The burial ground of Artenara

The canaric archipelago, in its centre the island of Gran Canary, inherits lots of evidence of its original canaric inhabitants. A perfect example of this evidence ist the prehispanic burial ground of Artenara. It is located in the Barranco de Fataga, one of the ravines, which offers a spectacular vegetation and water areals since the era of the Guanches. Scientist have recently discovered, that the burial ground is almost 2500 years old. It consists of several hundreds (estimates are between 800 and 2000) graves over an area of about 2 km². That makes it one of the largest on the island of Gran Canary.

Every single deseased of the Guanch people was bured under a hill of stone. In its centre a sarcophagus of dry stone wall is located. In there the deseased were laid to rest, laid on cloths oder mats of reed.

The scientific research of the guanchic findings by archeologists and specialised physicians established, that the natives of Gran Canary were of a very strong physique. They were quite tall and had very strong bones. Therefore, they had the best conditions to use the wildly romantic nature of the Canaric Islands.

The knowledge which was gained there is a milestone in the research of the canary culture. If you are interested in further information about the burial ground of Artenara and the native canary people, we recommend a visit to the interesting information centre "Centro de Interpretación". It shows many exhibits, which make the culture of the canaric natives come alive.