The researcher responsible for the Luminescence Dating Laboratory Ana Luísa Rodrigues and the graduate technician Dulce Russo (DECN/C2TN), were in the field with the project team LandCRAFT – the socio-cultural contexts of Recent Prehistory art in the Côa valley” (FCT: COA/OVD/0055/2019).
The goal was sampling sediments and perform in situ gamma dosimetry. This project aims to provide new data to the study of the contextualization of artistic manifestations and understanding of the human occupation of the valley. The work took place in the Lapas Cabreiras shelter, in the Faia Brava reserve, in the heart of the Côa Valley Archaeological Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998).
Dr. Lara Bacelar Alves (University of Coimbra), the project leader, accompanied the IST team, along with archaeologists Ana Cristina Araújo (Laboratório de Arqueociências do Património Cultural, I.P.), Teresa Silva (independent archaeologist), Bárbara Carvalho (Center for Archaeological, Artistic, and Heritage Sciences/University of Coimbra), Beatriz Comendador Rey (GEAAT/University of Vigo), and Mário Reis (Côa Valley Park Foundation).
Luminescence dating will help establish a more precise chronology and understand the dynamics of human occupation at the site.