Espacio y metalurgia en la cultura castreña: la zona arqueológica de Las Médulas

Abstract

RESUMEN RESUMÉEL'anayse spatiale de produclion métallurgique de deux castros préromains astures nous permel de déterminer la présence d'un artisanat métallurgique a plein lemps, qui agit comme le fournisseur de la communauté des une «unité d'occupation ». JI est égalment possible de determ iner sa position sociale et le niveau de developpement technologique, ainsi que le cadre de sa production. Les possibilités d'approvisionnement de matiere premiere et les phenomenes interactifs dans le cadre de la Cultura Castreña du No rd-Ouest de la Péninsule Ib érique sont ensuite discutées.Comme point de repere nous analysons le changem enl que subit la production métallurgique dans deux sites archéologiques proches mais appartenant a l' époque romaine, lorsque la zone est déja inlegrée dans un nouveau systeme d' occupation, motivé par I' exploitation de I'or. ABSTRACT Spatial analysis of metallurgical production al IWO pre-Roman castros of the Astures indicates Ihat a fuI/-time metallurgical especialist supplied each village from a single area of occupalion. It is possible to determine the craftsman' s social position, his level of technological expertise, as wel/ as the scope of his production. We also discuss the supply ofraw material and the commerce within the region of the «Cultura Castreña» ofnorthwest Iberia. By way of contrast, we analyze metallurgical production at two nearby Roman sites that belong to a period when intensive gold production had changed patterns of production and exploitation.

Bronze production in the Iron Age of the Iberian Peninsula: The case of El Castru, Vigaña (Asturias, NW Spain)

“…The use of crucibles rather than furnaces for the production of copper and copper alloys in low intensity, settlement-based production settings seems the norm rather than the exception in Iberia from the Chalcolithic right through to the Iron Age (Maya González et al, 1993, Gómez Ramos, 1999, Diaz et al, 2001, Figueiredo et al, 2010, Valério et al, 2013; especially at sites far from the Mediterranean influence, smelting crucibles were in use up to Roman times (Fernández-Posse et al, 1993, Rovira andMontero-Ruiz, 2013: 234). There is a rather convincing explanation for this technological tradition.…”

“…An interesting characteristic observed in Asturian castros, and which seems typical of the Iron Age in NW Iberia, is that the metallurgy of copper and iron was carried out in the same workshop and, possibly, by the same artisans (Fernández-Posse et al, 1993;Rovira and Gómez Ramos, 2001;Fanjul Peraza and Marín Suárez, 2006). In El Castru, fragments of iron objects were recovered alongside the crucible remains (González Álvarez, 2016).…”

“…Iron appears in NW Iberian hillforts during the first half of the first millennium BC, in a context characterised by the continuity of metallurgical techniques employed for the production of bronze (Camino Mayor and Villa Valdés, 2014). Ferrous metallurgical remains and possible iron smelting furnaces have been found in many Asturian castros, such as La Campa Torres (Rovira and Gómez Ramos, 2001), Llagú (Berrocal-Rangel et al, 2002) and San Chuis (Jordá Pardo et al, 2011), and other sites in the broader region such as La Corona de Corporales and El Castrelín de Paluezas in León (Fernández-Posse et al, 1993) or Santa Comba in Galicia (González Fernández, 2002). The evidence from these sites suggests that different technologies and scales of productions may have coexisted, possibly also within the same settlements.…”

Beyond nature: The management of a productive cultural landscape in Las Médulas area (El Bierzo, León, Spain) during pre-Roman and Roman times

“…Archaeological and geological research has been carried out in Las Médulas over the past few years yielding a wealth of information on many aspects on the dynamics of human-environment interactions during both the Iron Age and the Roman period (Fernández-Posse et al 1993;Orejas 1996;Fernández-Posse 1998;Sánchez-Palencia et al 1998;Hascar et al 1999;Pérez-García et al 2000;Pagés et al 2001). Conversely, archaeobotanical issues had been little explored in previous works and Correspondence: Leonor Peñ a-Chocarro, G.I.…”

Traditions and innovations: versatility of copper and tin bronze making recipes in Iron Age Emporion (L’Escala, Spain)

“…Copper and tin bronze production techniques: Iberia is different A key peculiarity of the Iberian archaeometallurgical record is that, from the beginning of extractive copper metallurgy in the Chalcolithic and until Roman times, crucible smelting is the predominant system. Some examples include the Chalcolithic (third millennium BC) crucible fragments from Almizaraque and Las Pilas (Rovira and Renzi 2017;Müller et al 2004;Murillo-Barroso et al 2017), the samples from several sites reported by Rovira (2007) and dated from the Early Bronze Age (EBA) (2300-1300 BC) to Roman times (first millennium AC onwards), as well as crucibles from the IA hillforts (eighth century BC until Roman times) of La Corona de Corporales, el Castrelín de San Juan de Paluezas and El Castru, among others (Farci et al 2017;Fernandez-Posse et al 1993). There is evidence for the deliberate production of these technical ceramics from the EBA, as shown in the presence of pouring spout and grip handles that are absent in other ceramics (Soriano and Escanilla 2016).…”