#Caspe is a #municipality in the province of #Zaragoza, part of the autonomous #community of Aragon (#spain ), seat of the comarca #bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 503.33 km², is the fourth largest in Aragon.
It obtained the title of city in the 19th century, as a result of the damage suffered in the Carlist Wars, by concession of #queen #elizabeth II.
There is a popular belief that the name of Caspe comes from #ancient #inhabitants of the city, originating from the Caspian Sea; However, this etymology lacks philological rigor despite its wide diffusion. The place name Casp appears documented in Andalusian sources such as Qsp, Qasp or #Qasb and has been related to the #arabic word Casba. It is also possible that the name of the city derives from the Indo-European root Cass (holm oak) and the suffix pe (place of or below).Caspe is home to a great diversity of fauna and flora, due to the landscape combination of the steppe, river, forest and Mediterranean forest.
in terms of birds, it is worth noting a diverse population of birds of prey, such as the golden eagle, griffon vulture, peregrine falcon, common buzzard, goshawk and sparrowhawk throughout the year; European merlin, kite and pale harrier in winter, as well as black kite, Egyptian vulture, European short-toed, alcotan, ash harrier and lesser kestrel in summer. As for nocturnal birds of prey, they live the small owl, owlet, scops owl and owl. Although not as extensive as in the surroundings, Caspe has a population of steppe birds that includes the great bustard, common curlew, both species of bargains, the Ortega and the Iberian, and the críalo. The steppe landscape is made up of the juniper juniper and the black juniper, as well as captains, rosemary, thyme and reed beds.
The riverside forests create a complex habitat that joins the mountain landscapes and rainfed fields. Some waterfowl can be found, such as the mallard duck, gray heron, imperial heron, little bittern, little egret and kingfisher. The riverside forests are mainly made up of black poplars, reeds and reed beds. In the bush and bush landscape some forest species inhabit such as the aforementioned sparrowhawk and goshawk, in addition to countless birds, highlighting the common turtledove and bee-eater in summer, the crossbill, red partridge and the increasingly rare common quail. The Mediterranean and mount forests are mainly made up of Aleppo pine, black juniper and white sable, coscolla, ginesta, romerales and thyme.
As for mammals, the red deer stands out, since the only deer that never became extinct in Aragon lives in the area; also the wild boar, common badger, common fox, marten, genet, otter, weasel, roe deer, common rabbit, Iberian hare and rodents such as voles or field mice, among others. Caspe’s diversity of habitats makes possible the presence of a considerable variety of amphibians and reptiles. In the rafts and puddles of the mountain they breed the common toad, the spur toad, the running toad, the spotted toad, the common frog and the viper snake. In addition, the Ocellated Lizard, Bastard Snake, Horseshoe Snake and Ladder Snake are found throughout the territory, as well as the leper turtle in the river. In some areas of the forest the rare snout viper lives.
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Also, Caspe has a considerable population of white stork in the convent of Santo Domingo and the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor, with a total of 17 couples (2018).
Prehistory and archeology
The municipality of Caspe seems to have been one of the last to be populated within Bajo Aragón, either due to environmental problems for the prehistoric habitat or because erosion has destroyed the deposits.
However, in the area of #Cauvaca an #amygdaloid biface has been discovered that can be ascribed to a generic #Achelense or an initial #Musterian, whose age is 150,000 – 100,000 years, and that demonstrates, at least, the passage through this area of groups of Neanderthal hunter-gatherers. Likewise, lithic pieces similar to the previous one have been found in Soto de #Vinué V.
Within the Rock art, the site of the Plano del #Polido stands out. #located in a small open hole in the sandstone rock, it contains a set of Levantine-style cave paintings. The composition brings together several figures, highlighting a magnificent deer in an alert attitude to start the fight with another congener that appears with the low antlers. Between both figures a female doe can be seen, in a lower position, and there is also a fourth figure, quite lost, which is possibly another doe. Various remains of paint on the far right of the composition seem to correspond to the figure of an archer.