Archäologische und geophysikalische Prospektionen im Nordbereich der chalkolithischen Siedlung von Valencina de la Concepción bei Sevilla (Andalucien) im Jahr 2014 [Archaeological and Geomagnetic surveys in Cerro de la Cabeza and Cerro del Mármol, Northern sector, Valencina (Seville)] (original) (raw)
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Madrider Mitteilungen 56, 2015
The present article offers the results of a first survey campaign in the supposed settlement area of the site of Valencina de la Concepción, which is situated 6 km west of the modern city of Seville. Especially on two neighbouring areas in the Northern part of Valencina we undertook geo-magnetic and an archaeological surveys and manual drillings of the anomalies registered. To sum up, the geo-magnetic survey in the “Parcela Municipal del Cerro de la Cabeza” and the Southern part of the area “Cerro Mármol” delivered a great number of circular and oval anomalies, which probably represent pits, silos and houses with sunken floors. On the other hand, several linear anomalies were documented. The manual drillings allow us to define the majority of these structures as ditches. Maybe they are related with three ditched enclosures, which should have been operative in different moments. The ceramic material found during the archaeological survey speaks for a Chalcolithic dating of the majority of the documented structures. Key words: Chalcolithic. Guadalquivir estuary. Ditched enclosures. Geo-magnetic survey. Archaeological survey. Manual Drillings
Madrider Mitteilungen, 2021
The ›mega-site‹ of Valencina de la Concepción extends along the northeast border of the Aljarafe Plateau, 6 km to the west of modern-day Seville in the south of Spain. During prehistoric times it was located next to an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, which covered most of the estuary of the Guadalquivir River. By means of geomagnetic survey of a surface of over more than 17 ha. we were able to document a concentric system of at least 5 ditched enclosures and another smaller area that is also defined by ditches. Geomagnetic survey also revealed a large number of pits, semi-circular huts excavated in the ground as well as possible hypogea. Archaeological surveys were carried out in three different areas and yielded a large amount of material. In this paper we present the first results of the excavation campaigns carried out during 2019 as well as the absolute datings obtained by manual drilling in the documented ditches. During the excavations carried out in the municipal plot of Cerro de la Cabeza (sectors 3 and 4) we were able to document a dense sequence of Chalcolithic pits and at least six semi-excavated huts, located near the edge of one of the ditches. The chrono-typological definition of the ceramics, as well as a series of 14C-dates obtained by AMS begin to reveal the sequence of the settlement. Beginning in the late Neolithic/ Early Chalcolithic (end of the 4th millennium BC) it experiences its peak occupation during the Middle Chalcolithic (first half of the 3rd millennium BC). According to the AMS-C14-datings from the drillings in the ditches enclosure 3 existed already in the Early Chalcolithic phase. In the same way the datings suggest that during the Middle Chalcolithic enclosure 2 was followed by enclosure 1 and finally by the most extensive enclosure 5. During its transition to the Late Chalcolithic (mid 3rd millennium BC) there seems to be a reduction in the size of the settlement, decreasing even more to the central area of modern day Valencina, during the Late Chalcolithic (second half of the 3rd millennium BC). We also present some evidence that seems to indicate a short and not very intense occupation of the Cerro de la Cabeza area during the Early Bronze Age (beginning of the 2nd millennium BC). KEYWORDS Chalcolithic, Guadalquivir estuary, ditched enclosures, hut structures, geomagnetic surveys, manual drillings, archaeological excavations
2018
The chalcolithic site of Valencina de la Concepción is located in Andalusia in southern Spain, on the western edge of the Lower Guadalquivir river basin. The settlement area and a contemporaneous necropolis of the first half of the 3rd millennium BC extend over more than 460 ha. Valencina de la Concepción is thus one of a series of chalcolithic mega-sites in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The project focuses on the history of the chalcolithic settlement of Valencina de la Concepción. The investigations include excavations and field surveys on the agricultural land in the northern area of the archaeological site, especially the area known as 'Cerro de la Cabeza'. Furthermore, selected earlier rescue excavations in the adjacent northern part of the modern town are also evaluated. In 2017 we extended the geo-magnetic surveys to the municipal area of 'Los Pozos – Pozo Bueno' located to the Southwest of the area surveyed in 2014. Another battery of geomagnetic su...
Restaurierung und Archäologie 6, 71-87., 2014
As an indicator of long distance contact and social complexity, ivory has revealed itself as an important raw material for Iberian prehistoric research . However, the scientific potential of prehistoric ivory objects is often hampered by preservation issues. This article presents the preservation-restoration project of four exceptional Copper Age ivory objects found at Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), a major site for the study of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC in Iberia. The criteria and methods used throughout this project are described, suggesting the paramount importance of conservation and restauration measures in the study of prehistoric ivory. This project led us to the discovery that one of the objects involved is the handle of a dagger also comprising a rock crystal blade, while another large ivory object is suspected to be the scabbard of the dagger. Altogether, this multi-part ivory artefact turns out to be unparalleled in Iberian or Western European Late Prehistory.
Madrider Mitteilungen, 2022
This study deals with the archaeometric analysis of Late Chalcolithic ceramics from Valencina de la Concepción, located about 6 km northwest of the city of Seville, in Southwest Spain. The site is considered one of the most important reference sites for the understanding of Chalcolithic societal development in the South of the Iberian Peninsula. Forty ceramic samples of different typologies, and 61 natural clay samples were examined through petrographic thin-section technique, with the objective of obtaining information regarding the source and the exploitation pattern of the raw materials, as well as their relation to the ware’s typology. The petrographic results indicate the use of different clay resources in the production of Late Chalcolithic ceramics from Valencina. Some of the ceramics that were analysed in this study seem to be produced from clay sources available in the vicinity of the site, while a larger part, mainly composed of plates, seem to be imported, possibly from 15 km South or 30–40 km East and Northeast of Valencia. KEYWORDS Chalcolithic, Guadalquivir estuary, ditched enclosures, ceramology, petrographic analysis, thin-section, clay sources
Farbtafel 3; Tafeln 4-10) Einleitung Die befestigte Siedlung Los Castillejos de Alcorrín 1 liegt im Hinterland der südspanischen Mittelmeerküste am Westrand der Provinz Málaga, 25 km östlich von Gibraltar (Abb. 1). Hier, an der Nahtstelle zwischen dem afrikanischen und dem europäischen Kontinent, beeinflussten überregionale Kontakte vereinzelt seit dem Paläolithikum, verstärkt seit dem Neolithikum und dauerhaft seit dem späten 9. Jh. v. Chr. durch phönizische Handelsaktivitäten die regionalen Kulturen. Kleine phönizische Faktoreien an Flussmündungen und günstigen Anlegestellen wurden zu Hafen-und Umschlagplätzen, wo mediterrane Seerouten auf die Verbindungswege zum Hinterland trafen 2 . In diesem Umfeld nimmt Alcorrín eine nicht nur geographisch hervorgehobene Stellung ein. Der Siedlungsplatz liegt strategisch günstig nur 2,5 km von der heutigen Küstenlinie entfernt (Farbtaf. 3; Taf. 4 a) und auf einer Höhe von 165 m über dem Meeresspiegel. Er besitzt eine ausgezeichnete Sicht und damit die besten Voraussetzungen für eine Kontrolle der Küste und des Umlandes. Bei klarem Wetter reicht der Blick im Westen bis zur 'Sierra de Mijas', im Osten bis zum 'Peñon de Gibraltar' und über die Meeresenge bis zum 'Djebel Musa' bei Tanger (Marokko). Die Lage, Größe und die Mächtigkeit der Befestigung und die guten archäologischen Bedingungen machen Alcorrín zu einem viel versprechenden Forschungsobjekt für Fragen nach den ersten Kontakten zwischen der einheimischen und der phönizischen * M. Blech und H. Schubart sei für die Durchsicht des Aufsatzes herzlichst gedankt. Auch C. Meyer sei ein Dank für Hinweise zu dem Abschnitt über die geophysikalische Prospektion ausgesprochen. Alle Autoren haben zur Abfassung des Vorberichts beigetragen. Lediglich die Abschnitte über die 14 C-Datierungen sowie über die Bodenbeschaffenheit sind allein von D. P. Mielke bzw. H. Thiemeyer verfasst worden und sind daher entsprechend gekennzeichnet.
In this paper we report on systematic survey work on Bronze Age sites in the middle partof the Dunajec river valley, Lesser Poland. For some years now, excavations have been carried outon the site of Janowice AZP 106-65 no. 61. The survey work reported on here aims to establish thechronological and – if possible – functional relation of adjacent sites to the north and south of thehilltop site of Janowice that has a long tradition of settlement during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.Amongst others we report on systematic surface survey work and geomagnetic prospection carriedout on AZP 106-65 no. 57, a site only a little distance downhill from no. 61, on the sites AZP 106-65nos. 70, 71, 72, 74, 75 and 103 towards the north in the Lubinka valley, and on a number of sites southof Janowice no. 61 in the Zakliczyn basin and adjacent foothills further south (e.g. AZP 107-65 nos.75 and 83). From this intensive survey work that aims at a complete coverage and verifiation of sites previously reported by AZP an increasingly better understanding of the dynamics of a (Late) BronzeAge to Early Iron Age microregion is beginning to emerge.