Un cambio de paradigma paleotopográfico en Gadir-Gades. Geoarqueología de profundidad en su estrecho interinsular (canal Bahía-Caleta)

The paleotopography of the city of Gadir-Gades is a fundamental element for understanding the historical process that took place in this unique area of the Atlantic-Mediterranean environment. Recent archaeological and geo-archaeological activities in the central part of the ancient “Bahía-Caleta” paleochannel (Valcárcel Building, 2018) have demonstrated the existence of an active anchorage located between 20 and 40 m circa depth below the current sea level, very fertile from an archaeological point of view; of whose interpretation it can be inferred that this natural channel was open between archaic Phoenician age and at least the Early Roman Empire. This singular finding affects the reinterpretation of the paleotopography of the gaditan islands and the urbanism of the ancient city, that was developed in an insular environment, in front of which it was thought until the date. This paper presents these new findings and reflects on the historical-archaeological implications derived from them, opening suggestive new lines of research for the future.