This was confirmed by Clara Soto, director of the Office of Monuments and Historic Sites in this Cuban province , in declarations to the local newspaper September 5.

The official act of proclamation will be part of the commemorative program for the 203rd anniversary of the founding of the town of Cienfuegos, the only urban nucleus in the Spanish positions in America promoted by colonists of French origin.

“It will be the first time that an archeological site of the territory is distinguished with such a high category, after demonstrating the existence there of an extensive site related to the aboriginal agricultural and pottery culture, along with other evidences of Indo-European contact and early transculturation processes that took place in this place, the directive said.

Joint Cuban-Soviet archeological expeditions in the 1980s proved that in theConvent Hill, some 10 kilometers southeast of Cienfuegos, was located between 1514 and 1515 the encomienda (distribution of lands and Indians) of Fray Bartolome de Las Casas (1474-1566), who would go down in history as the Defender of the American aborigines.

Soto considered that the high categorization of the site will be a tribute to Cienfuegos archeologist Marcos Rodriguez (1947-2016) who devoted his research work to the Convent Hill.

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