The Town Hall of Antequera has approved granting the title of Adoptive Son to Professor Leonardo García Sanjuán, a key researcher in the study of the Dolmens and their declaration as World Heritage. The official event will take place on September 16.
Professor of Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of Seville, Leonardo García Sanjuán will be named Adoptive Son of Antequera. This was approved by the Court of Honours and Distinctions of the Town Hall, which met this Monday, as part of the municipal distinctions on the occasion of the Day of Santa Eufemia.
García Sanjuán is one of the most internationally prestigious Spanish archaeologists in the study of megalithism. His career has been fundamental in highlighting the Dolmens of Antequera, declared World Heritage by Unesco in 2016.
The expert has dedicated over twenty years to researching the megalithic monuments of Antequera. His work has renewed knowledge about Menga, Viera, El Romeral, and the surrounding landscape, interpreting them as elements of a great ritual and symbolic landscape.
The archaeologist coordinated the studies resulting from the excavation at the dolmen of Menga in 2005, as part of the MEGA project promoted by the University of Seville. These investigations delved into the construction sequence, chronology, and uses of the monument over nearly 6,000 years.
Moreover, his research provided key scientific arguments for the Unesco declaration. They reinforced the relationship of Menga with the Peña de los Enamorados and of El Romeral with the Sierra de El Torcal.
The official ceremony for the award of the title will take place on September 16 at the ancient Royal Collegiate Church of Santa María. The Court of Honours and Distinctions has been presided over by the Mayor of Antequera, Manuel Barón, and included the participation of councillors Elena Melero and Pilar Ruiz, former mayor Ricardo Millán, former councillors Juan Álvarez and Rafael Romero, and Justo Muñoz as secretary.
Aside from Antequera, García Sanjuán has also researched the Dolmen of Montelirio, in Valencina de la Concepción and Castilleja de Guzmán, in the Aljarafe region of Seville. There, he has called for measures to protect the site against a proposed urban development.
With this distinction, Antequera recognises the work of a researcher who has decisively contributed to making the Dolmens a global reference for the study of megalithism and the early monumental societies of Europe.
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