atlantic", say researchers from the archaeological museum of Tenerife.

 

"It is only Roman, without material related to indigenous Canarian cultures, and explains the economic interests that existed to exploit the resources of the territories of the Canary Islands since ancient times," added Professor Núñez-Lahuerta.

 

The archaeological excavation work on this island has allowed to identify the settlement as a purple workshop that would have operated from the middle of the first century to AD. in the middle of the first century AD.

 

The set of evidences located in Lobos, such as Purpura haemastoma shell middens, salted, vinary and oleic amphorae, common pottery or fishing instruments, reflects the frequentation of the Canary Islands by Roman populations, with probable origin in Gades, with the aim of exploiting natural resources, in this case the purple dye.

 

Shearwater eggs

 

In this case, the investigation focuses on two practically complete recovered eggs. Their size and sphericity have also been measured and have allowed the eggs to be assigned to the taxa Calonectrios/Puffinus and Puffinus, with which the researchers have described two species of shearwater endemic to the islands that are currently extinct: Puffinus holeae and Puffinus olsone.

 

Therefore, the researchers' next line of work will be to characterize the biomineral structure of the eggs of extinct Canarian shearwaters to increase knowledge about the fossil record and learn more about their behavior and extinction.

 
The Isla de Lobos is the only Roman site in the Canary Islands and is located on a small island of about 500 hectares, of volcanic origin, located in the Strait of La Bocaina, between the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

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Radio Sintonia:

Work begins on the restoration and improvement of the Isla de Lobos Natural Park.

The Environmental Service of the Island Council has communicated the temporary closure of the path that reaches Las Lagunitas, on the Island of Lobos meanwhile rehabilitation and improvement works are being carried out.

Refurbishment works
Likewise, the closure of this section, whose works focus mainly on the installation of a wooden walkway and whose details can be found through the website of the Island Council, adds to the closure of the rest area of the island for reasons of space management.

These two spaces of the Isla de Lobos Natural Park will remain closed to visitors until further notice.

The objective of these temporary closures responds to the need to carry out work of conditioning, restoration and improvement of the spaces and trails of this Natural Park by the Area of Insular Environment.

In this way, those interested in visiting the Islote de Lobos Natural Park can continue to request the relevant authorization through the website www.cabildofuer.es

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Radio Sintonia:

Islote de Lobos, a jewel between two islands.

The Natural Park of the Islet of Lobos, with about 467.9 ha. of surface and 13.7 km. of perimeter, is located in the Canal de la Bocaina, 2 km. from Punta de Tivas (Fuerteventura) and about 8 kms. of Punta del Papagayo (Lanzarote). This protected natural area, limited exactly by the perimeter of the low tide, belongs administratively to the municipality of La Oliva (Fuerteventura).



Natural features of extraordinary value
The islet of Lobos has natural characteristics of extraordinary value, hosting exclusive plant species and faunal elements of special interest. Although overall the fragility of these unique elements is high, the conditions met by the islet give it fitness for use, provided that the provisions of the zoning, the regime of uses and the management measures aimed at making the conservation of the area compatible with the development of public use in the Park are met.

Access to space
The accesses to the islet are made through maritime transport from the pier of Corralejo. There are several boats responsible for transporting tourists between both islands throughout the year. The islet is also accessed by boats from Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, in addition to private boats that directly access La Concha beach.

Flora and vegetation of the islet
The low altitudes of the islet justify the climatic conditions on the islet which, with regard to its influence on the vegetation, allow to frame the island of Lobos within a single inframediterranean bioclimatic floor with semi-arid ombroclimate very close to the arid.

The vascular flora of Lobos is made up of 142 species, of which numerous Macaronesian, Canarian and, to a lesser extent, local endemisms stand out. From a biogeographical perspective, the African-Saharan character of this vegetation dominates.

There are no tree species, and there are many creeping shrubs and herbaceous, perennial and annual shrubs that are exhausted in the dry period. The distribution of these species, as well as their form of organization, is highly conditioned by the type of substrate in which they settle and the greater or lesser marine influence.

Ecosystems of Islote de Lobos
to. Salt marshes
The type of vegetation that makes up this unit is strictly halophilic. It can be said that its distribution in past times was somewhat greater than the current one, although it never became abundant. It appears in depressions of land near the coast and regularly flooded by high Tides.

b. Clay pits
The clay pits are depressions with accumulations of clayey-silty materials, which are more frequent in the southern sector of the islet. In them there is an accumulation of water during the rainy season existing, in addition, marine infiltrations.

This unit of vegetation is characterized by the presence of very dense species, also common to those established in the salt marshes.

c. Coastal and inland sandy areas
Sandy areas are characterized by being occupied by haloresistant populations. These populations, in addition to supporting the salinity of the soils and the scarcity of water, are able to settle on sands, so that psamófilas species also appear.

d. Vegetation of badlands
Lobos appears covered, in its central and southeastern part, by recent basaltic flows that form a discontinuous malpaís dotted with small sandy areas and clay plains. These environments are occupied by halophilic communities very resistant to desiccation.

Finalmente, cabe destacar la presencia de la flora criptogámica, la cual, asentada sobre la superficie de las lavas, especialmente en los puntos más prominentes y expuestos al viento, está representada fundamentalmente por una rica flora liquénica.

Paralelamente a los ambientes o comunidades existentes en la isla, es frecuente encontrar Asociaciones vegetales en concordancia con dichos ambientes. Cabe destacar:

En toda la isla en general: la asociación Zygophyllo fontanesii – Arthrocnemetum macrostachyi. En la zona Este, la asociación Sarcocornietum perennis.

In the north, east and south: the associations Polycarpaeo – Lotetum lancerotensis. Presence of Kleinio neriifoliae – Euphorbietum balsamiferae, Caralluma burchardii,.
To the south there are sandbars permanently covered by shallow seawater (with formations of Cymodoceetum nodosae).





Source: Government of the Canary Islands. Environment and Territorial Planning. Directorate-General for Spatial Planning.

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Noticias:

The Roman Empire's site on Isla de Lobos would be larger than previously thought.

Work on the purple factory for the togas of Roman senators detects new areas of potential archaeological interest


The Cabildo of Fuerteventura and the Autonomous Body of Museums, Centres (OAMC) of the Cabildo de Tenerife and the University of La Laguna have developed a new campaign at the Lobos I archaeological site, located on the Islet of Lobos. With this excavation, the work has been extended to the south of the site, and new shells have been found. In addition, for the first time, an exploration with ground penetrating radar has been carried out, which determines three areas of potential archaeological interest not discovered until now.



The president of the Cabildo, Lola García, visited the works, accompanied by the mayor of La Oliva, Isaí Blanco, the councillor for Historical Heritage, Rayco León, the councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage, David Hernández, and the director of the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura, Luis Mata. The curator of the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura, Isidoro Hernández, as well as Carmina del Arco of the University of La Laguna and Mercedes del Arco Aguilar, curator of Museums of Tenerife, acted as directors of the excavation.



The first drillings at the Lobos I deposit were carried out in 2012, followed by successive campaigns in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022 and the current one in 2023. The site is located on the Playa de la Calera or La Concha, southwest of the Islet of Lobos, being the most important archaeological research in the whole of the Canary Islands, as it would determine the presence of the Romans in the Archipelago.



The results obtained in the successive campaigns have shown the presence of a purple production workshop from the Roman period, dated between the first century B.C. and the first century A.D. The findings have been able to place the Islet of Lobos as the meridian limit of Roman economic interests, with purple as one of the most prized products, considered a symbol of luxury and power. The seasonal presence of the Roman Empire was also confirmed with the discovery of a second site (Lobos II).



Carmina del Arco explained that "for us as archaeologists, this purple workshop is a very valuable find, as it is unique in the area known as the circle of the Strait towards the Atlantic Ocean". "In this campaign, we have continued to work in the southern area of the site, discovering the daily life of those who worked in the production of purple and its processing spaces. We have found new shells and sediments impregnated with dye, which generate interest in the international community."



The archaeologist added that "one of the novelties of this campaign is the georadar surveys that have defined three new potentially fertile areas in the northern and southern areas of the site, which means that the excavation we have today, of approximately 520 square meters, could be extended in future campaigns over the surface of La Calera beach and other areas of the islet."


The island's president, Lola García, highlighted "what is the most important archaeological project in the Canary Islands, as it would confirm the presence of Roman settlements in the archipelago, which would completely change our history". García added that "we are, therefore, in an area of great archaeological wealth, which is possibly larger than we initially believed and, therefore, we must continue to promote research in order to deepen and continue to disseminate all this knowledge".



For his part, the island councillor, Rayco León, reinforced the idea that "there is still a lot of work to be done at this site, not only in future excavations, but also with the studies that are produced from the material found here. The potential it has is enormous when it comes to developing a museum space that can publicise our history and, of course, will be part of our heritage dissemination campaigns".



In the successive excavations carried out so far, materials of Roman manufacture have been found, both ceramics made on a wheel and metal pieces of bronze, iron, lead and stones, related to the work of the purple process. Objects related to domestic activity are also recorded, such as kitchen pottery and tableware, as well as combustion spaces that show the consumption of goats, sheep, pigs, fish, molluscs and plant products. In this last campaign, there are also indications of crockery made with black varnish ceramics, which were used by the wealthy classes of the Roman Empire.



The work is being carried out by the Archaeological Museum of Fuerteventura and Museums of Tenerife, with the participation of scientists from the University of La Laguna, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Binter Canarias.