Camagüey City.- A green crystallized piece of pottery may be the first evidence of the probable foundation site of Camagüey City. The founding was achieved by an international team made of archeologists from Argentina, Colombia and Cuba in a place near Nuevitas Bay where it is estimated the building of the first settlement in 1514 or 1515.
The object was found near the surface, in a 10 x 20 meters digging site, asserted to Cuban News Agency Iosvany Hernández, Head of the Archeology Cabinet belonging to Camagüey City Historian Office.
Also the general field research coordinator, Hernández confirmed that the area was not totally abandoned when the original village was moved but it remained occupied until some time in the 19th Century, with subsequent increasing and diminishing of the population.
Previous investigations in the location known as Pueblo Viejo, yielded testimonies coming from Europeans and Indo-Cubans but never before physical evidence of the original structures had been found.
The preparatory phase of the present research included the use of advanced equipments which revealed the existence of subterranean human depositions.
The expedition, which may last through the whole month, includes members of the
Archeology Cabinet of Havana City Historian Office.
Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe was moved to Caonao and later, in 1528, to its final location in a vast Mediterranean plain irrigated by rivers and brooks.
Translated by Luis Viamontes for Adelante online
