B. Scientific description of the European Geopark territory

1- Definition of the geographic region in which the territory is located

The Natural Park Sierra Norte is located in the north of the province of Seville (Andalusia, Spain), within a distance of 40 to 80 kilometres from Seville town.

The Natural Park covers a region of Sierra Morena, where the dominant landscape is made up of large pastures of oak and cork trees. The vegetation of Sierra Norte is adapted to the Mediterranean climate of hot dry summers and mild winters. The existence of mineral deposits of residents favoured the settlement from prehistory. Roman and Arab peoples have also left many traces in the villages of the region.

2- General geological description

The Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) is made up of three large geological domains:

a) Variscan domain. It represents the remains of the Hesperian Massif, a large mountain range materialized during the Variscan Orogeny (or Hercynian Orogeny), in the Upper Devonian and in the Lower Carboniferous.

b) Alpine domain. It is made up of the main recent orographical features of the Iberian Peninsula: Betic Mountain Ranges, the Pyrenees and the Iberian Mountain Range. They originated during the Alpine Orogeny in the Palaeogenic.

c) Mesozoic, Cenozoic and Quaternarian platform materials. They are sedimentary rocks, diverse in composition, unaffected by the Alpine cycle, which, in general, deposited by filling the topographic depressions originated in previous periods: the Ebro, Douro and Tagus basins; the Guadalquivir basin and its extension into the Portuguese Algarve, as well as the so-called Lusitanian basin, which stretches between the south of Lisbon and Oporto.

Variscan Domain Cantabrian Zone W. Asturian-Leonese Zone Central Iberian Zone Ossa-Morena Zone Southern Portuguese Zone Variscan in Alpine domain Alpine Domain

Mesozoic, Cenozoic and Quaternarian platform materials The largest part of the “Sierra Norte de Sevilla” Natural Park is located in terrain belonging to the Hesperian (or Variscan) Massif, although there are also a few

7 outcroppings of filling materials from the Guadalquivir Depression. The Hesperian Massif has been divided into several areas on the basis of its stratigraphical, structural, metamorphic and magmatic characteristics. The five areas under consideration, as arranged in a North-South direction are: Cantabrian Zone, Western Asturian-Leonese Zone, Central Iberian Zone, Ossa-Morena Zone and Southern Portuguese Zone.

Almost 90 % of the Natural Park’s area is located in the Ossa-Morena Zone; 10% lies in the en la Southern Portuguese Zone, and less than 1 % is made up of Guadalquivir Depression rocks.

Central Iberian Zone Ossa-Morena Zone Southern Portuguese Zone

Post-Palaeozoic Rocks

Suture units

Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park

Ossa-Morena Zone

The Ossa-Morena Zone is a continental block made up of rocks formed between the terminal Proterozoic and the Carboniferous, which was suturated to the Central Iberian Zone and to the Southern Portuguese Zone during Variscan Orogeny; in both boundaries basic oceanic-affinity rocks have been recognized. The zone is characterized by the widespread presence of tectonic ametamorphic foliations and of abundant magmatism, concentrated in three time periods: the late Precambrian, the Cambrian-Orodvician and the Carboniferous.

The stratigraphic sequence consists of two Precambrian formations, whose tecto-sedimentary interpretation is difficult, plus one complete Palaeozoic series. The vast majority of rocks in this Zone show an intense degree of distortion. The oldest materials, preceding the Palaeozoic, are specially distorted, having sustained the effects of two orogenic processes: the Cadomian, which took place at the end of the Precambrian period, and the Variscan, at the end of the Palaeozoic.

Locally, on top of the Variscan base made up of distorted rocks, there appear the remains of what used to be small continental basins which were filled with

8 sediments and volcanic materials during the Upper Carboniferous, the Permian and the Lower Triassic. Some of them contain cole layers, as in the case of the former Permian-Triassic basins of San Nicolás del Puerto and El Viar.

The bigger structures are large laid-down folds verging towards the SW, and ductile superimpositions whose ceiling block moves toward the SW, bearing witness to a first collision event, with an important reduction in Devonian age in the mid-crustal levels. In the Lower Carboniferous there occurred an important change in the tectonic regime, moving into distensive/transtensive conditions with abundant magmatism and formation of sedimentary basins. In the Upper Carboniferous, the collision among all three continental blocks involved (Southern Portuguese Zone, Ossa-Morena Zone and Central Iberian Zone) went on, giving rise to straight folds and leftward tear faults, affecting the structures generated in the Devonian collision period. The southern boundary of the Ossa-Morena Zone is a orogeny suture zone (between tectonic plates), consisting in a strip of complex rocks which are construed as remains of an old ocean floor, distorted and metamorphosed in the early stages of the Variscan Orogeny. At a later stage, the Alpine Orogeny did affect the Ossa-Morena Zone by reactivating old faults which, upon moving, brought about a rejuvenation of the orography.

Southern Portuguese Zone

The Southern Portuguese Zone occupies the South-western part of the Iberian Massif (in the Natural Park there appears only to the South and the South-east of Almadén de la Plata).

In the Southern Portuguese Zone there appear on the surface rocks of an age ranging from the Middle-Upper Devonian to the Autunian (Lower Permian). Between the Late Devonian and the Upper Carboniferous the development is recorded of an extension period which brought about: a) the fragmentation of a Devonian detrital platform, b) abundant magmatism and c) a high temperature gradient in the upper crust. Such is the context in which the large deposits of massive sulphurs being typical of the so-called Iberian Pyritic Strip were formed. From the Upper Viseain onwards, a contractive distortion wave spread towards the SW from the Ossa-Morena Zone boundary, being preceded by flysch deposits.

The distortion style is characterized by folds and large superimpositions with which a low-to very low metamorphism degree is associated. The distortion becomes intense around the place of contact with the Ossa-Morena Zone, and it is here that Plutonic rocks are abundant, whose intrusion, in the majority of cases, is posterior to the main stage of tectonic distortion. The main structures verge towards the South and the development of foliation is widespread throughout the area.

Age of the park’s rocks

Precambrian rocks are represented by the following outcroppings: an anticlinal core to the West of the El Pintado reservoir; a strip of detrital rocks stretching to the North of El Real de la Jara; the marbles of Loma del Viento to the North of Guadalcanal; and a few small-extent outcroppings located close to the South-eastern end. To the Cambrian system belong the largest outcroppings in the region. Even though this type of rocks can be found anywhere in the Park, is it predominant in its Northern half.

9 The Silurian and the Ordovician is represented, in the main, by the so-called Valley Unit, stretching like a narrow strip to the East of the El Pintado reservoir. Materials from the Devonian and the Lower Carboniferous are to be found, above all, in the Park’s section belonging to the Southern Portuguese Zone, to the South of Almadén de la Plata, although there are also some Devonian outcroppings in the Valley’s synclinal as well as in some other places. The rocks from the Upper Carboniferous, the Permian and the Triassic make the fill of what once were the post-Variscan basins of San Nicolás del Puerto, Viar and the surroundings of the El Retortillo reservoir. The Neogene and Quaternarian materials make, in general, deposits in the Guadalquivir depression (Alpine cover) and recent alluvia.

There are geological processes currently underway which are still generating new materials and which, within the Park’s environment, become apparent in the formation of soils and alluvia, and in the deposit of travertines, the latter being especially active in the riverbanks of the Huéznar.

3- Listing and description of the geological sites present on the territory of the Geopark

Geosites

The Geological Society of Spain (SGE), the Spanish Society for the Defence of the Geological and Mining Heritage (SEDPGYM), the Spanish Society of Environmental Geology and Territorial Regulation (SEGAOT) and experts in the field of Geological Heritage, entrusted the Spanish Mining and Geological Institute (IGME) with the carrying out of the work for the Global Geosites project, a task ended in 2007. The methodology used has been the one agreed upon by IUGS and UNESCO. The results of this work as regards Spain, have been the selection and characterization of Twenty Spanish Geological Contexts of international significance, as well as the location and description of One Hundred and Forty-four Sites of Geological Interest (Geosites), forty-five of which are located in Andalusia, which will become candidates for integration into the list of global-significance sites of geological interest (Global Geosites); these geosites have not been approved as yet.

Out of the Twenty Spanish Geological Contexts of world significance, twelve are in Andalusia, all being well represented, and out of these, two are very well represented in the Natural Park.

Iberian Variscan Orogen. It Constitutes the Iberian Peninsula’s basement, and its rocks, with ages ranging from the Upper Proterozoic to the Carboniferous periods, crop out in the Iberian Massif. This context is unique due to the uninterrupted nature of its outcroppings, and because it shows excellent records that make it possible to analyse the characteristics of the continental crust, as well as the tectonic, metamorphic and magmatic evolution during the late Precambrian and the Palaeozoic. In Andalusia, it constitutes the Sierra Morena morphological unit, which occupies part of the provinces of Jaén, Cordoba, Seville and Huelva.

Stratigraphical series from the lower and middle Palaeozoic in the Iberian Massif. This sedimentary record is made up of the sediments deposited in the continental margins of Gondwana during the lower and middle Palaeozoic, before the Variscan Orogen. This record, which contains the largest and most fossiliferous outcroppings, shows the ecosystem evolution and dynamics in one

10 of the most important periods for the development of the main morphological groups which have survived till the present time. During this period, the Earth’s surfaced was conquered by fungi, plants and animals, through species for which the oldest fossils in Andalusia currently provide evidence. This Geological Context coincides in Andalusia with the previous one; for them, it is suggested as a Site of Geological Interest the Palaeozoic of the Valley Synclinal (Sinclinal del Valle, Cazalla de la Sierra, Seville), included in the Natural Park.

Inventory of Andalusian Cultural Georesources

In the “Sierra Norte de Sevilla” Natural Park, nine georesources have been listed from the Inventory of Andalusian Cultural Georesources, carried out as a part of the Andalusian Strategy for the Conservation of Geodiversity. The Inventory, launched in the year 2001, is a project that came into the world to make real one of the objectives contained in the Andalusian Strategy (to date, Five Hundred and Eighty- eight locations have been inventoried and the list is currently under review).

Georesources in the Northern Seville Sierra Natural Park

CODE DESCRIPTION 558 Los Covachos Cave 559 Crag Area of the Almadén de la Plata Batholith 563 Santiago Caves 564 Guadalcanal Marble Limestones 566 El Viar Fault 570 Crag Areas of the El Pedroso Batholith 572 Huéznar Travertine’s 576 La Sima Cave 577 El Cerro del Hierro Karst and Mine

In addition to the nine georesources belonging to the Inventory of Andalusian Cultural Georesources, other geological resources have been taken into consideration within the Natural Park, which adds up to a total of fourteen Spots of Geological and Geotourist Interest.

Spots of Geological and Geotourist Interest

1 - Valley Synclinal (Sinclinal del Valle). The syncline is a narrow fault bounded structure between the Cambrian limestone and vulcanite, which roughly coincides with the axis of the south-eastern branch of El Pintado reservoir. In this sector of the peri-Gondwanan platform, the sedimentary record of the Ordovician - Devonian succession shows deeper environments and far away from the Gondwanan shoreline. The abundance of pelagic fossils has allowed recognizing a full sequence, from Silurian to Lower Devonian, with 25 consecutive graptolite bio zones. This enables a high resolution correlation with other global areas, as well a contribution to the detailed knowledge of major global climatic and oceanographic events, including heating and glaciation events on terminal Ordovician, or radiation and extinction in the Silurian period.

2 - Santiago Caves. The Santiago Caves speleological complex (Cazalla de la Sierra) is located in Cambrian limestone hillocks. It is an endokarst containing an important number of inherited and active speleological expressions, with the presence of chasms, carbonated formations (speleothemes, gours...), galleries, halls and monospecific ducts. At the moment, its known length exceeds 1,000

11 SPOTS OF GEOLOGICAL - GEOTOURISM INTEREST

Guadalcanal

[2 3 Alanís 1 [ San Nicolás [ 14 [ del Puerto El Real de la Jara [4 Cazalla de la Sierra Las Navas de la Concepción

5 6 [ Almadén de la Plata [ 11 12 [7 [ Constantina [ 9 El Pedroso 8[ [ 10[

La Puebla de los Infantes

13[ 12 metres, being the longest cave in the province of Seville. These galleries are organized in three levels and they connect the fourteen known entrances to the cave, some of which are interconnected.

3 - Guadalcanal Marble Limestones. They are pleated marble limestones interspersed with lutites, from the Lower Cambrian, in which cylindrical folds can be seen, whose size is in the range of metres or decametres, with faults associated with the hinges of the said folds.

4 - El Cerro del Hierro Karst and Mine: The karstic complex at El Cerro del Hierro, located on top of Cambrian coral limestones, is one of the oldest and most unique karsts in the whole of Andalusia. Later the deposit of the carbonates, in the Lower Cambrian, took place the first emersion of the area (between Lower and Upper Cambrian). The exposure of the limestone to the weathering caused the formation of a first karst whose cavities were gradually filling with clay impregnated oxides of iron and the development of a rich soil in ferruginous compounds. In the Carboniferous the orography comes to the surface and the second karstification process begins, with spectacular surface karstic shapes (stone fields whose size is in the range of metres or decametres, etc.). The iron ores were also subjected to washing and remobilization processes, which caused the alteration of primary iron ores and the subsequent fill of the cavities with them in the shape of oxides and hydroxides (hematites, goethite, oligist and limonite).

5 - Los Covachos Cave. At the North-western end of the Los Covachos hillock are the two mouths giving entry to the interior of the cave, the second longest cave in the province of Seville. The cavity is also of interest due to the archaeological heritages it contains. Up to now, the presence has been ascertained of signs (engravings) and painting traces in one hundred and eighty-one spots located through a large part of the cave’s length, in halls and corridors as well as in places difficult to gain access to. This discovery has turned Los Covachos Cave into an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) under Andalusian legislation.

6 - Beja-Acebuches Amphibolites: Between the Southern Portuguese and Ossa-Morena Zones is located an “accretion complex” which indicates a subduction area (oceanic suture area) between these two zones (the Southern Portuguese zone turns below the Ossa-Morena one). Among the materials making up this accretion complex are the so-called Beja-Acebuches Amphibolites, old volcanic rocks with oceanic characteristics, which in the Natural Park appear in outcroppings unconnected due to fractures.

7 – Diabase dam in the La Calzadilla Stream. In this particular spot, the majority of substratum rocks are granites (El Berrocal granites) traversed by diabase dams. Diabases are rocks very easily subjected to weather action, far more so than the granites containing them, and, therefore, usually create depressed orography. In this spot, the diabase vein that used to vertically cross the granite has been completely eroded, whereas the granite is erosion-resistant. The result is a gorge with vertical granite walls, a cavity where the diabase was before and in which several rock skittles have remained fixed after having been dragged by the flow of the stream, which in times of floods can be very strong.

8 - Almadén de la Plata Crag Land. Posthercynian pink granite located in the eastern end of the Pyritic Strip, close to the Ossa-Morena Zone. It displays a

13 beautiful crag-like landscape, “ball disjunction”, with semi-isolated structure whose size is in the range of metres or decametres.

9 – El Viar Permian Basin. The El Viar basin is the southernmost of the Permian basins in the Iberian Massif and contains the sole record of post-orogenic sedimentation in the Southern Portuguese Zone. It has hemi-graben geometry and its fill consists in a wedge of heterogeneous sediments of a continental nature: conglomerates, sandstones and lutites, interspersed to a small extent with limestones and thin cole strata, in conjunction with basic volcanic rocks (basalts) and acid of a pyroclastic nature. Locally, it contains abundant fossil flora from the Autunian, among which silicified trunks of coniferae.

10 – El Pedroso Batholith Crag Lands: The pluton at El Pedroso is an intrusion of acid igneous rocks variable in composition (amphibolic diorites, tonalites and granites) which during the Upper Palaeozoic was fitted among limestones, shales and sandstones from the Cambrian Age. It has a granitic crag-like shaping, with isolated outcroppings of spheric and sub-speheric morphology, and with shapes characteristic of the “dale” type, within a soft orography in which striation-type sandy soils predominate.

11 - La Sima Cave. The cave known as La Sima opens in the Sierra Morena Cambrian limestones, almost in the built-up area of Constantina (Seville). The cavity has been known since ancient times and has been archaeologically documented since 1958. Palinologic, pedological, geomorphological and hydrogeological works are currently underway, along with different datings of speleothemes and geo-archaeological remains.

12 – Lower Cambrian Medusae in Constantina: Ninety big-size discoidal structures, recorded in a stratification plane of certain arcosic graywackes of the Cordubian period (in the Spanish bio-chronological scale). Their interest stems from the anomalous size of the medusae and from the uniqueness of their morphology, which are a new element in the geological record. In addition, here is to be found the largest concentration of specimens known in Spain, and one of the largest in the world.

13 – El Viar Fault: The contact between the Ossa-Morena Zone and the El Viar Permian Basin is made in this area through an inverted fault, which slightly superimposes the Ossa-Morena Cambrian marble limestones on the conglomerates and Permian lutites of El Viar. The El Viar fault is a tectonic alignment with a Hercinian directrix (N120-140E), and in this sector, the limestones can be seen on top of the Permian materials, which show evidence of a strong tectonization.

14 - Huéznar Travertines. The Huéznar River, in the vicinity of the town of San Nicolás del Puerto, is fitted onto an Upper Cambrian carbonated series; the characteristics of these rocks concerning water, as a result of marked karstification and fracture processes, are very important, hence the fact that the recharge of water in these materials be so high. Their discharge is associated in some cases with fractures in the limestones and also with the contact between limestones and the underlying series. There are in the river bed some escarpments originating waterfalls, at whose base platforms have been created where the growth and development of vegetation has been fostered; the circulation and precipitation of calcium carbonate in these escarpments has brought about the development of travertine deposits during the Quaternary.

14 These travertines are currently partially hung and dissected by the very fitting of the river onto the series.

4- Details on the interest of these sites

The Spots of Geological Interest that have been taken into consideration within the Natural Park Sierra Norte de Sevilla, often collect several aspects; scientific, educational, geotourist and even recreational, like the Huéznar Travertines or the Almadén de la Plata Crag Land, with signposted paths, camping areas and recreational areas in the proximity of this geological spots. In the below table there is a synthetic approach into the interest of these sites, with two points, the Cerro del Hierro Karst and Mine and the El Viar Permian Basin, that collect the three consider aspects, due to this high geological value and its broad dimensions.

Interest Num Name scientific educational geotourist 1 Valley Synclinal X 2 Santiago Caves X X 3 Guadalcanal Marble Limestones X 4 Cerro del Hierro Karst and Mine X X X 5 Los Covachos Cave X X 6 Beja-Acebuches Amphibolites X 7 Diabase dam in the La Calzadilla Stream X X 8 Almadén de la Plata Crag Land X 9 El Viar Permian Basin X X X 10 El Pedroso Batholith Crag Lands X 11 La Sima Cave X X 12 Lower Cambrian Medusae in Constantina X X 13 El Viar Fault X 14 Huéznar Travertines X X

5- Current or potential pressure on the territory and these sites

There are two main tourist seasons in the Sierra Norte of Seville Natural Park: high (mid-June to mid September, Easter and Christmas) and low (rest of the year with slight increases in national festivities). The majority of tourists come from the province of Seville and mainly come in winter weekends and fortnightly in summer. The foreign tourist is quite low, except in some specific sites.

There isn’t current tourist pressure in the Natural Park. For example the Visitor Centre of El Robledo received over 12.000 visitors in 2004, and it can be drawn some general features about the visitors (data for 2003 and 2004):

- 94% are Andalusians (of which more than four-fifths are Seville) and 98%, Spanish (especially Catalonia, Madrid and Extremadura). - The group visits are mainly from school (40%), family or friends (33%) and other groups (15%).

High press was detected in some weekends on the Huéznar Travertines and on the Cerro del Hierro Karst and Mine (40,000 visits in 2005).

15 One of the main problem in the Natural Park is the stockbreeder press: around 60% of the area of Natural Park is under stocking levels which prevents natural regeneration if not through specific actions to limit cattle access to areas of regeneration and pass largely plantings to be done (at best). In 40% of the remaining area of the Park, the regeneration can occur through the adaptation of simple measures in the management of livestock as well as specific actions in areas of lair or specific areas.

6- Current status in terms of protection of the sites

The Sierra Norte of Seville was declared by the Parliament of Andalusia a Natural Park pursuant to Act 2/1989, enacted on July 18, whereby the Inventory of Andalusian Natural Protected Areas is approved, and additional measures are established for their protection within the framework of Act 4/1989, enacted on March 27, for the Conservation of Natural Areas and the Wild Flora and Fauna, because of their physical, natural and cultural values. Under existing law in Andalusia, is strictly prohibited the collection of any biological or geological specimen in the Natural Park territory, as well as any activity involving an impact on their natural values. The Environment guards watch carefully to prevent damage and pursue any infringement.

Other figures of protection

The Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park has been declared a Special Zone for the Protection of Birds (ZEPA) since October 1989, by virtue of the implementation of Directive 79/409/EEC, approved on April 2, concerning the preservation of wild birds.

On the basis of Directive 92/43/EEC, approved on May 21, concerning the preservation of natural habitats and the wild flora and fauna, the Park was declared a Spot of Interest to the Community (LIC) by Decision of the European Commission approved on July 19 2006, to become a part of the Natura 2000 network.

Likewise, this area forms, together with the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park, in Huelva, and the Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park, in Cordoba, the Dehesas de Sierra Morena Biosphere Reserve, declared as such on November 7 2002.

The Natural Park also includes the Cascadas del Hueznar Natural Monument, declared as such by Decree 226/2001, approved on October 2, whereby certain Andalusian Natural Monuments are so declared; and the Cerro del Hierro Natural Monument, so declared by Decree 250/2003 approved on September 9, whereby certain Andalusian Natural Monuments are so declared.

7-Data on the management of these sites

The Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park is managed through a stable public structure, the Department of Environment, and has a firm budget coming from the Regional Government: the Junta de Andalucia.

A director is the person responsible for the management of the Natural Park according to the instructions of the Andalusian Regional Government’s Department of Environment.

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The Natural Park’s structure consists of four departments: the Administration area, the Promotion area, the Public Use (geotourism, education) area and the Conservation (flora, fauna, geodiversity) area.

The Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park does not have a stipulated annual budget. The amount thereof depends on such different projects concerning the Natural Park as may be approved.

However, the solid financial support of the regional government guarantees the supply and modernization of information boards, as well as that of orientation signals. It also provides direction signalling, the publication of guides, the training of tourist guides, in cooperation with the education and continuous training centres in the area, the development of visit systems and installations for roads, footpaths, parkings and service areas, as well as the improvement of the museums.

The investments made over the last few years in the Natural Park by the Department of the environment are as follows:

YEAR AMOUNT 2002 2,251,676.72 €

2003 5,087,992.08 €

2004 4,185,956.08 €

2005 4,915,311.05 €

2006 5,852,765.84 €

2007 5,675,332.61 €

2008 4,996,115.07 €

2008 5,958,272.93 € Andalusian Water Agency

Within the scope of its responsibilities, the Department of the Environment of the Andalusian Regional Government actively manages the preservation of natural resources and the sustainable use of same.

The Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park does not have a stipulated annual budget. The amount thereof depends on such different projects concerning the Natural Park as may be approved. However, the solid financial support of the regional government guarantees the supply and modernization of information boards, as well as that of orientation signals. It also provides direction signalling, the publication of guides, the training of tourist guides, in cooperation with the education and continuous training centres in the area, the development of visit systems and installations for roads, footpaths, parkings and service areas, as well as the improvement of the museums.

17 8- Listing and description of non-geological sites present in the territory

Since ancient times, the western part of Sierra Morena has been a very important area in terms of economic activity, due to the exploitation of its mineral wealth and because it was the communication link between the valley of the Guadalquivir and Lower Extremadura, close to the Silver Route (Ruta de la Plata). Being a strategic place, close to the Portuguese border, it became during the Lower Middle Ages a defensive position against possible attacks by the neighbouring country. On the other hand, it was a place through which the main ways of communication were drawn between western Andalusia and Castile, through which came the North’s schools of thought, which brought about both the settlement and the development of their population centres, and the formation of an important cultural heritage which has left numerous historic and artistic proofs.

Among the set of protected assets under the category of monuments, there are nineteen buildings declared Assets of Cultural Interest (BIC) plus two included in the General Catalogue of the Andalusian Historic Heritage. Annex V includes the assets declared parts of the architectural heritage belonging to the ten municipalities of the area of influence. The Sierra Norte de Sevilla has been the place of settlement of prehistoric populations (Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age) and of other peoples (Celtiberian) and civilizations (Roman-Betic and Al-Andalus), which have made of this region a land rich in history an culture. Evidence of that is the rich archaeological heritage of the Natural Park, where 98 archaeological sites have been inventoried in the Information System of the Andalusian Historic Heritage. Recently, 26 new sites have been delimited in the affected and compensation area of the Los Melonares reservoir.

In the Ethnologic Heritage, the use value is highlighted, as are the symbolic functions and, finally, the meaning of the goods for being relevant forms of expression of the culture and the way of life of the people, bearing in mind the material results of human action (architecture, movable items), the cultural socio-economic and symbolic meaning (immaterial culture).

Annex VI includes the assets registered in the Department of Culture’s Information System of the Andalusian Historic Heritage. The information as regards movable items of an ethnologic nature, comes from the Inventory of Andalusian Popular Architecture (1992-1997), although the inventoried assets exclusively belong to the first phase of the Inventory of Popular Architecture, including the buildings related to production or transformation activities, in other words, the work spaces.

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