Red Eléctrica and the Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Regional Government of Andalucía are extending their archaeological heritage georeferencing programme to include the provinces of Sevilla and Almería. This signing extends a 2024 agreement, which has enabled the georeferencing and digitisation of this heritage in the province of Granada. To date, that project has inventoried 566 sites and defined the boundaries for 705 archaeological activities in the province.

This will allow the Regional Government of Andalucía to integrate new archaeological sites – already identified but not yet geolocated – from two additional provinces into its Geographic Information System (GIS) for cultural heritage.

The extension of this agreement, to which Red Eléctrica is now contributing €45,000, reflects the company’s – and its parent company Redeia’s – commitment to the preservation of cultural and archaeological heritage, as well as to collaboration with public institutions and administrations.

The protection of cultural heritage is a key aspect in the construction of Red Eléctrica’s facilities. The company’s procedures include conducting archaeological surveys of land prior to designing transmission line routes. During construction, archaeological teams supervise the works and remain involved throughout the process. When necessary, routes are redesigned and projects adapted in order to document, preserve, and publicise findings, which are now incorporated into the Geographic Information System (GIS) for cultural heritage of the Andalucía Regional Government.

The project relies on a team of experts responsible for georeferencing and digitising information on archaeological sites. The geometric and alphanumeric data is then validated by technicians from the Andalucía Institute of Historical Heritage before being uploaded into the information and management system of the Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport.

To mark the extension of the agreement to the provinces of Sevilla and Almería, a one-day conference titled ‘Innovation in cultural administration’ was held in Granada to present the results of the archaeological site georeferencing work carried out in that province. The conference also featured contributions from the Secretary General for Historical and Documentary Heritage of the Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport, María del Mar Sánchez Estrella, and Red Eléctrica’s manager in Andalucía, Jorge Jiménez.

The secretary general emphasised the importance the Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport places on integrating geographic information on cultural assets into heritage protection practices. This has driven innovation and the development of information systems stemming from the new Andalucía Cultural Heritage Law, which for the first time includes provisions for the creation of the Andalucía Cultural Heritage Information System. 

In this regard, the work carried out in Granada – and that planned for other provinces – represents a significant step forward, not only by increasing the number of georeferenced sites, but also by enabling their integration into information and management systems. This will ultimately make spatial data available to technical staff in regional offices, ensuring that cultural heritage procedures become increasingly efficient and streamlined. 

For his part, Red Eléctrica’s manager in Andalucía explained that ‘this agreement is part of Red Eléctrica’s commitment to the region. This includes cultural, social, and environmental initiatives that promote sustainable, fair, and balanced development for people and communities.’

He also noted that, at national level, ‘our activities have resulted in more than three hundred initiatives related to cultural heritage protection and conservation. Over forty previously unknown archaeological sites have been reported to the authorities and society, including dinosaur footprints and previously undocumented remains of the many peoples and cultures that have inhabited the Iberian Peninsula’.