No hikers allowed on Mta Tindaya without an official guide

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Radio Sintonia:

Tindaya manages to expand its delimitation as an Asset of Cultural Interest.

The Governing Council approved today the decree for the modification of the delimitation of the protection environment of the BIC, with the category of archaeological zone, Rock engravings of the mountain of Tindaya. Tindaya, on La Oliva, island of Fuerteventura, is home to what is possibly the largest concentration of podomorphs in the world. The presence of rock engravings earned it its declaration as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), so it has the maximum protection figure, although until now this was only limited to the top of the mountain.

In February 2020, the Insular Area of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura requested the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands to collaborate so that the necessary studies and documentation were carried out so that all the values of the mountain of Tindaya were protected, for which an exhaustive archaeological prospection work was carried out, whose main objective was to check and verify the archaeological potential of the entire mountain and see if it was necessary to extend the limits of the current BIC and its protection environment, to accommodate new heritage elements or to instruct a new file of cultural interest to include the elements that currently did not enjoy recognition or protection.

Heritage potential of the mountain
The archaeological prospecting work focused on the study of all those heritage elements located outside the limits of the BIC, limiting this study by the base of the mountain. Likewise, during the survey, all those elements that could be considered archaeological and ethnographic were recorded, which could offer a global vision of the uses that human beings have made throughout the history of this space.

The topography of the identified areas and elements was also carried out, the aerial photography of the sites with drone to complement the topography and general and detailed photographs, together with a diagnosis for the exhaustive knowledge of the degree of conservation and the real and potential affections to which the Monument is exposed. In addition, it contemplates as a whole and individually all the archaeological sites and elements present in the mountain, including its base and adjacent environment, accompanied by a good corpus of archaeological plans and drawings that allow concluding the relevance of modifying the current delimitation of the BIC of the mountain of Tindaya.

Tindaya, more than a peak
From the analysis of 95 inventoried elements, the assessment of the patrimonial potential of the mountain of Tindaya is concluded, where not only the goods related to the aboriginal world are present, concentrated at the top where the podomorphic engravings are located and in the two important areas with the presence of stone materials and structures, but in all of it you can observe the evolution in terms of agricultural and livestock use throughout history by the population of Tindaya until practically today, generating elements and materials witnesses of these uses after the conquest, proposing that the modification of the current BIC be urged, circumscribed to the podomorphic engravings and the archaeosedimentary fillings of its surroundings.

In this way, the mountain of Tindaya is contemplated as a set of archaeological, ethnographic, landscape, natural values ... that come to define in short one of the most unique elements of Canarian culture.

It is worth highlighting the exhaustiveness and the necessary methodological rigor with which the archaeological prospection works have been carried out, which are manifested in the correct identification and chronocultural ascription of the documented heritage assets, their documentary and graphic record, georeferencing, description of the constructive and/or archaeo-dimentary structures found, as well as the patrimonial valuation of the goods, taking into account in this case its characteristics and conservation status.

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Radio Sintonia:

Tindaya and the beauty of its podomorphs.

The Natural Monument of the Mountain of Tindaya is characterized by containing in its area an archaeological heritage of special relevance constituted mainly by the podomorphic rock engravings existing at its top and the archaeological sites located on its slope.



Aboriginal prints
The podomorphic engravings located to date are located between the height of 300 meters and the top of the mountain. They are characterized by not being linked to engravings or representations of different signs, as in other parts of the island, appearing on panels with representations of a single footprint or in groups, in the latter case always in an even number. The representation of the feet ranges from the clearest realism to schematization, and can be classified into three groups; rectangular, trapezoidal or curved lines.

The footprints have been made by the technique called "chopped by percussion" by which an irregular groove is obtained that oscillates between two centimeters and a few millimeters. In some specimens a total chopping of the surface of the panel was made, giving rise to an engraved hole. The size of the footprints ranges from 17 centimeters to 34 centimeters. The engravings are located in a south-west direction, being currently cataloged a total of 213 podomorphs distributed in different panels, without this catalog being considered definitive. The meaning of these engravings is unknown, and may be linked to religious magical practices, or to practices linked to the delivery of justice, without being able to be determined with precision at present.

Need for further studies and research
The archaeological sites are located at the base of the Natural Monument, they are included in the Catalogue of Island Heritage of 1994. These areas are located on the northwest slopes and on the southern slopes of the Mountain, as shown in the corresponding map. According to the surveys carried out and the archaeological samples located on the surface (ceramics and shells mainly), the archaeological potential is very high, and we may find ourselves facing a permanent aboriginal settlement. The lack of further studies and the absence of excavations prevent a more reliable idea of the argueological values present, as well as their precise limits.



Archaeoastronomical values
Some studies and publications of an astronomical nature have indicated possible orientations of the engravings of Tindaya towards certain milestones and references for other islands, the Teide (island of Tenerife) or the island of Gran Canaria, as well as towards significant astronomical aspects: solstices, lunastices, positions of some stars and constellations-, from which possible links with astral cults have been derived, especially cited, the star Venus, celestial image of the Punic goddess Tanit.

However, there is currently a lack of archaeological information that allows us to assert the synchrony in the execution of the podomorphs throughout the Archipelago, as well as their ascription to a belief system common to all the islands, so that the reliable explanations about the motivations that led to the realization of these inscriptions remain as intangible as the beings whose imprints were embodied in the hard rock of Tindaya.



Source: Government of the Canary Islands

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