From 1 to 14 June 2025 the EvoAdapta group (University of Cantabria), with the Prehistoric Technology Laboratory from the University of Salamanca, carried out the fourth archaeological campaign at the Aitzbitarte III cave (Rentería, Gipuzkoa). Located in the Landarbaso area, near San Sebastián and surrounded by a cluster of Paleolithic sites, Aitzbitarte III is a key site for understanding the late Neanderthals and the arrival of early Homo sapiens in the northern Iberian Peninsula.
Fieldwork and objectives
Over the course of the two-week campaign the multidisciplinary team focused on refining the site stratigraphy and recovering material for laboratory study. Excavation work prioritized the controlled recovery of faunal remains, lithic assemblages and samples destined for high-precision analyses —including archaeozoology, radiocarbon and OSL dating, stable isotope and palaeoproteomic approaches— that are central to the SUBSILIENCE project’s goal of reconstructing past diets, ecosystems and human resilience during the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition.
People, training and outreach
The campaign brought together senior researchers, postdoctoral fellows and early-career students from various institutions. Field seasons, such as this one, are not only about data collection: they form an essential training ground for the next generation of archaeologists and bioarchaeologists. During the campaign the team also continued its commitment to public outreach and science communication through social channels and planned guided-visit activities tied to the project’s wider dissemination programme.
During the campaign, Dr. Ana Belén Marín-Arroyo, Principal Investigator of SUBSILIENCE, gave a lecture at the Oiasso Museum in Irún within the complementary conference series to the “NEANDERTHALS” exhibition during the European Archaeology Days. Her talk, “The causes of Neanderthal decline: their demise in the Iberian Peninsula,” offered a scientific reflection on the factors behind their disappearance, using data from key sites in southern Europe and Aitzbitarte III.
Photo gallery and social media
We’ve prepared a gallery with images from the 1–14 June campaign —a visual diary of two very special weeks for the team. If you’d like to see more content from Aitzbitarte III, visit our Instagram:
- Instagram Reel — Ana B. Marín-Arroyo explains the importance of Aitzbitarte III.
- Photo carousel — some pics of the team and excavation area during 2025 campaign. → (link)
Acknowledgements
This work is part of the ERC-funded SUBSILIENCE project (Horizon 2020). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support and collaboration of the Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa and the Fundación Palarq, as well as our partner institutions, the municipality of Rentería and all team members, students and volunteers who made this campaign possible
