The Archaeological Complex of TarracoThe Plaça del Rei, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, is one of the most important testimonies to the Roman presence on the Iberian Peninsula and in the western Mediterranean. It is an invaluable heritage, and the institutions that preserve it have experienced some turbulent years. The National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona (MNAT) closed the Plaça del Rei space in 2018, and eight years later, the plan is to reopen it at the end of 2026 with a new museography after an investment of more than 9.2 million euros. Meanwhile, the NecropolisThe site, containing 2,051 tombs spanning from the 3rd to the mid-5th century, is also undergoing renovations, with an investment of 8.9 million euros. This open-air burial complex is the most important in the Mediterranean and was already closed for an extended period, from 1992 to 2012. It is expected to partially reopen in June. These are just some of the challenges facing Elena Juncosa, who in January took over from Mònica Borrell At the helm of the MNAT. Selected through a public competition, she was director of the Mas Miró Foundation (2015-2025), and will be responsible for managing not only the museum and the necropolis, but also all the dependent monuments and archaeological sites: the Tarraco theater, the Tower of the Scipios, the Mèdolc quarry, the old town, and the Arch of Berà.

Who were the members of the first wave of Islamic migration to Girona? They weren't soldiers with a thirst for conquest, but rather family groups who came from various parts of North Africa, the Arab world, and even Europe. This is one of the findings of the first genetic study of the remains from the 8th-century Islamic necropolis on Carrer Galligants in Girona, discovered in 2016 during excavations to renovate the building that had been the former Hospital dels Capellans and now houses the Aqva Gerunda baths. The area served as a cemetery for 200 years, from the first quarter of the 8th century until the first quarter of the 10th century.