Archaeological resource management under Franco's Spain the Comisaría general de Excavaciones Arqueológicas

Abstract

In the context of a European continent increasingly dominated by right-wing totalitarian regimes, the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) led to the beginning of the long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1936/39–1975). The effects of this political change were apparent in all areas, including archaeology. As we have discussed elsewhere (Díaz-Andreu, 1993; Díaz-Andreu, 1997c; Ramírez Sánchez, 2000), one of the spheres in which the Francoist regime had an impact was that of heritage administration. It is on this issue that this article will focus.We will explain some of the changes the administration of heritage went through and the consequences thereof. In particular, we will center our discussion on the service which administered archaeological fieldwork during the first period of the Francoist regime, the General Commissariat for Archaeological Excavations (CGEA, Comisaría General de Excavaciones Arqueológicas).