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Las estelas de guerrero de Almadén de la Plata (Sevilla). Morfología, tecnología y contexto

Las estelas de guerrero de Almadén de la Plata (Sevilla). Morfología, tecnología y contexto
Las estelas de guerrero de Almadén de la Plata (Sevilla). Morfología, tecnología y contexto
This paper presents a study of two prehistoric ‘warrior’ stelae found in the north of the province of Sevilla (Andalusia, Spain) in November 2004. The circumstances of both discoveries – within a clearance cairn – are described, and both are categorised and analysed from various perspectives: their morphology, the symbolism of the figures and weapons represented and their petrology are each discussed. Although they are almost certainly a late Bronze Age phenomenon, little is known of the original context of warrior stelae, which are almost always found in secondary contexts. In this case, the spatial and territorial context of the find was investigated through both a magnetometer survey and a novel form of surface collection employing RTK GPS rovers for geolocation. Although the magnetometer survey revealed no features of interest, the use of GPS for the surface survey permitted the accurate registration of a scatter of quartzite pebbles around the clearance cairn, and clearly focussed on it. Quartzite is known to have been employed in megalithic constructions in other parts of the same region, and in the absence of another obvious explanation for this scatter, the authors suggest the possibility that the original context for these stelae may now be beneath the cairn, which possibly began life as a focus of prehistoric activity that included the use of the stelae during the late Bronze Age, and ended with the formation of the clearance cairn itself. The survey was undertaken by a joint team from the Universities of Southampton and the University of Sevilla, which has been carrying out in western Sierra Morena since the late 1980s, and builds on a previous collaboration between these authors, the Melonares Survey which was undertaken between 1999 and 2001.
bronze age, iron age, stelae, symbology, petrology, survey, funerary practices, communication routes, territorial organisation, monuments
0082-5638
135-152
García Sanjuán, Leonardo
174dbd15-6e39-411a-a1cf-255b528af14c
Wheatley, David
58266ad0-4ea1-4b1b-a8c3-9fd902931828
Fábrega Álvarez, Pastor
37eafa0c-eb49-4779-a796-b17500b6e1fd
Hernández Arnedo, María Jesús
46a6ee98-217b-4aef-abfa-72bf1e631401
Polvorinos del Río, Ángel
033af1de-3df5-4e57-a848-6458e70bed8a
García Sanjuán, Leonardo
174dbd15-6e39-411a-a1cf-255b528af14c
Wheatley, David
58266ad0-4ea1-4b1b-a8c3-9fd902931828
Fábrega Álvarez, Pastor
37eafa0c-eb49-4779-a796-b17500b6e1fd
Hernández Arnedo, María Jesús
46a6ee98-217b-4aef-abfa-72bf1e631401
Polvorinos del Río, Ángel
033af1de-3df5-4e57-a848-6458e70bed8a

García Sanjuán, Leonardo, Wheatley, David, Fábrega Álvarez, Pastor, Hernández Arnedo, María Jesús and Polvorinos del Río, Ángel (2006) Las estelas de guerrero de Almadén de la Plata (Sevilla). Morfología, tecnología y contexto. Trabajos de Prehistoria, 63 (2), 135-152.

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper presents a study of two prehistoric ‘warrior’ stelae found in the north of the province of Sevilla (Andalusia, Spain) in November 2004. The circumstances of both discoveries – within a clearance cairn – are described, and both are categorised and analysed from various perspectives: their morphology, the symbolism of the figures and weapons represented and their petrology are each discussed. Although they are almost certainly a late Bronze Age phenomenon, little is known of the original context of warrior stelae, which are almost always found in secondary contexts. In this case, the spatial and territorial context of the find was investigated through both a magnetometer survey and a novel form of surface collection employing RTK GPS rovers for geolocation. Although the magnetometer survey revealed no features of interest, the use of GPS for the surface survey permitted the accurate registration of a scatter of quartzite pebbles around the clearance cairn, and clearly focussed on it. Quartzite is known to have been employed in megalithic constructions in other parts of the same region, and in the absence of another obvious explanation for this scatter, the authors suggest the possibility that the original context for these stelae may now be beneath the cairn, which possibly began life as a focus of prehistoric activity that included the use of the stelae during the late Bronze Age, and ended with the formation of the clearance cairn itself. The survey was undertaken by a joint team from the Universities of Southampton and the University of Sevilla, which has been carrying out in western Sierra Morena since the late 1980s, and builds on a previous collaboration between these authors, the Melonares Survey which was undertaken between 1999 and 2001.

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Published date: 2006
Keywords: bronze age, iron age, stelae, symbology, petrology, survey, funerary practices, communication routes, territorial organisation, monuments

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 41979
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/41979
ISSN: 0082-5638
PURE UUID: 4fc3d61f-d4f3-4ea8-87de-5658061b6491
ORCID for David Wheatley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-704X

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Date deposited: 25 Oct 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:46

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Contributors

Author: Leonardo García Sanjuán
Author: David Wheatley ORCID iD
Author: Pastor Fábrega Álvarez
Author: María Jesús Hernández Arnedo
Author: Ángel Polvorinos del Río

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