Geosites of historical and natural heritage from the Sierra Norte Geopark (Seville, Spain): CareQ, research and a proposal of SPZ management
Fernando DÍAZ DEL OLMO, FACULTY OF GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY -UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE, Spain
Jose Antonio CARO, FACULTY OF GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY -UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA, Spain
The Natural Park and Geopark (2011 approval) of the Sierra Norte of Seville (Andalusia, Spain) covers 177.484 hectares of a geological and geomorphological sector of the Meridional Hesperian Massif. As being part of it are located the limestones of the Cambrian units of Ossa-Morena and the Devonian ones of the South-Portuguese, contributing to the geomorphological karst evolution (and endokarst) of the Palaeozoic shield. Three caves have been studied systematically and incorporated into the Park Geosites network: La Sima (Constantina), Ocho (Cazalla de la Sierra) and Covachos (Almadén de la Plata). The Cueva del Ocho shows a record with abundance of archaeological rests since the Early Neolithic (ceramics, milling and hammer elements...) and display of rock art (engravings and paintings). Finally, Covachos cave also presents an occupancy from Upper Holocene (Copper and Bronze Age) and lots of rock engravings. The historical knowledge of the existence and location of these three caves, their well accessibility and the lack of police, have resulted in the loss of and destruction of their archaeological and geomorphological heritage by means of pillaging actions and of and clandestine excavations. To revert this situation three actions are proposed for the conservation: 1º) the creation of a new protection label as special protection zone (SPZ), for the cave geosites, with an effective penalty system. This SPZ could be incorporated as a category into the existing Zonas de Usos Restringidos figure. 2º) To create and approve a Special Management Plan (SMP) for this SPZ, with criteria of geotourism and pedagogy. It is fundamental that the SMP has a monitoring programme and a multiannual validity. 3º) The future SPZ geosites should be part of the Catálogo General del Patrimonio Histórico (General Catalogue of Historical Heritage)of the Junta de Andalucía, as Bienes de Interés Cultural (BIC) in the typology of Zonas Arqueológicas (Archaeological zones)
Mots clés : Geosites|Karst|Management Plan|Geoarchaeological zones|Spain
A104534FD