The Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC-CERCA) welcomes researcher Itziar Gutiérrez, who has begun a promising doctoral thesis project funded by the Joan Oró grant program for the recruitment of predoctoral research personnel in training (FI 2024) from the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Itziar’s contract began last June and will extend until May 2028, with three years of funding from the Joan Oró grant and a fourth year funded directly by ICAC-CERCA to complete the project.
Itziar Gutiérrez‘s thesis project is based on a detailed ceramological study of ceramics from the Valencia and Tortosa areas, to systematize and analyze common ceramics from the Late Antiquity period (6th – 7th centuries AD). This type of pottery — which includes pots, pans, mortars, and plates — has been little studied until now, despite its prevalence and variety.
The analysis corpus is based on materials found at the Visigothic site of Valencia “la Vella” (Riba-roja de Túria, Valencia) since the beginning of ICAC-CERCA excavations in 2016. It will also include findings from future campaigns, such as the one planned for the summer of 2024.
Additionally, materials from older excavations in nearby locations such as Alcàsser and Bétera will be considered, as well as pieces preserved in the Museo de Tortosa, which can be studied in detail thanks to a recent collaboration agreement between this entity and ICAC-CERCA.
The historical period of Late Antiquity is particularly relevant for Itziar’s case study due to the decrease in imports and the increase in local pottery production, which reflects possible social, political, and economic changes in the region of Valentia and other surrounding cities. Furthermore, the arrival of the Byzantines and the creation of the province of Hispania in the south, with Valencia “la Vella” as the border with the Visigothic kingdom of Toledo, adds additional interest to this study.
Itziar’s incorporation into ICAC and her thesis project represents a valuable contribution to Classical Archaeology, providing new insights into common pottery of Late Antiquity and its historical context in the Valencia and Tortosa regions.
Itziar Gutiérrez has a solid background in Archaeology, having been part of the first class of the Master’s Degree in Applied Classical Archaeology. Research and Transfer (URV-ICAC-UAB).
His TFM (Master’s Thesis), titled El vertedero del claustro de la Catedral de Tarragona: un estudio ceramológico de la vajilla fina del s. V, focused on the ceramics from the Tarragona Cathedral deposit, thanks to the help of the ICAC PIR research initiation program, with which Itziar participated in an active research project of the Late Antiquity team (MIRMED), led by Josep Maria Macias.
In her doctoral thesis, Itziar will be co-directed by researchers Josep Maria Macias and Francesc Rodríguez from the MIRMED research group at ICAC-CERCA.
About the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC-CERCA)
The Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC-CERCA) is a CERCA center established as a consortium in 2003 by the Government of Catalonia and the Rovira i Virgili University. It is a Catalan institution with an international scope, at the forefront of research and conservation of archaeological heritage. Its headquarters are in Tarragona, a city recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Its researchers work to understand the past through the study of archaeological remains and promote the preservation of the historical legacy. We are CERCA!
For more information, visit www.icac.cat.
