The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, expresses the municipal satisfaction for the continuity of the archaeological excavation project at the Rubicón site, which is scheduled to begin its seventh exploration campaign on September 21, for five weeks, under the cooperation agreement between the Government of the Canary Islands, the Yaiza City Council, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the University of La Laguna.
The agreement is established in the extension that the four entities have prolonged to guarantee the permanence of the research on the ground for two years.
“The Government, through the Ministry of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture and its Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the two public universities of the Canary Islands, and the Yaiza City Council, have signed and fulfilled all our commitments during the years the research has been ongoing, absolutely convinced of the historical importance that the first European city in the Canary Islands represents in the 15th century. The scientific results confirm why the continuity of this heritage commitment is necessary,” notes the mayor, who in this regard highlights “the willingness of the minister Migdalia Machín and the director of Heritage, Miguel Ángel Clavijo”.
The addendum for modification and extension of the agreement signed this week establishes a global contribution from the Government of the Canary Islands of 200,000 euros, distributed between the two public universities at a rate of 50,000 euros for each university in the years 2026 and 2027. The City Council maintains its funding of 25,000 euros per year, plus the personnel and machinery it provides for the research.
The Councilor for Heritage of Yaiza, Silvia Santana, values “the work of the project directors, archaeologists María del Cristo González (ULPG) and Esther Chávez (ULL), and that of the entire team that travels to the site each year for the excavations, as well as the work of the professionals who do it in the laboratory”.
In 2023, the remains of ten human bodies were found in El Rubicón, in 2024 three more bodies, and last year, in the sixth excavation campaign, four more individuals were found, for a total of seventeen. At the VI Rubicenses Conference held last October at the Casa de la Cultura de Yaiza, where the scientific team explained their work, methodology, and the results achieved so far, the conclusion, regarding the first ten findings, was that no human remains from outside the 15th century had appeared.
The great challenge of the El Rubicón site for Yaiza is to continue advancing in research and achieve the creation of an archaeological park on site, in the enclave of the Los Ajaches Natural Monument, which can be enjoyed and understood by the population of Lanzarote and visitors as a fundamental space for understanding the recent history of the Canary Islands.
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