Poliorcetics, architectural morphology and construction techniques at Tossal de la Vila, a fortified enclosure from the Emirate period in the northernmost end of Šarq al-AndalusThis work focuses on the first results from the systematic excavation of the Tossal de la Vila (Serra d’en Galceran, Castelló) archaeological site. This is, a hillfort build during the Emirate of al-Andalus in the intersection between the territories of Tortosa, Valencia and the Iberian System mountain ranges. Our case study is framed within the historiographic discussion on the subject of rocky and castellated settlements in this area set forth thirty years ago by André Bazzana. A debate that was largely enriched by several works pending the last years on the subject of hilly occupations between Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages. In that direction, we analyse here the architectural questions that have been raised by the recent archaeological works at the site. Specifically, we will try to systematise the different defensive solutions adopted on the design of the fort, as well as the diverse construction techniques used along the fortbuilding process.
This paper focuses on the anthropic dynamics of environmental transformation and natural resource management in the specific case of the archaeological site of Tossal de la Vila in Castelló, Spain, a hillfort located at the end of the Eastern Iberian Cordillera. It presents two phases of occupation determined by multiple radiocarbon dating analyses: the first phase during the late Bronze Age (8th–7th centuries BCE) and the second at the beginning of the al-Andalus period (8th–10th centuries CE). The results of the comparison of the subsistence strategies and the biotic configuration of the natural environment in the same place at two different times have shown us that in the protohistoric period, the diversity of economic activities represented in the archaeobiological record is certainly heterogeneous, while in the al-Andalus period the complexity of these options is reduced to much less significant limits, possibly due to the different functionality of this space in both periods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.