Graphical Markers and Megalith Builders in the International Tagus, Iberian Peninsula 9781407302546, 9781407332543

Table of contents :
Cover
Title
Copyright
INDEX
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
Preface - GRAPHICAL MARKERS AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS
Chapter 1 MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS
Chapter 2 ANTES DOS AGRICULTORES: UNIDADE E DIVERSIDADE DA OCUPAÇÃO HUMANA NO MÉDIO TEJO DURANTE A PRÉ-HISTÓRIA ANTIGA
Chapter 3 THE PALAEOLITHIC OCCUPATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN ALENTEJO (PORTUGAL): A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH
Chapter 4 EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO
Chapter 5 THE NECROPOLIS OF ERA DE LA LAGUNA, SANTIAGO DE ALCÁNTARA, CÁCERES, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEGALITHISM OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS
Chapter 6 DIRECT ACTIONS ON ROCK ART ONE EXAMPLE – TWO ROCKSHELTERS CONTAINING POST-PALAEOLITHIC PAINTINGS
Chapter 7 ARTE RUPESTRE DO VALE DO TEJO, 35 ANOS DEPOIS
Chapter 8 CARTA ARQUEOLÓGICA DE VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO - UMA LEITURA ACTUALIZADA DOS DADOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE
Chapter 9 TOMBS AND ROCK CARVINGS IN THE SERRA VERMELHA AND SERRA DE ALVÉLOS (OLEIROS - CASTELO BRANCO)
Chapter 10 THE MEGALITHIC TOMBS OF SOUTHERN BEIRA INTERIOR, PORTUGAL: RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Chapter 11 THE TOMBS OF THE NEOLITHIC ARTIST-SHEPHERDS OF THE TAGUS VALLEY AND THE MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS OF THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER SEVER
Chapter 12 DOCUMENTACION ARQUEOLOGICA OBTENIDA DURANTE LOS TRABAJOS DE CONSOLIDACION DE LOS DOLMENES DE VALENCIA DE ALCANTARA
Chapter 13 THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS
Chapter 14 THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS
REFERENCES
LIST OF AUTHORS

Citation preview

BAR  S1765  2008  BUENO-RAMIREZ, BARROSO-BERMEJO & DE BALBÍN-BERHMANN (Eds)  GRAPHICAL MARKERS

B A R

Graphical Markers and Megalith Builders in the International Tagus, Iberian Peninsula Edited by

Primitiva Bueno-Ramirez Rosa Barroso-Bermejo Rodrigo de Balbín-Berhmann

BAR International Series 1765 2008

Graphical Markers and Megalith Builders in the International Tagus, Iberian Peninsula Edited by

Primitiva Bueno-Ramirez Rosa Barroso-Bermejo Rodrigo de Balbín-Berhmann

BAR International Series 1765 2008

Published in 2016 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 1765 Graphical Markers and Megalith Builders in the International Tagus, Iberian Peninsula © The editors and contributors severally and the Publisher 2008 The authors' moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9781407302546 paperback ISBN 9781407332543 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407302546 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2008. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2016.

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INDEX Preface by the editors Graphical markers and megalith builders in the International Tagus............................ 1 Chapter 1 Models of integration of rock art and megalith builders in the International Tagus ............................................................................................. 5 BUENO RAMIREZ, P.; BALBIN BEHRMANN, R. de. & BARROSO BERMEJO, R. 1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Models in the late 1980’s ................................................................................................ 6 1.3. Rock art and megaliths in the International Tagus. Models of integration of engravings and paintings........................................................... 9 1.4. Current state of the model of integration of engravings and paintings in the International Tagus ............................................................................................... 12 1.5. The graphical markers of the traditional territories ....................................................... 13 Chapter 2 Antes dos agricultores: Unidade e diversidade da ocupação humana no Médio Tejo durante a Pré-História Antiga (Abstract) ............................................... 17 RAPOSO, L. Chapter 3 The Palaeolithic occupation of the North-eastern Alentejo (Portugal): a geoarchaeological approach...................................................................................... 19 ALMEIDA, N.; DEPERZ, S. & DE DAPPER, M. 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 19 3.2. Importance of geoarchaeology for this research............................................................ 19 3.3. The archaeology of the Middle Palaeolithic sites .......................................................... 20 3.3.1. Tapada do Montinho ............................................................................................. 20 3.3.2. Azinhal ................................................................................................................. 21 3.3.3. Pegos do Tejo 2 .................................................................................................... 22 3.4. Geomorphology of the Arneiro area and the Middle Paleolithic sites .......................... 23 3.5. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 4 El primer poblamiento agrícola del Tajo extremeño ...................................................... 27 CERRILLO CUENCA, E. 4.1. Una introducción cada vez más innecesaria .................................................................. 27 4.2. En busca de un comienzo: el Epipaleolítico .................................................................. 28 4.3. El origen de la producción en el Tajo interior ............................................................... 29 4.4. Perspectivas resueltas y cuestiones abiertas .................................................................. 31 Chapter 5 The necropolis of Era de la Laguna, Santiago de Alcántara, Cáceres, in the context of the megalithism of the central region of the International Tagus ........................................................................................... 41 BUENO RAMIREZ, P.; BARROSO BERMEJO R. & BALBIN BEHRMANN, R. de. 5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 41 5.2. The architectural debate in the megalithism of the International Tagus........................ 43 5.3. The excavations at the necropolis of Era de la Laguna, Santiago de Alcántara, Cáceres. Previous assumptions ....................................................................................... 45 i

5.4. Lagunita III, a large chamber with a schist passage within a necropolis of small sized monuments .............................................................................................. 49 5.5. Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the megaliths of the International Tagus Basin .......... 57 Chapter 6 Direct actions on rock art. One example – two rockshelters containing post-palaeolithic paintings ........................................................................................... 61 CARRERA RAMIREZ, F. 6.1. Introduction. direct interventions and rock art .............................................................. 61 6.2. Objectives and criteria of the proposed actions ............................................................. 62 6.3. The rockshelters with paintings in El Buraco and La Grajera ....................................... 63 6.4. Analyses and diagnostics .............................................................................................. 68 6.5. Tests and cleaning treatments........................................................................................ 71 6.6. Documentation .............................................................................................................. 72 6.7. Assessment and future outlook: the paint in El Buraco and La Grajera ........................ 73 Chapter 7 Arte Rupestre do Vale do Tejo, 35 anos depois (Abstract) .............................................. 77 BAPTISTA, A.M. Chapter 8 Carta arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão – uma leitura actualizada dos dados da Pré-História Recente ............................................................................. 79 HENRIQUES, F.; CANINAS, J., & CHAMBINO, M. 8.1. Introdução ..................................................................................................................... 80 8.2. A Pré-História Recente na cartografia e investigação arqueológica em Vila Velha de Ródão ................................................................................................ 80 8.2.1. O território ............................................................................................................ 80 8.2.2. A investigação arqueológica ................................................................................. 81 8.2.3. Os inventários ....................................................................................................... 83 8.2.4. Trabalhos de campo de 2005-2006 ....................................................................... 84 8.3. Sítios da Pré-história Recente ....................................................................................... 85 8.3.1. Habitats ................................................................................................................ 85 8.3.2. Antas / mamoas e tumuli ...................................................................................... 86 8.3.3. Arte rupestre ......................................................................................................... 87 8.4. Considerações Finais ..................................................................................................... 88 Chapter 9 Tombs and Rock Carvings in the Serra Vermelha and Serra de Alvélos (Oleiros – Castelo Branco) ........................................................................................... 89 CANINAS, J.C., SABROSA, A. HENRIQUES, F.A.S.; MONTEIRO, J.L.; CARVALHO, E.; BATISTA, A.; CHAMBINO, M.; ROBLES, F.; MONTEIRO, M., CANHA, A.; CARVALHO, L. & GERMANO, A. 9.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 89 9.2. Location and antecedents .............................................................................................. 90 9.3. Tumuli and rock carvings .............................................................................................. 91 9.4. Tomb 1 at Vale de Mós and other interventions ........................................................... 95 9.5. General considerations .................................................................................................. 98 Chapter 10 The megalithic tombs of Southern Beira Interior, Portugal: recent contributions.................................................................................................... 103 CARDOSO, J.L. 10.1. Geographical and historical framework of the research ............................................ 103 ii

10.2. Geo-environmental aspects; situation of the monuments .......................................... 104 10.3. Significant architectural aspects; funerary rites......................................................... 105 10.4. Towards a chronosequence of the studied megalithic tombs .................................... 110 Chapter 11 The tombs of the neolithic artist-shepherds of the Tagus Valley and the megalithic monuments of the mouth of the River Sever ................................... 117 OLIVEIRA, J. de. 11.1. The landscape and the building of burial sites .......................................................... 119 11.2. Tomb architecture ..................................................................................................... 119 11.3. Datings ...................................................................................................................... 122 11.4. Artefacts as a reflection of economic activity ........................................................... 123 11.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 124 Chapter 12 Documentación arqueologica obtenida durante los trabajos de consolidación de los dolmenes de Valencia de Alcántara ................................................................ 129 ENRIQUEZ NAVASCUÉS, J.J. & CARRASCO, M.J. 12.1. El marco de intervención........................................................................................... 129 12.2. El proyecto y su desarrollo ........................................................................................ 129 12.3. La documentación arqueológica obtenida ................................................................. 130 12.3.1. El Fragoso ......................................................................................................... 133 12.3.2. Huerta Nueva .................................................................................................... 135 12.3.3. Tapada del Anta ................................................................................................ 136 12.4. Algunas consideraciones ........................................................................................... 139 Chapter 13 The Beaker phenomenon and the funerary contexts of the International Tagus ....... 141 BUENO RAMIREZ, P., BARROSO BERMEJO, R. & VAZQUEZ CUESTA, A. 13.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 141 13.2. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 144 13.3. Architecture ............................................................................................................... 145 13.4. Pottery ....................................................................................................................... 146 13.5. Metal ......................................................................................................................... 148 13.6. Ornaments ................................................................................................................. 150 13.7. Chronology................................................................................................................ 153 13.8. Megalithic constructions and the Beaker phenomenon: the International Tagus ...... 153 Chapter 14 The Chalcolithic in Beira Interior (Central Portugal): data and problems ................ 157 VILAÇA, R. 14.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 157 14.2. The archaeological record ......................................................................................... 159 14.2.1. The Neolithic antecedents................................................................................. 159 14.2.2. The Chalcolithic occupation ............................................................................. 164 14.3. The first metallic productions and the Bell-Beaker phenomenon ............................. 168 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 171 LIST OF AUTHORS ........................................................................................................... 185

iii

LIST OF FIGURES Preface – Location in the Iberian Peninsula of the International Tagus and megalithic regions......... 3 Chapter 1 Fig. 1.1. Groups of engravings in the Iberian Peninsula ........................................................ 8 Fig. 1.2. Traditional border between engraving & painting ................................................... 9 Fig. 1.3. Location of graphical markers in the International Tagus ..................................... 11 Fig. 1.4. Predictive model of integration of engravings and paintings in the International Tagus ............................................................................................... 11 Fig. 1.5. Comparison of the megalithic engravings, paintings of the mountains and foothills and engraving of the Tagus river ............................................................... 15 Chapter 3 Fig. 3.1. Maps of the regions focused in the paper: Localization of the study area in the Iberian Peninsula (Up right corner); Localization of the sites discovered in the northeast Alentejo region (major map); Palaeolithic occupations in the Arneiro cluster (amplified area)...................................................................................... 20 Fig. 3.2. Lithic industry from Tapada do Montinho ............................................................. 21 Fig. 3.3. Lithic industry from Azinhal.................................................................................. 21 Fig. 3.4. Stratigraphic section of Azinhal (Square L5) ......................................................... 22 Fig. 3.5. Stratigraphic section of Pegos do Tejo 2 (Squares L4/M4) ................................... 23 Fig. 3.6. Lithic industry from Pegos do Tejo 2 .................................................................... 24 Fig. 3.7. Tejo River course during Middle Palaeolithic times .............................................. 25 Chapter 4 Fig. 4.1. Distribución del poblamiento de Neolítico Antiguo en Cáceres en el que se aprecia la aleatoriedad de la distribución de los yacimientos, a falta de programas de prospección orientados ............................................................................. 31 Fig. 4.2. Visión tridimensional del valle de la Garganta Canaleja (Romangordo, Cáceres) .................................................................................................. 33 Fig. 4.3. Evidencias de presencia humana durante el Post-glaciar en torno al Tajo: poblamiento datado (Canaleja II y Conejar) y elementos gráficos (Paso de Pablo, Monfragüe y conjunto de representaciones del Tajo en Fratel) ...................................... 34 Fig. 4.4. Planta de Canaleja II, lugar de donde proceden las dataciones de VIII milenio cal BC de la Garganta Canaleja ............................................................ 34 Fig. 4.5. Diagrama de calibración de la datación del nivel V de Canaleja II ....................... 35 Fig. 4.6. Placa decorada con incisiones procedente de la cueva de El Conejar .................... 35 Fig. 4.7. Principales yacimientos neolíticos excavados que se mencionan en el texto ......... 35 Fig. 4.8. Los Barruecos, planta del área excavada en la fase I (Neolítico Antiguo) ............. 36 Fig. 4.9. Material neolítico procedente de Canaleja I, hallado sin ningún tipo de contexto estratigráfico................................................................................................ 36 Fig. 4.10. Material contextualizado (nivel 3) de Canaleja II, perteneciente al Neolítico Antiguo ................................................................................. 37 Fig. 4.11. Los recipientes de contención de la fase I de Los Barruecos son un elemento diagnóstico de la situación de producción documentada en la misma ............ 37 Fig. 4.12. Distintos modelos de ocupación del paisaje neolítico. 1. Los Barruecos, en área llana protegida por bolos graníticos, 2. Boquique, abrigo localizado a media ladera, 3. El Conejar, cavidad localizada en un entorno llano........................... 38 Fig. 4.13. Un ejemplo de la distribución de hábitats neolíticos en torno a la penillanura cacereña que ocupan distintas geologías y modalidades de poblamiento: El Conejar cueva en calizas, abrigos en granito (Atambores y Peña Aguilera) y una serie de poblados al aire libre sobre granitos (Barruecos, Cerro de la Horca, Castillejos II) y excepcionalmente sobre pizarra (Cerro del Acebuche) ............................................... 39 iv

Chapter 5 Fig. 5.1. Map of the Tagus Basin with paintings, engravings and decorated megalithic monuments ............................................................................ 42 Fig. 5.2. Necropolis of small monuments in the International Tagus................................... 42 Fig. 5.3. Association of small monuments and other types of the recent megalithic sequence, after Bueno et al., 2004 .................................................................................. 45 Fig. 5.4. View of Santiago de Alcántara with position of El Buraco and the necropolis Era de la Laguna ............................................................................... 46 Fig. 5.5. Location of monuments in the municipality of Santiago de Alcántara. Detail of Dehesa with the megalithic monuments (made by E. Cerrillo), and the area of surface survey ........................................................................................ 47 Fig. 5.6. Works of Lagunita III monument and its next surroundings. Campaigns 2003, 2004 and 2005.................................................................................... 48 Fig. 5.7. View of Lagunita III monument from the shelter of El Buraco, Santiago de Alcántara ..................................................................................................... 49 Fig. 5.8. Topographical survey with the location of the graphical markers, paintings, engravings, and megalithic monuments (made by E. Cerrillo)....................................... 50 Fig. 5.9. Plans of megalithic monuments in the International Tagus ................................... 51 Fig. 5.10. Materials of the chamber of Lagunita III. First half remains from the damaged upper level. Underneath remains of the original floor and the base of the uprights of the southern side ............................................................ 52 Fig. 5.11. Level II of the chamber of Lagunita III with the concentrations of the grave goods .......................................................................................................... 53 Fig. 5.12. Analyses of the residues in the ceramic vessels from the dolmen of Trincones I (Alcántara), and Lagunita III (Santiago de Alcántara) ............................ 54 Fig. 5.13. Levels of the passage with closure of stone ......................................................... 55 Fig. 5.14. Open area at the entrance of Dolmen Lagunita III, Santiago de Alcántara .......... 56 Fig. 5.15. Lagunita III. Detail of the open area at the entrance of the monument ................ 56 Fig. 5.16. Plan of Lagunita with position, photo and drawing of the steles and the small anthropomorphic pieces ........................................................................... 57 Fig. 5.17. Tomb VI of Los Millares, after Almagro & Arribas, 1963 .................................. 58 Fig. 5.18. Arrow heads from the open area of Lagunita III .................................................. 59 Chapter 6 Fig. 6.1. Exterior view of the rockshelter of El Buraco........................................................ 63 Fig. 6.2. Visibility conditions from El Buraco ..................................................................... 63 Fig. 6.3. Topographical map of the rockshelter of El Buraco showing work areas and approximate distribution of prehistoric painting ...................................................... 64 Fig. 6.4. Topographical map of therockshelter of La Grajera showing work areas and approximate distribution of prehistoric painting ...................................................... 64 Fig. 6.5. General view of the rockshelter of La Grajera ....................................................... 65 Fig. 6.6. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco ............................................................................... 65 Fig. 6.7. Panels 1 to 9 in area D of El Buraco ...................................................................... 66 Fig. 6.8. Finger fluting motifs in El Buraco ......................................................................... 66 Fig. 6.9. Anthropomorphic motifs in El Buraco ................................................................... 66 Fig. 6.10. Idol-like motif in El Buraco ................................................................................. 67 Fig. 6.11. Idol-like motif in El Buraco ................................................................................. 67 Fig. 6.12. Panel 1 in area B of El Buraco ............................................................................. 67 Fig. 6.13. Dotted-constituted motif ...................................................................................... 68 Fig. 6.14. Replica of the motifs recorded in figure 6.13....................................................... 68 Fig. 6.15. Anthropomorphic motifs ...................................................................................... 68 Fig. 6.16. General view of the north side of El Buraco, where the strong action of bonfires can be seen ................................................................................................... 69 Fig. 6.17. Swift nest with baby birds on the ceiling of El Buraco. N.B. the spider’s webs ..... 69 v

Fig. 6.18. Drawing in El Buraco. Under the letters, a reddish hue corresponding to the prehistoric paint can be noticed ............................................................................ 69 Fig. 6.19. Alterations map of areas A and B in the rockshelter of El Buraco ...................... 70 Fig. 6.20. Detailed photograph of the rockshelter’s walls in La Grajera. N.B. the strong layer concealing the rock ....................................................................... 70 Fig. 6.21. Partial photograph of La Grajera, Where different colours belonging to several layers can be seen ........................................................................................... 71 Fig. 6.22. Organic deposits cleaning prospect ...................................................................... 71 Fig. 6.23. Results after steam cleaning on the ceilings with lamp-black .............................. 72 Fig. 6.24. Cleaning treatments with ion exchange resins ..................................................... 72 Fig. 6.25. Laser cleaning ...................................................................................................... 73 Fig. 6.26. Direct replicas execution ...................................................................................... 73 Fig. 6.27. Final replica of panel 7 in area D of El Buraco .................................................... 74 Fig. 6.28. Area B in El Buraco before intervention .............................................................. 74 Fig. 6.29. Area B in El Buraco after intervention................................................................. 75 Fig. 6.30. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco before intervention .............................................. 75 Fig. 6.31. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco after intervention................................................. 75 Chapter 8 Fig. 8.1. Localização geral do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão ........................................ 80 Fig. 8.2. Carta Geológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (seg. Carvalho et al. 2006).............................................................................................. 81 Fig. 8.3. Distribuição global dos sítios da Pré-História Recente no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão, sobre Carta Geológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (seg. Carvalho et al. 2006) ............................................................................. 85 Fig. 8.4. Cabeço da Velha (habitat do Neolítico Final) ........................................................ 86 Fig. 8.5. Charneca de Fratel (muralha calcolítica) ............................................................... 86 Fig. 8.6. Cabeço da Velha (empedrado de combustão) ........................................................ 86 Fig. 8.7 Cabeço D’Ante (anta) ............................................................................................. 87 Fig. 8.8. Murtal (anta) .......................................................................................................... 87 Fig. 8.9. Malaguarda (rocha com covinhas) ......................................................................... 88 Fig. 8.10. Arte do Tejo (cervídeo) ........................................................................................ 88 Chapter 9 Fig. 9.1. Location in the Iberian Peninsula........................................................................... 90 Fig. 9.2. Altimetric location in mainland Portugal (adapted from Alarcão, 1988b:12) .................................................................................. 91 Fig. 9.3. Distribution of tumuli and rock carvings in the county of Oleiros ......................... 92 Fig. 9.4. Mound at Selada da Póvoa ..................................................................................... 92 Fig. 9.5. Tumuli at Selada do Cavalo ................................................................................... 92 Fig. 9.6. Mound at Feiteiras ................................................................................................. 93 Fig. 9.7. Tumulus at Cabeço do Seixo ................................................................................. 93 Fig. 9.8. Sources of the River Lontreira ............................................................................... 93 Fig. 9.9. Podomorph (Alto do Pobral ................................................................................... 94 Fig. 9.10. Two circles (Alto do Pobral) ................................................................................ 94 Fig. 9.11. Location of the panel with two circles (Alto do Pobral) ...................................... 94 Fig. 9.12. Rock 1 at Sesmarias ............................................................................................. 94 Fig. 9.13. Rock 2 at Sesmarias ............................................................................................. 95 Fig. 9.14. Rock 2 with cupmarks (Mosteiro)........................................................................ 95 Fig. 9.15. Location of the tomb at Vale de Mós 1 ................................................................ 95 Fig. 9.16. Tomb at Vale de Mós 1 ........................................................................................ 96 Fig. 9.17. General plan of Vale de Mós 1 ............................................................................ 97 Fig. 9.18. Tumulus at Feiteiras ............................................................................................. 98 vi

Chapter 10 Fig. 10.1. Region of the Tagus near the spanish border showing the monuments and sites: circles, megalithic tombs and tumuli; squares, remains of scattered settlements; triangles, megalithic precincts, menhirs and carved rocks. The closed lines indicate the location of the megalithic nucleus of Amieiro (I), the megalithic nucleus of Couto da Espanhola (II), Cabeço da Forca grave (III) and Poço do Bicho grave (IV) ...................................................................................... 104 Fig. 10.2. Couto de Espanhola 6 after the scraping of the vegetation. It can be seen the sub-circular location of the orthostats, defining an closed chamber, surrounded by a tumulus made essentially of blocks of milky quartz .......................... 105 Fig. 10.3. Location of Amieiro 3 in the platform constituted by tertiary deposits. One can note the abundance of blocks of milky quartz around the megalithic structure as a result of the destruction of the tumulus ................................................... 105 Fig. 10.4. Amieiro 8. One can observe the weel preserved tumulus, made of milky quartz blocks, of local origin ................................................................ 105 Fig. 10.5. General overview of the excavation of Cabeço da Forca, in the middle of the tumulus made essentially of milky quartz blocks ............................................... 105 Fig. 10.6. Tumulus of Poço do Chibo, made of milky quartz blocks, very well preserved, in spite of their small size ............................................................ 106 Fig. 10.7. Couto da Espanhola 2, showing the long corridor of the monument, whose small height would not allow its use as the way to the chamber, in second plane........ 106 Fig. 10.8. Overview of Amieiro 2 whose corridor, long and narrow, vouches against the hypothesis of a functional use ...................................................... 106 Fig. 10.9. Plant of Poço do Chibo, a monument of small dimensions in spite of including vestibule, chamber and corridor similarly to larger monuments. Some of the orthostats are made of milky quartz blocks unparalleled in other monuments ................................................................................................................... 106 Fig. 10.10. Overview of the vestibule of Amieiro 3, with the corridor sealed by two transversal slabs ............................................................................................................ 107 Fig. 10.11. Overview of the chamber of Couto da Espanhola 2, showing an horizontal schist slab over which a tumulation presumably occurred...................... 107 Fig. 10.12. Vertical view of the fire structure existing in the chamber of Amieiro 3 ......... 107 Fig. 10.13. Plant (above) and general overview (below) of Amieiro 8, showing the stella placed vertically in his interior and oriented towards the entrance of the monument ...................................................................................... 108 Fig. 10.14. Two axes oriented in opposite senses and placed ritually on the left side of the corridor in Anta 2 of Amieiro, closed to one orthostatic in a small niche defined by a transversal rocky layer ............................................................................. 108 Fig. 10.15. Dagger of copper and fragment of a dish with basal omphalus related to reutilization of the chamber of Amieiro 2 in the end of the Calcolithic and Bronze Age ............................................................................................................ 108 Fig. 10.16. Plant of Amieiro 3 with vestibule, corridor and asymmetric chamber ............. 109 Fig. 10.17. Materials collected in Amieiro 3 ...................................................................... 109 Fig. 10.18. Large schist plaque of Alentejan type collected in the small megalith with a horse-shoe shape of Amieiro 5 a........................................................................ 109 Fig. 10.19. In the first plane, Amieiro 5a in the centre of the tumulus made essentially of large quartz blocks; in the second plane, the Beaker cyst of Amieiro 5b ................. 110 Fig. 10.20. Amieiro 8: remains collected at the chamber and in the tumulus including an arrow point of flint with fracture due to fire, a lamella of milky quartz, geometrics of flint, a bead of cornaline, a fragment of an axe with a sub-rectangular section and various ceramics .................................................... 110 Fig. 10.21. Archaeological remains from the second phase (above) and third phase (below) of occupation of Couto da Espanhola 6 ................................. 110 Fig. 10.22. Amieiro 1. General overview of the monument, constituted by a polygonal chamber without corridor. The chamber perimeter is partially defined by the location of the foundations of the disappeared orthostatic elements.................. 110 vii

Fig. 10.23. Archaeological remains from Amieiro 5 a (above) and Amieiro 5 b (below).................................................................................................................... 111 Fig. 10.24. Lithic industry of flint and quartz, collected in the chamber and the corridor of Couto da Espanhola 2 .................................................................... 112 Fig. 10.25. Lithic industry of schist, quartz and amphibolite, collecetd in the chamber and corridor of Couto da Espanhola 2 .......................................................................... 113 Fig. 10.26. Plant of Cabeço da Forca, having a sub-circular to polygonal chamber and a long corridor........................................................................................................ 113 Fig. 10.27. Polished artefacts collected in Cabeço da Forca .............................................. 114 Fig. 10.28. Artefacts collected in Cabeço da Forca ............................................................ 115 Fig. 10.29. General overview of Amieiro 9, a precint with sub-ellipsoidal shape defined by small slabs placed vertically, covered by a well preserved tumulus predominantly of quartz blocks .................................................................................... 115 Chapter 11 Fig. 11.1. Location of River Sever ..................................................................................... 117 Fig. 11.2. Megalithic tomb of River Sever ......................................................................... 118 Fig. 11.3. Plans of monuments of the Sever ....................................................................... 120 Fig. 11.4. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view from the west: the tumulus following excavation ................................................................................. 124 Fig. 11.5. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view from the north: the chamber and passage .............................................................................................. 124 Fig. 11.6. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view of the structure identified west of the tumulus ...................................................................................... 125 Fig. 11.7. Charca Grande de la Regañada – View of the structure after partial dismantling ................................................................................................ 125 Fig. 11.8. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view of the monument with the structured forecourt in the foreground ............................................................ 125 Fig. 11.9. Charca Grande de la Regañada – Three dung-beetle balls made into ceramic containers found in the monument tumulus ............................................. 125 Fig. 11.10. Fonte da Pipa – View of the monument before the start of excavations .......... 125 Fig. 11.11. Fonte da Pipa – Idol-plaque in situ near the head-stone................................... 125 Fig. 11.12. Fonte da Pipa – View of the excavation of the monument............................... 126 Fig. 11.13. Fonte da Pipa – General view of the dolmen after excavation ......................... 126 Fig. 11.14. Lomba da Barca – Monument viewed from the North .................................... 126 Fig. 11.15. Lomba da Barca – View of the excavation of the monument .......................... 126 Fig. 11.16. Lomba da Barca – View of the excavation of the tumulus .............................. 126 Fig. 11.17. Lomba da Barca – General view of the monument after excavation ............... 126 Fig. 11.18. Padre Santo – General view of the monument from the south ......................... 127 Fig. 11.19. Padre Santo – General view of the monument from the north ......................... 127 Chapter 12 Fig. 12.1. Planta de Salón de los Canchales, materiales de Los Mellizos y planta y materiales de Lanchas 2 ................................................................................................ 131 Fig. 12.2. Plantas de La Miera, Zafra 2, Cajirón 2 y El Palancar ....................................... 132 Fig. 12.3. Datas 1. Planta y materiales ............................................................................... 134 Fig. 12.4. El Fragoso. Planta y materiales .......................................................................... 135 Fig. 12.5. Huerta Nueva. Planta y materiales ..................................................................... 137 Fig. 12.6. Tapada del Anta ................................................................................................. 138 Fig. 12.7. Tapada del Anta. Materiales .............................................................................. 140 Chapter 13 Fig. 13.1. Schematic distribution of Maritime and main Regional Beaker styles in the Iberian Peninsula ................................................................................................ 142 viii

Fig. 13.2. Undecorated Bell-Beakers in funerary context along the Tagus Valley and surrounding area .................................................................................................... 146 Fig. 13.3. Selection of undecorated Bell Beakers from previous figure............................. 147 Fig. 13.4. Metal and ornaments in funerary context of the International Tagus................. 152 Fig. 13.5. Location of Beaker remains in the megalithic monuments of the International Tagus ............................................................................................. 154 Chapter 14 Fig. 14.1. The Beira Interior (central-south) region ........................................................... 158 Fig. 14.2. Sites considered in the text................................................................................. 159 Fig. 14.3. The hilltop of Monte do Frade ........................................................................... 160 Fig. 14.4. Neolithic structures at Monte do Frade .............................................................. 160 Fig. 14.5. Neolithic ceramics from Monte do Frade .......................................................... 161 Fig. 14.6. Neo-calcolithics ceramics from Ramalhão ........................................................ 162 Fig. 14.7. Lithics from Cachouça ....................................................................................... 163 Fig. 14.8. The plateau of Cachouça .................................................................................... 163 Fig. 14.9. Megalithic monuments at the dam’s flooded plain ............................................ 164 Fig. 14.10. Calcolithic ceramics (“penteadas”) from Sabugal............................................ 164 Fig. 14.11. Calcolithic materials from Cabeço da Malhoeira ............................................. 165 Fig. 14.12. The hilltop of Monte do Trigo ......................................................................... 166 Fig. 14.13. Calcolithic ceramics from Monte do Trigo ...................................................... 166 Fig. 14.14. Calcolithic loom’s weights from Monte do Trigo ............................................ 167 Fig. 14.15. Radiocarbon data for the neo-calcolitlic of Beira Interior (central-south)............................................................................................................... 167 Fig. 14.16. Campaniform from Monte do Trigo ................................................................ 168 Fig. 14.17. Palmela points from Monte de São Roque and Tapada das Argolas................ 169 Fig. 14.18. Calcolithic statue of Santana de Azinha........................................................... 170

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LIST OF TABLES Chapter 4 Table 4.1. Datación de carbones procedentes del nivel V de Canaleja II (calibradas usando la curva atmosférica IntCal04, Reimer et al. 2004) ......................... 29 Chapter 8 Table 8.1. Escavações em sítios da Pré-História Recente no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão .................................................................................................. 83 Table 8.2. Inventários arqueológicos do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão ........................ 84 Table 8.3. Carta Arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão. Distribuição dos sítios e monumentos segundo a sua cronologia ................................... 84 Table 8.4. Carta Arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão. Hierarquização das principais categorias por nível de representação ...................................................... 85 Table 8.5. Estado de Conservação das Antas / mamoas ....................................................... 87 Chapter 13 Table 13.1. Megalithic monuments connected with the levels described of Beaker remains ......................................................................................................... 144 Chapter 14 Table 14.1. Chemical composition of the metallic artefacts .............................................. 169

x

Preface GRAPHICAL MARKERS AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS development of the area under study: the awareness of occupations that persisted over long chronological spans during which the existence of the traditional territories was visualised through the presence of Palaeolithic and post Palaeolithic graphical markers. The evidence provided by the Douro and Guadiana Basins confirm this hypothesis and give consistency to a similar approach in the Tagus in which some Palaeolithic panels are known in the Zézere (Baptista, in this volume). The systematic repetition of the same territorial spaces, the constant aggregation of markers, and the use of identical techniques, all of this enables us to defend the hypothesis that this study area contains some of the most convincing evidence of the Iberian Peninsula for the definition of territories of traditional use (Bueno et al. in this volume). Diverse populations, since at least the Upper Palaeolithic, claimed and marked their position and that of their territories by means of the presence of their symbols. This strategy made recognisable the frequented lands to both their own groups and to others, based on the symbols by which they identified themselves.

The spectacular physical presence of the rock engravings of the International Tagus raised in the 1970’s the need to explain the symbolic expressions of a population that until then had been described as virtually inexistent and, as a matter of course, of little importance to the cultural panorama of Iberian Late Prehistory. This panorama was at the time developing between the historiographical importance of the Southeast focus, essentially constituted by the Los Millares culture, and the North-western focus, the megalithism of the North of Portugal, and was leading to the establishment of populational voids, all the more marked the further inland the regions under analysis. The progressive incorporation of other culturally distinguished regions, such as the Peninsula of Lisbon or the megalithism of the Alentejo, reinforced the hypothesis according to which the interior regions had not played the slightest role in the cultural relationships of the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. This volume gathers together the research effort of the teams that over the past 25 years have developed archaeological interventions in the central area of the International Tagus. The theoretical and methodological approaches of each of them, the advances in the knowledge of the heritage documented and, especially, the research perspectives that are opened, constitute a body of solid evidence on the basis of which to suggest considerable changes in the traditional interpretation of the area. Some contributions could not be developed in writing although the interest of their contents justifies them figuring here in the form of summaries.

For this reason, the volume begins with the evidence that supports this continuous habitation since the Palaeolithic (Almeida, in this volume; Raposo, in this volume). The interesting chronologies of the earliest occupations are comparable to those of other peninsular regions. Similarly, the Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic share identical chronologies within a global framework in which the intense cultural interactions and dynamics drive away the ghosts of the cultural marginality that has so often been used as the only explanation for the prehistoric development of these regions.

The title chosen for the volume is in keeping with the research line of the team from the University of Alcalá de Henares that has argued that the graphical markers are the strongest evidence of the prehistoric groups (Bueno and Balbín, 2000a). The solidity of the data from the International Tagus and, essentially, the compact group of engravings alongside the presence of numerous megaliths, are what since the 1980’s have led us to conduct a series of research projects in the Spanish area, including a territorial analysis based on the integration of the paintings and engravings and the occupational evidence of the megalith builders (Bueno and Balbín, 2000; Bueno et al. 2004a). For the first time, a model of integration of open air paintings and engravings and the sepulchral contexts was envisaged within the territory of the megalith builders covered with open air graphical markers.

There is no better basis for the explanation of the origin of production than the evidence of the long populational development that justifies the studies dedicated to the ancient Prehistory of the region. And, indeed, there is no clearer confirmation than the history written on the stones, than the engravings of the riverside, that support the idea that the development that we have suggested is framed within an undeniable tradition of defining the occupied areas through the use of specific symbols. The research carried out on the Portuguese side of the river over the past 35 years can account for much of the richness, variety and concentration of these sites. It is however a great shame that many of them now lie beneath the waters of the Tagus reservoir (Baptista, in this volume). The novelty of the presence of schematic paintings (Bueno et al. in this volume; Carrera, in this volume),

This observation is surrounded by another premise that is fundamental to the understanding of the historical 1

THE EDITORS

connection of this intensification with the evidence of important extractive possibilities, as has been argued by our team over past years (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno et al., 2004a: 660; 2005), finds in the evidence of alluvial gold one of its clearest confirmations, thus suggesting that the poverty that sustained the economic description of these territories was none other than that of our knowledge since the abiotic resources, the possibilities of farming and herding and resources of particular social importance such as gold all play distinguished roles. The clear association of the engravings with the water line could therefore be in relation with the demarcation of panning areas, essential for the control of this resource, as we have previously suggested in our 1994 publication.

that has been increased considerably since we put forward our model of integration of graphical markers, paintings and engravings, in the territory of the megalith builders of the International Tagus, raises interesting expectations. The most important is the need to overcome the boundaries between paintings and engravings in the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The current previsions of locations of clusters of Schematic Painting in the Tagus, Guadiana and Douro Basins rule out the view that the groups with engravings would belong to more Atlantic ideologies than the groups with paintings, which in turn could be more easily attributed to Mediterranean ideologies. The West now appears, according to the current data, as one of the most compact groups of symbolic implementation of the entire Iberian Peninsula.

In the context of the third millennium BC that we are describing, the new documentation of Beaker pottery adds another parameter to the analysis of the origin of inequality, especially since some of these materials and the package of which they are part have been identified in megalithic monuments. Due to this circumstance, we have incorporated a view of the associations of the Beaker materials with the regional megalithism in terms of their location within the monuments, their typologies and the dates of such sites. Moreover we have initiated a program of analysis of the contents of the ceramic vessels in order to argue the reality of the alcoholic contents as the starting point of the individual ritual in which Beaker vessels were central.

The first deduction from this very important concentration of paintings and engravings concerns the demographic situation which could have sustained a symbolic expression of this scale. If we add to this the important concentration of anthropomorphic representations with traits that rapidly became individualised, the multitude of monuments, the settlements and all of the symbolic evidence described, the International Tagus constitutes itself as one of the most interesting platforms for the discussion of the origin of inequality in the peninsular West. The dates from Los Barruecos and the earliest enclaves (Cerrillo, in this volume) belong to the regions first producers, which, given the dynamic of previous settlement and the dates of agriculture and domestication, lead to a serious reflection upon the Mediterranean models of colonisation. Interactions and dynamics, associated with populational and ideological discourses such as those expressed on the rocks of the Tagus and in the paintings of the mountains, support more complex developments in which the role of the peoples settled in the area occupies a much more prominent place than has traditionally been granted.

These considerations would not have become possible without the close relationship of all of the teams involved whose contributions make up the present volume. Similarly, our research lines would not have achieved the results presented in this volume if it had not been for the support of the administrations and institutions responsible for the management, protection and conservation of the archaeological Heritage. Several Portuguese local councils, the Portuguese Heritage Institute and INTERREG programs have enabled the development of the projects in the Portuguese areas. On the Spanish side of the border, INTERREG projects were the basis for the work carried out at Valencia de Alcántara and the local councils of Alcántara and Santiago de Alcántara fomented the projects undertaken by our team with the support of the Archaeological Service of the Extremadura autonomous government. Indeed, the colloquium whose outcome we are presenting here was organised thanks to the financial support of the Junta de Extremadura and the particular interest of the local council of Santiago de Alcántara that staged this first meeting on the Prehistory of the International Tagus in its cultural facilities and ran with the costs of the event.

The development of this population indicates a marked level of economic and social intensification that is perfectly represented by the symbolic intensification that becomes very obvious in the second half of the fourth millennium BC and throughout the third millennium BC. The work at the necropoli of the region points in this direction as is indicated by the studies of Rosmaninhal (Cardoso, in this volume), Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1988; Enríquez and Carrasco in this volume), Cedillo (Oliveira, in this volume) or those of Alcántara and Santiago de Alcántara offered by ourselves. And all of this must be inserted within a context of settlements, occasionally fortified, for which there is a growing body of radiocarbon dates (Bueno et al. 2004: 104; Vilaça, in this volume) that emphasises the considerable demographic and economic intensification of these territories in the second half of the fourth millennium cal. BC and especially throughout the third millennium cal. BC. The

This conjunction between researchers and politicians is of greatest interest if we hope of offer a cultural heritage to future generations. This legacy must be based on rigorous archaeological analyses, reconstructions and consolidations that must be guided by an absolute respect of a not 2

GRAPHICAL MARKERS AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

so remote past, in which the magnificent visual connections between Portas de Rodâo, at Vila Velha de Rodâo, Portugal, and the painted shelter of El Buraco, at

Santiago de Alcántara, Spain, marked the territories of the megalith builders on both sides of a border that has only been defined by very recent events.

Location in the Iberian Peninsula of the International Tagus and megalithic regions The editors

3

Chapter 1 MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS Primitiva BUENO RAMIREZ, Rodrigo de BALBÍN BEHRMANN & Rosa BARROSO BERMEJO Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Abstract: The great increase in the inventory of Schematic Art and the introduction into the Iberian Peninsula of methods concerned with the analysis of territories began, in the late 1980’s, to transform a panorama which until then seemed to be immovable. Open air paintings and engravings were understood as two technical, chronological and geographical entities. For the paintings, the difusionist models prevailed while the engravings were more closely linked to an altantist perspective. But different teams were working in the field on the idea of integrating the graphical markers and the territory, thus contributing the first interpretative models that surpassed the exclusive function of “sanctuary”. The transition from religious hypotheses to the consideration of other factors of analysis has taken over a century. From the late 1980’s onwards, the richness of nuances, the analytical data and the field surveys organised in relation to the localization of post-Palaeolithic graphical markers, began to give shape to very interesting perspectives regarding the value of these symbols for the cultures who created and respected them. Our research throughout the whole of the Interior Basin of the Tagus always included the premise of the strong connection between the open air markers, the paintings and the engravings, and the areas of human activity, either habitational, funerary or of another kind. And, moreover, the perspective of a global analysis which considered the general contemporary nature of the paintings and engravings. This hypothesis presented for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula a model in which different techniques and positions within the territory, paintings and engravings, were integrated within a single analysis. The earliest producers were the first to create a network of symbols by means of paintings and engravings which codified the territory throughout which they circulated. Their maintenance and multiplication throughout the 4th millennium BC and, particularly the 3rd millennium cal. BC, justify social interpretations in which tradition played a key role. The inclusion of the position of the postglacial engravings of the Tagus within the framework of territories of traditional use, whose first graphical evidence can be dated in the Upper Palaeolithic, supports a line of analysis of the occupation of the area that distances itself from the hypotheses of marginality and depopulation that had previously characterised the study of this area. Key words: Models; Graphical markers; Paintings; Engravings; Standing stones; Settlements; Tradition Resumen: El notorio incremento del inventario del Arte Esquemático y la introducción en la Península Ibérica de metodologías conectadas con análisis territoriales de origen geográfico, comenzó ya a finales de los 80 a transformar un panorama que hasta entonces parecía inamovible. Pintura y grabado al aire libre se entienden como dos elementos técnica, cronológica y geográficamente distintos. Para la pintura, los modelos difusionistas se imponían; para el grabado, una cierta perspectiva atlantista. Pero distintos equipos trabajan sobre el terreno en la idea de integrar marcadores gráficos y territorio, aportando los primeros modelos de interpretación que superaban la exclusiva funcionalidad de “santuario”. Más de un siglo había costado la transición entre las hipótesis religiosas y la apertura a otros factores de análisis. A partir de finales de los 80, la riqueza de matices, las elaboraciones analíticas y prospecciones organizadas en relación con la localización de grafías postpaleolíticas, comienzan a configurar perspectivas muy interesantes, en relación con el valor de estos símbolos para las culturas que los produjeron y respetaron. Nuestra investigación en toda la cuenca interior del Tajo siempre incluyó la premisa de la fuerte conexión entre marcadores al aire libre, las pinturas y grabados, y las áreas de actividad humana, ya sean habitacionales, funerarias o de otro tipo. Y, sobre todo, la perspectiva de un análisis global que consideraba la contemporaneidad genérica entre pinturas y grabados. Esta hipótesis presentaba, por primera vez de forma organizada en la Península Ibérica, un modelo en el que diversas técnicas y diversas posiciones en un territorio, pinturas y grabados, se integraban en un mismo modelo de análisis. Serían los más antiguos productores los primeros en generar una red de establecimientos simbólicos que codificaron el territorio por el que transitaban con grabados y pinturas. Su mantenimiento y acrecentamiento a lo largo del IV y, sobre todo, del III milenio cal BC, justifican reconstrucciones sociales en las que el factor de la tradición juega un papel muy destacado. Incluir la posición de los grabados postglaciares del Tajo en el marco de territorios de uso tradicional, cuyas primeras evidencias gráficas pueden situarse en el Paleolítico Superior ,afianza una perspectiva de análisis del poblamiento del sector , en el que éste se aleja de las hipótesis de marginalidad y despoblación que lo habían caracterizado. Palabras clave: Modelos; Grafías; Pintura; Grabado; Megalitos; Menhires; Poblados; Tradición

This kind of interpretative perspective was established in European Prehistory with the very first discoveries of Palaeolithic Art. The beautiful animal figures of the franco-cantabrian caves offered a very different image of prehistoric man, and the existence of an aesthetic that could be understood by modern humans played a previously unimagined role.

1.1. INTRODUCTION The analysis of the post-Palaeolithic Art of the Iberian Peninsula developed in parallel to the hypothesis of an oriental colonisation (Acosta, 1968; Almagro Gorbea, 1973), and thus gave priority to religious meanings as one of the main explicative factors for their global understanding. 5

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN & R. BARROSO BERMEJO

and the funerary markers, and moreover, a perspective of global analysis that considered the generic contemporaneity of paintings and engravings. This hypothesis presented, for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula in an organised manner, a model in which different techniques, paintings and engravings, and different locations in the landscape (river basins, valleys and mountains) were integrated within the same territory.

The personality and prestige of H. Breuil (reed. 1974) helped favour one of the longest-held positions of European Prehistory: that these paintings and engravings had constituted the decoration of dark and hidden places, frequented by few, and represented the religiosity of Palaeolithic man. The little technical development of post-Palaeolithic art, discovered very soon after the great Glacial Art (Cabré, 1915), led to a degree of mimetism according to which all shelters in the Iberian Peninsula that displayed Levantine and Schematic Art were understood as sanctuaries in which the human groups expressed their beliefs and represented their gods and goddesses. As sanctuaries, these shelters were located in inhospitable places, at the margin of everyday activities.

The earliest producers would have been the first to create a network of symbolic establishments that would codify the territory through which they passed, using paintings and engravings. Their insertion within a previous framework formed by rock art from the Upper Palaeolithic onwards supports the interpretation of the inhabitants of the western regions of the Peninsula within a long discourse, at the margin of the hypothesis of depopulation that characterises the reconstruction of these territories during Prehistory. It is precisely the rock art markers that point towards the reality of this long occupational sequence in which the large river basins would have played an active role in the aggregation of human groups. Their recurrent use supports the definition of these areas as “traditional territories” (Bueno, in press), in which the rock art constituted part of the systems of definition and demarcation.

Progressively, some nuances were introduced regarding the chronology (Marcos, 1981; Carrasco & Pastor, 1982) and the origin of these postglacial expressions (Acosta, 1984). However, a reasoned assessment of the relationship between paintings and engravings and the systems of territorial occupation of the producer groups was still far off. The important growth of its inventory and the introduction into the Iberian Peninsula of methodologies from geographic models of territorial analysis began in the late 1980’s to transform a framework that until then seemed immovable. Different teams worked in the field on the idea of integrating the engravings and paintings into the cultural expressions of the groups that created them. Their locations were understood as part of a network of supports that carried a symbolic message, creating paths throughout the frequented landscape (Bradley et al. 1995), or as another type of evidence of human occupation that fulfilled diverse functions, among which demarcating the territory was one of the most distinguished (Bueno,1986, 1987,1987a).

Their maintenance throughout the fourth and particularly third millennia cal. BC justifies social reconstructions in which the factor of tradition played one of the most distinguished roles. 1.2. MODELS IN THE LATE 1980’S By presenting a brief summary of the basic models of analysis of postglacial art, we are reflecting on the discourse of our discipline and the changes of emphasis which have enabled us to arrive at the current state of the question.

The transition from religious hypotheses to a broader scope of considerations took over a century, but from the late 1980’s, the wealth of nuances, the analytical applications and the field-surveys organised in relation with the location of post-Palaeolithic rock art, shaped interesting perspectives regarding the value of these symbols for the cultures that produced and respected them.

This review serves to illustrate the division between paintings and engravings, in which the former embodied all of the evidence and arguments regarding orientalism and, in this sense, mediterraneanism. The latter, the engravings, were either not considered of prehistoric nature or were related to the notion of an Atlantic influence or origin (Hidalgo, 2006), in contrast with the Mediterranean nature of the paintings.

At this time, our team began a new line of research concerned with the megalithic art of the Iberian Peninsula that, focusing on the theme of this paper, argued the contemporary nature of paintings and engravings, at least since the earliest megalithic decorations, and the narrow relationship between the open-air and the funerary themes (Bueno & Balbín, 1992).

An assessment of the interpretative models applied to both techniques must first underline the dichotomy which played a leading role in the interpretation of the western territories: indeed, it was understood that the paintings had not reached these areas, at least not to the extent documented in the entire southern peninsular. The engravings of the Tagus embodied their difference.

Our research throughout the entire interior Tagus Basin always included the notion of a strong connection between the open-air markers, paintings and engravings,

Regarding the paintings, the interpretations centred on two perspectives, diffusionism and, more recently, 6

MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

The thoughts and doubts are many; indeed the archaeological documentation of the mountainous areas provides radiocarbon dates, territorial, funerary and graphical organisations very similar to those from the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, the latest finds (Martinez et al. 2003) show that part of the Levantine Art belongs to Style V (Bueno et al. in press b), that defines the chronological limit of the Epipalaeolithic, and in which naturalism was one of the inherited characteristics from the Upper Palaeolithic. It is not place here to attempt to resolve such a complex issue; however, regarding the questions dealt with in this paper, the presence of large naturalist figures beneath the schematic figures at the shelters of El Buraco and La Grajera (Carrera et al. 2007) adds to the evidence of this style in the nearby areas (Collado, 2004) and to the evidence collected by Breuil (1935) in Andalusian shelters, that opens the door to the central place of these naturalist styles prior to the development of Schematic Art (Bueno et al. 2006a: 4142).

approaches related to archaeologies of landscape and social history. Diffusionism and religion Under this heading we have grouped together all of the interpretations that use comparative chronology and external origin as the method of analysis of any historical phenomenon. The relationship between these constants and religious explanations can be set within a particular nineteenth century philosophy that required religious explanations in order to situate the past history within the mentality of present-day man. These explanations were deeply rooted in nineteenth century philosophies that argued the integration of the prehistoric groups within a global understanding of the origin of humanity that could reconcile our myths of origin, Judea Christianity, with an archaeological reality that was much more difficult to accommodate.

Oriental diffusionism and religious interpretation are two factors intrinsically associated in explanations of the distribution of the Iberian schematic paintings. The generalised definition of “sanctuaries”, inherited from old interpretations of Palaeolithic Art, has been present in most of the interpretations of Holocene Art, practically throughout the entire second half of the 20th century.

The impact of diffusionism and, particularly, oriental diffusionism in the Iberian Peninsula found at Los Millares a point of reference that could support the arrival of oriental settlers, with a fully formed religion in which the female figures represented a Mother Goddess (Almagro & Arribas, 1963). The ever earlier dates for the first peninsular producers forced the oriental arrival to be pushed back in time. The emergence of metallurgy was thus converted into the arrival of peoples with wheat and sheep who, again, brought a fully formed religion. The indigenous people would have reacted by creating their own images influenced by the new cults, as is the case of the Levantine Art, or by reproducing elements characteristic of the oriental religion (Jordá, 1966).

Paintings and territory The immersion of peninsular research in theoretical approaches coming from the Anglo-Saxon world, particularly since the 1980’s, had important repercussions in the field of post-Palaeolithic rock art. These applications are most notorious in the case of the open air engravings of Galicia, as we shall see below, but there are several authors who have begun to integrate a wider vision of the painted shelters, in which their location plays a particular territorial role, beyond the classical denomination of sanctuary.

The parallels extracted from here and there, even with very different chronologies (Acosta, 1968), were never considered a problem for the quite generalised assumption of the relationship between Schematic Art and the arrival of the Oriental peoples.

Without the intention of developing an exhaustive historiographical review, the work of J. Martinez makes this interpretative approach quite explicit. Territory and social organisation are given central importance in the understanding of the role of the paintings among the human groups that created them.

The aggiornamiento of the oriental origin of production, based on work carried out by the research groups of Valencia, have introduced nuances to a proposal that basically maintains the differences put forward by Jordá between a Levantine Art, later than the Schematic Art, and the Schematic Art itself, as evidence for the arrival of new beliefs, recently with the incorporation of Macroschematic Art (Martí & Hernandez, 1998; Hernandez & Martí, 2001). Their density in one area of Alicante is interpreted as the place of arrival of the new peoples, those who painted the Macro-schematic Art. Levantine Art is attributed to the response of the indigenous groups. The first incomers were the creators of the Schematic Art while the groups that found refuge in the mountainous areas were the hunters of the Levantine Art.

The organisation of shelters in nuclear groups or linear arrangements surrounding hills and river basins is considered as evidence for the territorial systems of the early producers and metallurgists (Martínez, 2006: 40). The second model, the linear arrangement around hills, connects different river basins, as is the case of Villuercas with shelters that mark the path between the Tagus and the Guadiana Basins and is located on good pasture land that could possibly have supported a transhumant economic activity. 7

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN & R. BARROSO BERMEJO

derived from the most basic empirical observations. Their contribution of these researchers can be valued as the introduction of hodderian thought into the peninsula and the incorporation of interesting nuances to the traditional typological issues that have been so damaging to the study of Postglacial Art.

The first phase of schematic painting would have developed in a mountainous environment, related with Neolithic occupations, and its chronology would be close to that of the first megaliths, at the end of the fourth millennium BC. The second phase of schematic painting would have developed throughout the 3rd millennium, alongside its marked expansion. It was in this period that the panels with genealogical themes held a distinguished place, as evidence of the unequal social organisation that used the factor of inheritance as a justification of its dominant positions (Martínez, 2006: 52).

Galician petroglyphs and social organisation The dynamic Galician archaeology soon overcame the postprocessualism described above, and instigated methodological approaches set in social history. The economic parameters (location of the settlements, archaeological documentation, and comparison between tombs) are what enabled the proposal of an interpretation of the location of the petroglyphs and of their meaning within the social groups that created them. From this perspective, Vazquez Varela (1997), de la Peña and Rey (2001), or Fábregas (2001) have put forward a series of hypotheses regarding the inclusion of the engravings within the symbolic expressions of the social intensification that characterised the third millennium cal BC in the area.

As we were mentioning above, the traditional models have not analysed the spatial relationship between paintings and engravings, since such a relationship was thought not to exist (Martínez, 2006:40) due to the hypothesis of the two techniques being mutually exclusive and regional specialisations among which the Galician engravings and those of the Tagus and Guadiana were considered as one-off examples. For this reason, the interpretation of the engravings has been set apart in this review.

However, in both cases, the cited authors refer exclusively to the Galician sphere. With rare exceptions (Balbín, 1989; Bueno et al. 1998; Gómez Barrera, 1992), the rest of the peninsular engravings, apart from those of the Southeast that we shall discuss below, have had little repercussion on the general understanding of the post-Palaeolithic Art of the Iberian Peninsula. (Fig. 1.1).

Archaeologies of landscape The line of research developed by Criado and his team (Criado, 1993) from the 1990’s onwards centred its methodology on approaches closely linked to postprocessual idealism. Symbolism became an explanation per se and an almost exclusive social motor, above parameters such as economy, chronology or other nuances

Fig. 1.1. Groups of engravings in the Iberian Peninsula 8

MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

Fig. 1.2. Traditional border between engraving & painting

thought to have replaced the paintings that were barely present (Bradley & Fábregas, 1999; Martínez, 2006: 36).

1.3. ROCK ART AND MEGALITHS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS: MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ENGRAVINGS AND PAINTINGS

There was however one difference between the approaches of Megalithic and Schematic Art that has been considered very little despite the interest that it holds for the hypothesis above mentioned. Whilst the North is characterised by the lack of open-air paintings, this area stands as a reference for the definition and characterisation of Megalithic Art of north-western characteristics (Shee, 1981). The south was characterised by engraved dolmens whilst it is precisely in this area that the largest concentrations of painted open-air shelters has been recorded. (Fig. 1.2)

The important conceptual, chronological and geographical differences between the engravings and paintings of the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula were one of the reasons that motivated our study of the Megalithic Art of the Iberian Peninsula. The analysis of both techniques in funerary contexts allowed us to provide a chronological reference for the open-air art and, even better, an inventory of the thematic and technical associations that could support the close relationship between the creators of paintings and engravings at open-air sites and at the megaliths (Bueno & Balbín, 1992, 2000).

Our team began working with the decorated dolmens of the South and West, observing the very common presence of paint in megaliths which were denied this technique (Balbín & Bueno, 1996; Bueno & Balbín, 1992, 1996). Soon, we were able to confirm our observations in the megaliths of the North, in which paintings and engravings were complementary protagonists, and to put forward chronological references for the use of both techniques in funerary contexts (Bueno & Balbín, 1992: 522; 1998, 2000a, 2006, 2006a). These dates were completely confirmed by the direct dating of the paintings (Carrera & Fábregas, 2002), archaeological arguments (Bueno & Balbín, 1992:522; 1996, 2006, 2006b, Bueno et al, 1999; 2007) and the dates of the engraved and painted standing stones.

Two issues were central to the interpretation of the Iberian Megalithic Art: geographical dispersion and technical dichotomy. It is noteworthy that these same issues were key in the interpretation of postglacial openair art. The definition of the latter located the paintings in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and rejected the engravings as a technique of the same age as the paintings (Acosta, 1968). It was thought, and still is, that the two techniques were to some extent mutually exclusive and, in the case of areas such as Galicia or the basins of the Tagus and Guadiana, the numerous panels of engravings were 9

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN & R. BARROSO BERMEJO

We were thus able to propose, for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula, a model of integration of engravings and paintings. Both techniques could be traced to the very earliest funerary contexts dated in the fifth millennium cal. BC. The detailed analysis of their location within the tombs and their association with preferred themes (Bueno & Balbín, 1994, 1996a, 1997) suggested a similar use of the techniques as that observed in Palaeolithic Art. Paintings and engraving had been associated or dissociated according to the particular themes established inside the tombs.

dolmen of Lagunita I, at Santiago de Alcántara. The presence of red paint at the Anta Grande de Zambujeiro (Bueno & Balbín, 1992), in the dolmens of Guadancil (Bueno & Balbín, 2000b: 349), or the traces detected by J. Oliveira at the Anta da Nave do Padre Santo (pers. com.), confirm the possibility of retrieval of this type of information from granite and schist monuments. In particular, J. Oliveira has had the opportunity to confirm black and red pigments at the Anta da Horta, at Alter do Châo and on one of the uprights of the Anta da Cabeçuda, at Marvâo (Oliveira, 2004).

Without any doubt, paintings and engravings both existed within the context of the graphical systems of the groups of the fifth millennium cal. BC in which they were used in different spaces. It is likely that their selection depended on other factors than whether they were known or not.

With these premises we have developed a generic model, published in L’Anthropologie in 2000 (Bueno & Balbín, 2000) and a predictive model, based on the former, to which we have incorporated empirical verifications from the different research projects that we have carried out in the area, especially at Santiago de Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2004a).

On the other hand, the identification of standing stones at open-air sites and their connection to settlements of the early Neolithic (Calado, 1997; Gomes, 1997) shaped another interesting parameter, since many were carved and some even showed evidence of red paint (Gomes, 1997: 261).

We relied on the numerous studies of our Portuguese colleagues who, since the 1970’s (Baptista et al. 1978; Serrâo et al. 1972), made known the enormous richness of their engraved stones. And, above all, on approaches of integration of cup-mark open-air engravings and megaliths, led by the researchers of the “Associaçâo do Estudos do Alto Tejo” (Cardoso et al. 1997; Henriques et al. 1993, 1995, 1995a). The relationship between the cupmarks as a simple form of open-air engraving, and the location of the megaliths had particular repercussions on the interpretations formed in the Galician sphere (Villoch, 1995), since similar results were provided in two unrelated groups and in very different work environments. For both, the simplest themes, the cup-marks, displayed the strongest connection with the settlements and funerary ensembles of the megalith builders, thus enabling the suggestion of their strict contemporaneity. It seems quite likely, as suggested by Laming-Emperaire (1962) for Palaeolithic Art, that the simple engravings at open air sites coexisted with engravings in caves, or in this case, in megaliths.

This relationship between standing stones and settlements with impressed pottery was soon confirmed by the radiocarbon dates from these contexts (Calado et al. 2004; Oliveira, 1997; Gomes, 1997), thus revealing that the engraved and painted standing stones played a distinguished role in the definition of the occupational spaces of the first Neolithic groups in the early half of the fifth millennium cal. BC and possibly earlier, according to some evidence that we shall discuss further down. These observations joined our idea of rock art as indicators of the position of the human groups within a particular territory (Bueno & Balbín, 2000, 2000a) and consolidated a model that could suggest how the different graphical indicators, open-air engravings and paintings, standing stones and decorated monuments, were connected within the territories of the megalith builders.

The work carried out in funerary contexts suggested, as we have already mentioned, the contemporaneity of the two techniques and, most of all, a strong thematic coincidence, that is confirmed in the International Tagus by the identification of engraved dolmens associated with paint (Bueno et al. 1998a, 1999, 2000b, 2004a, 2006a; Bueno & Balbín, 2000, 2000b, 2000c; Oliveira, 2004).

The work that we have carried out since the 1980’s in the Tagus Basin has placed us in a privileged position from which to evaluate the possibilities of a model of interconnection between the different graphical indicators and, moreover, to assess the documentation of decorated dolmens in this sphere (Bueno, 1988; Bueno & Balbín, 1992, 2000a, 2000b; 2003; Bueno et al. 2004a; Oliveira, 1997b, 2004).

In the granite monuments (Oliveira, 2004a) and those build out of slate (Bueno et al. 2000b), painting must have been one of the components of a global decoration that included quite clearly an important anthropomorphic presence by means of decorated plaques, statuettes, stelae and standing stones (Bueno et al. in press).

The engravings at Huerta de las Monjas (Bueno, 1988), the dolmens of Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2000b), of Cedillo (Oliveira, 1997b) and of Santiago (Bueno et al. 2006a) supported their coexistence alongside paintings, as was suggested by the analyses of cinnabar on a hand-grinder from the dolmen of Trincones I and decorated plaques from the same monument (Bueno et al. in press), or the small bowl containing ochre and animal fat from the

Although the evidence of the same engravings, technically and thematically speaking, was confirmed, there was no reason to justify the absence of painting at 10

MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

Fig. 1.3. Location of graphical markers in the International Tagus

Fig. 1.4. Predictive model of integration of engravings and paintings in the International Tagus

open-air sites, especially given the lack of systematic fieldwork in this direction.

the locations justified the creation of a predictive model according to which the engravings would have occupied distinguished locations within the river basins, in both the main Tagus and its confluents, while paintings would have occupied important places in the quartzite hill ranges.

Joining together all of these theoretical premises, the next phase of elaboration of our predictive model (Bueno et al. 2004a) focused on the organisation of the data, that in the International Tagus region enabled us to analyse the location of the open-air engravings, the carved standing stones, the decorated monuments and the paintings. A detailed map of this data (Fig. 1.3), an assessment of synchrony and diachrony, and an exhaustive definition of

This model (Fig. 1.4.), based on our work at Santiago, offered similar possibilities in the identical territories of the central area of the International Tagus (Bueno et al. 2004a: 703). 11

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN & R. BARROSO BERMEJO

Once taken on board the possibility of the presence of paintings, their consideration tends to grow, especially when object of specific recording projects. As well as our work at Santiago de Alcántara, the Junta de Extremadura is fieldsurveying the districts of Alcántara and Ceclavín with interesting results which we hope will be published in short (Collado, in press). The paintings of Alcántara display a contrast to the decorated dolmens that we have excavated and made known, and to the evidence of open-air engravings in the same style as in the Portuguese Tagus (Bueno et al. 1998b, 1999, 2000b).

Time showed that we were right and painted shelters are now known in the districts of Alcántara, Marvâo and, of course, Santiago de Alcántara. The continuation of projects in this line will provide more important foci of paintings, especially since three enclaves of this type are already known in the hills of Santiago. It is hoped that the same pattern will be observed at Vila Velha de Rodâo, the largest group of open-air engravings in the area, thus confirming –as suggested by our hypothesis- that the strict divisions between groups of paintings and engravings cannot be maintained. The International Tagus demonstrates just this, that the painted shelters are part of the systems of delimitation of the megalithic territories, at least since the Neolithic, and occupy preferentially high locations.

Our Portuguese colleagues, aware of this approach, have also carried out similar recording tasks, the results of which we await with interest. Although quantity is a measure that cannot be ignored in the assessment of the presence of schematic paintings in an area traditionally considered void of such expressions, their quality, the complex compositions and their thematic singularity are equally remarkable.

The implications of these results in the global analysis of Iberian Schematic Art are of greatest interest. The basins of the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana offer evidence of the overlapping of engravings and paintings in the same spaces. The detailed studies of the Tagus area confirm this and it is only a question of time and of similar theoretical and methodological developments before the rest of the basins provides confirmation of the same situation.

The recently published study of the paintings of Santiago de Alcántara (Carrera et al. 2007) presents interesting perspectives of analysis for our shelters. The volumetry of the locations that tend to be small caves instead of flat stones in the open areas, alongside the global discourse of several anthropomorphic figures of particular importance, verbalises a very special symbolic situation.

Our fieldwork has centred on studying the quartzite mountain ranges in search of painted shelters and the margins of the confluents of the Tagus. This is how the paintings at Santiago and Alcántara were discovered. It is therefore to be hoped that an increase of fieldwork in this rich megalithic region will lead to the identification not only of one of the largest foci of engravings in the Iberian Peninsula but also one of the most dense groups of schematic paintings, thus corroborating that the graphical markers were located in different locations within the vast territories occupied by the megalith builders.

To the spectacular scenes of social aggregation, of which the procession of La Grajera is particularly illustrative, we must add the observation of superpositions that support an earlier naturalist phase beneath the more recent schematic paintings. As we have argued on the basis of our first interventions at Santiago (Bueno, 1994) and Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1987, 1988) and, as has been confirmed by our excavations at Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2000; Bueno & Balbín, 2000b), the peak of the small schist necropoli can be placed without doubt in the second half of the fourth millennium cal. BC and third millennium cal. BC although we must always be aware of an undeniable earlier occupation that must have included Neolithic tombs (Bueno, 2000). The superpositions at Santiago de Alcántara or those identified by Collado (2004) at Ceclavín confirm the presence of earlier groups that marked the same places as the later megalith builders.

1.4. CURRENT STATE OF THE MODEL OF INTEGRATION OF ENGRAVINGS AND PAINTINGS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS The general model that we put forward in 2000 (Bueno & Balbín, 2000), in which the megalith builders would not only have defined territories in the lowlands as was suggested by the classical hypothesis, but also in the highlands, has been completely confirmed, thus indicating the systematic use of mountain resources such as timber, particular stones such as quartzite, or pastures that would have been of key importance. Our predictive model (Bueno et al. 2004a) has also been confirmed, thus leading the focus of fieldwork to be place on determined sectors of the International Tagus.

The new graphical markers therefore constitute a good argument in favour of the intensification of our work at Santiago de Alcántara, with the aim to locate archaeological evidence of this earlier occupation.

In the current situation of our theoretical premises and empirical confirmations, several questions have risen from the systematic application of the model described above.

In our first studies (Bueno & Balbín 2000, 2000b) we underlined the difficulty of confirming the presence of mixed techniques: engravings in the highlands, alongside paintings and paintings in the lowlands alongside 12

MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

well as the areas closest to the basin with lowlands around 400 meters above sea level where most of the occupationnal and funerary installations are located, also includes higher lands. The work of the teams of Caninas (2004) in the Serra de Oleiros has demonstrated the presence of settlement and funerary areas above 700 meters that correspond to the high plains of the area. The possible function of delimitation of the occupational areas fulfilled by these engraved stones is similar to that documented at similar heights in the central Spanish meseta (Bueno et al. 1998) which, as suggested at the time, is very similar to the delimitation of occupational areas structured through paintings and engravings in the interior regions of the Tagus, such as for example at the settlement of Los Barruecos and other Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlements from the Northeast of Cáceres (Bueno et al. 1998: 118).

engravings. And this from the perspective of the possible coexistence suggested by Megalithic Art. More recently, we have obtained confirmation of this pattern. We know that the painted shelters are located on the margins of the river course, as is the case of the shelter of La Grajera (Bueno et al. 2006a; Carrera et al. 2007), in direct relationship with the water line. Various themes were also engraved at the base of some painted supports. This is the case of the paintings of Alcántara or, as published at the time (Bueno et al. 1998a), the painted shelters that surround the occupational focus of Los Barruecos. Our model, with regards to the location of the paintings, must therefore underline the coexistence of the two techniques in both the highlands and the areas close to the river. This however does not exclude the fact that painting plays a key role in the environment of the mountains and foothills.

The International Tagus represents the only confirmed model of the deep connection between paintings and engravings within the context of the symbolic delimitations of the megalithic territories of the Atlantic facade. Its example must be considered as a case study for other similar situations in other territorial contexts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Regarding the new contributions and precisions towards the location of the engravings, the focus of the fieldsurveys in the Tagus river course and its confluents has provided indications of some degree of hierarchical organisation of the engraved locations, similar to that suggested for the ancient Palaeolithic engravings of the Côa valley (Baptista & García, 2002). The largest foci would correspond to the larger scale aggregations while the small groups of engravings may have had connections with temporary installations or may have been related to a particular resource. The small location of Los Canchitos, at the feet of the necropolis of Cerro León, at Santiago de Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2006a: 49), could be understood in this way.

The continuation of work will lead to the documentation of compact groups of paintings, which like the engravings, reflect long chronological sequences and insist upon the long occupational discourse of the producer groups by which they were created. It can be hoped, also, that the detailed study of the distribution of the groups of engravings will inform about the hierarchical organisation of greater or lesser concentrations that appear to be connected with different occupational or economic functions. In short, more subtle perspectives on the wide Palaeolithic and post-Palaeolithic occupation of the western regions of the Peninsula have begun to take shape based on the location of the enormous graphical richness of the sites in the Basins of the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana. Demographic marginality and chronological delays are no longer applicable to the occupational dynamics of a strongly territorial settlement that make the western regions of the Peninsula an ideal platform for the discussion of the origin of unequalitarian societies.

The difficulties of fieldsurveying in the Tagus dam have been overcome by the hypothesis of the presence of engravings in its confluents. We hope that the results of the fieldsurveys in course in the Spanish area and those already mentioned carried out by the team led by Collado –Head of the Archaeological Unit of the Junta de Extremadura- will provide new corroborations of our predictive model. The possibility that the engravings of the riverside may also have been painted has already been contemplated (Bueno & Balbín, 2000; Bueno et al. 2004a), as well as the tendency towards the selection of stones with strong colour contrast, particularly red surfaces. It is obvious that if paint may have existed in these contexts, its presservation would have been unlikely due to the river floods. As we have mentioned, the presence of painted shelters near to the river confirms the presence of paint in these areas and has led us to include more explicitly in our model the role of the paintings as graphical markers in the lowlands of our study area.

1.5. THE GRAPHICAL MARKERS OF THE TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES Our research line on the producer and metallurgic groups of the interior Tagus Basin (Bueno, 1988; 2000) has insisted on the long occupational discourse that gives the inhabitants of the area a greater role beyond that of mere receptors of new developments arriving from the coast at a very late date. The location of the graphical markers as a parameter of analysis of the position of the groups within the territory

Another of the developments is related to the territorial vastness and variability of the International Tagus that, as 13

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN & R. BARROSO BERMEJO

known for the symbols to be less evidently marked (Bueno, in press). The recognition of the producer groups would have formed part of the traditional knowledge and probably would have been taught by the elders (Kristiansen, 1991).

(Bueno & Balbín, 2000, 2000b) has proven useful. Indeed, the International Tagus and the central area that constitute our study area provide one of the best case studies in the line that we have put forward. Palaeolithic and post-Palaeolithic engravings are located on rock surfaces in the areas of the river basins and the highest plains. The confirmation that many of them were created by hunters of the late glacial period (Baptista, 2004) opens interesting perspectives for the documentation of long sequences similar to those recorded in the areas of the Douro (Bueno et al. in press b) and the Guadiana (Collado, 2004).

The location of the open air sites offers an insight into the mobility of the groups under study and, moreover, the observation that the interior lands were occupied as early on as the coast, thus invalidating the coast-inland dialectic by means of progressive populations, in the chronological sense of the term (Bueno, 2000: 38). During the Upper Palaeolithic (Balbín & Alcolea, 1994) and in later times (Bueno et al. 1995, 2002), the inland regions were but another economic setting of the prehistoric peninsular groups and it is precisely the decorated sites that have demonstrated this (Bueno and Balbín 2000, 2000b).

Many prehistorians have defended the graphical continuum between the Palaeolithic and post-Palaeolithic using different arguments. The open-air sites of the western facade of the Iberian Peninsula have confirmed this in the densely decorated areas whose stones display the clearest evidence of this continuum: the inhabitants of the region returned again and again to the same places to decorate them thus adding to the oldest symbols (Bueno, in press).

The painted and engraved expressions have formed part of human cultures since the Upper Palaeolithic and have occupied different spaces of interest to the groups that created them. The suggestion of a graphical continuum in the Iberian Peninsula has found support in the river valleys of the Douro, the Tagus and the Guadiana. Of course, this situation cannot be handled as a unilinear hypothesis that considers a constant evolution throughout the development of prehistoric rock art. It does however enable us to argue that the location of the rock art in the territories of the hunters and later on of the farmers and metallurgists did not vary substantially over time in some peninsular enclaves, thus supporting the hypothesis of “traditional territories”. These would have been spaces of recurrent use that formed part of the understanding of the world that surrounded the protagonists of great part of the Prehistory of the Peninsula.

The Palaeolithic to post-Palaeolithic sequences, repeatedly documented at these sites, indicate that open-air settlement was larger and more dynamic than the patterns traditionally accepted for the Palaeolithic and immediately posterior times and for the Neolithic. One of the first deductions from the concentration of sites under study is that neither their location not their use give any indication of them being unique. They could, therefore, serve a model of reflection for the analysis of other Atlantic areas which have traditionally been considered poor in evidence of Palaeolithic Art. It is very possible that the scarceness observed in the British Isles or in Western France could be overcome by open-air sites, especially considering that these are relatively common in post-Palaeolithic times.

The sites of the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana display the frequency of locations that can only be explained by a constant demographic presence. The abundant postglacial art points in the same direction, thus invalidating the notion of demographic marginality as a universal explanation of supposed chronological and cultural offsets, which recent studies have incited to handle with caution. On the contrary the open air decorated sites demonstrate the strength of the territorial settlement and long-lasting modes of traditional use.

Indeed, some authors in the sphere of Late Prehistory have emphasised the recurrent coincidence of foci of open-air art with megalithic art (Bueno & Balbín, 2001; Bueno et al. 1998; Peña & Rey, 2001:95), thus underlining the relationship between interior and exterior sites (Bueno & Balbín, 2000b).

The Palaeolithic hunters used the decorated sites as occupational references and very probably places of social aggregation. The producer groups found sufficient resources in the same areas: water, dehesas and extractive opportunities, as well as the security and the cohesion of the permanency of the ancestral territories in which the symbols of the past were still perceptible. The subsistence needs were thus smothered with ideology and justified in this way the control over particular territories.

The absolute contemporaneity of interior and exterior decoration (Balbín & Alcolea, 1994; Bueno & Balbín 2000) gives new dimensions to the meanings of the prehistoric rock art that in these different contexts conveyed messages of polysemic significance and in our case some degree of territorial contents (Bueno & Balbín, 2001). The “banner scenes” of the oldest stones, which are mostly vertical and large engravings, appear to evolve towards less visible elements, predominantly oriented to the zenith. This evolution may indicate that these stones formed part of a traditional territory, sufficiently well-

The open-air sites are the strongest ideological argument to defend territorial demarcation as a strategy of occupation among the prehistoric groups of the South of 14

MODELS OF INTEGRATION OF ROCK ART AND MEGALITH BUILDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

Europe. The ideological resource of the traditional territories was maintained over many generations and if there were still to be any doubt about this, the technique par excellence, pecking, shares the same time span. Space and technique can be added to the hypothesis that demarcation by means of rock art that was recognisable by the group constituted one of the basic systems of identification of the territories of the hunting groups and later megalith builders of the Western facade.

The dimension and continuity of these sites, their technical specialisation and their association with settlement areas, situate the western facade of the Iberian Peninsula as one of the enclaves with the longest continuous occupation known in European Prehistory, thus raising an interesting basis of reflection for a new perspective on the prehistoric rock art which constitutes an invaluable affirmation of the modes of occupation of the territory.

MEGALITHIC ENGRAVING

PAINTING

TAGUS

ANTHROPOMORPHE

STELES

SNAKES

ZIGZAG

ZOOMORPHS

SUNS

CROOKS

Cup - marks

CIRCLES

OBLONG

/

Simple Circles Circles with internal elements Oblongs Oblongs with internal elements

Fig. 1.5. Comparison of the megalithic engravings, paintings of the mountain and foothills, and engravings of the Tagus river

15

Chapter 2 ANTES DOS AGRICULTORES: UNIDADE E DIVERSIDADE DA OCUPAÇÃO HUMANA NO MÉDIO TEJO DURANTE A PRÉ-HISTÓRIA ANTIGA L. RAPOSO Museu Nacional de Arqueología, Lisboa Resumo: Distinguimos no Tejo três grandes unidades geomorfológicas: o Baixo Tejo (entre a foz e a zona de Abrantes), dividido em Tejo aluvial e Tejo estuarino; o Médio Tejo (entre Abrantes e Toledo) e o Alto Tejo (entre Toledo e a nascente). Conforme o ponto de vista e a escala de aproximação que utilizemos, assim podemos encontrar elementos de unidade e de diversidade na ocupação ao longo de todo o vale do Tejo, durante a Pré-História Antiga. Damos os seguintes exemplos: – Unidade a um nível muito amplo: o uso recorrente do quartzito como matéria-prima, em todo o vale e em quase todos os períodos; – Diversidade a uma escala de aproximação maior: a exploração diferenciada dos diferentes suportes (seixos bem rolados, seixos mal rolados, blocos filonianos) respectivamente no Acheulense e no Mustierense Ou ainda: – Unidade: a aparente distribuição do Acheulense ao longo de todo o vale; – Diversidade: a maior concentração de sitos acheulense em zona específicas, dentro de cada unidade geomorfológica considerada (Baixo Tejo: Alpiarça; Médio Tejo: Ródão e Toledo). Mais especificamente no que se refere ao Médio Tejo, centramos a nossa observação nas seguintes questões: a) Paleolítico Inferior: Existe uma evolução interna dentro do complexo acheulense na região ? Quais os padrões territoriais de distribuição de sítios no vale do Tejo e nos vales fluviais afluentes ? Semelhanças e diferenças existentes entre dois sítios-chave: Pinedo e Monte do Famaco b) Paleolítico Médio: Existe uma maior concentração e articulação espacial de sítios ? O exemplo de Ródão. c) Paleolítico Superior e Epipaleolítico: A ausência de prova pode ser tida como prova da ausência ? Qual a situação do povoamento humano em dois momentos-chave: último máximo glaciário e pós-glaciário ? O exemplo de Vilas Ruivas (indústrias leptolíticas e indústrias macrolíticas) e o contributo da arte rupestre tagana. Palabras clave: Geología; Cultura; Paleolítico indústrias Abstract: We distinguish in the Tagus three main geomorphological units: the Lower Tagus (between its mouth and the area of Abrantes), divided into the fluvial Tagus and the estuarine Tagus; the Middle Tagus (between Abrantes and Toledo) and the Upper Tagus (between Toledo and its origin). Depending on the view point and scale of analysis that are used, different elements of unity and diversity of the occupation throughout the Tagus Valley during early Prehistory may be outlined. We give the following examples: – Unity on a very wide scale: the recurrent use of quartzite as a raw material throughout the entire valley and most periods – Diversity on an even greater scale: the exploration of different materials (rounded pebbles, less well-rounded pebbles, filonian rocks) respectively during the Acheulean and Mousterian periods Or: – Unity: the apparently even distribution of Acheulean finds throughout the entire valley; – Diversity: the greater concentration of Acheulean sites in specific areas within each of the geomorphological units considered (Lower Tagus: Alpiarça; Middle Tagus: Ródão and Toledo). More specifically, regarding the Middle Tagus, we centre our observations on the following questions: a) Lower Palaeolithic: Is there an internal evolution of the Acheulean complex of the region? What patterns of territorial site distribution exist within the Tagus Valley and the valleys of its tributaries? Similarities and differences between two key sites: Pinedo and Monte do Famaco? b) Middle Palaeolithic: Is there greater density and spatial articulation of the sites? The case of Rodâo. c) Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic: Can the absence of evidence be taken as evidence of absence? What is the situation of the human population at two key moments: the last glacial and the post-glacial periods? The example of Vilas Ruivas (leptolithic and microlithic industries) and the contribution to the rock art of the Tagus. Key words: Geology; Culture; Palaeolithic; Industries

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Chapter 3 THE PALAEOLITHIC OCCUPATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN ALENTEJO (PORTUGAL): A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH Nelson ALMEIDA*, Sarah DEPREZ**, Morgan De DAPPER** *Instituto Português de Arqueologia, Extensão do Crato; **Ghent University Abstract: The archaeological survey that are taking place in the North-eastern Alentejo, under the project PHANA (Ancient prehistory in the North-eastern Alentejo), has revealed a considerable number of Palaeolithic sites. The area discussed in this paper is located in the North of this territory, on the left margin of the Tagus River, near the village of Arneiro. Here, thirteen Palaeolithic settlements have been identified, two of which, Pegos do Tejo 2 and Azinhal, have been subjected to archaeological excavations. The first results of these interventions, as well as the absolute dating of these two sites, the data obtained in the site of Tapada do Montinho and the geomorphological and geoarchaeological research done in this area are presented in this article. Key words: Middle Palaeolithic; Alentejo; geoarchaeology; OSL datations Resumo: Apresentam-se os resultados dos trabalhos de prospecção e sondagem arqueológicas realizados no Nordeste alentejano ao abrigo do projecto PHANA (Pré-História Antiga no Nordeste Alentejano). Focam-se também os resultados dos trabalhos de geomorfología e geoarqueologia levados a cabo por uma equipa da Universidade de Ghent (Bélgica) no complexo paleolítico do Arneiro. Finalmente, dão – se a conhecer os resultados de duas datações por OSL realizados nos sítios do Paleolítico médio do Azinhal e Pegos do Tejo 2. Palavras Chave: Paleolítico médio; Alentejo; geoarqueologia; datações por OSL

of Palaeolithic settlement distribution in the area and allows to identify the settlements with the greatest scientific value. One of the areas that the archaeological survey indicated as being of major relevance in the Palaeolithic presence in this region is the “Arneiro cluster” in the municipality of Nisa. In an area of approximately 3 km x 3 km, near the village of Monte do Arneiro, thirteen sites were found, nearly half the total number of occupation sites discovered by this project until now in the North-eastern of Alentejo (Fig. 3.1). From this cluster, we will focus on two sites of Middle Palaeolithic chronologies and a third one that probably also can be attributed to this period: Pegos do Tejo 2, Azinhal, and Tapada do Montinho. The latter has not yet been subject of an archaeological intervention, a gap that will be fulfilled in the near future. The site of Azinhal was excavated in 2003, the site of Pegos do Tejo 2 is still under excavation. Both sites were also studied geomorphologically and dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) by the Ghent University team. By integrating the archaeological and geomorphological information (geoarchaeology), a broader and clearer insight into the human occupation of the area is obtained.

3.1. INTRODUCTION In 1917, the region known as Nordeste Alentejano started to receive attention because of the presence of human Palaeolithic settlements. In this year Abbé Brueil conducted the first Palaeolithic research in the Guadiana area (Breuil, 1917 and 1920). Later on, several other searchers worked on this matter, mostly in the southern part of this region (Jalhay and Paço, 1941; Paço, 1950). More recently, some research was done by the Oporto University (Jorge, 1972, Rodrigues, 1996). Regrettably, most of these surveys took place occasionally, superficially and without continuity. Fortunately, there has been some continuity in the research on the Palaeolithic presence on the right margin of the Tejo in the vicinity of this study area (Vila Velha de Ródão region), where sites like Vilas Ruivas and Foz do Enxarrique were excavated by Raposo (1987). The preliminary results of the first systematic research ever made in the Northeastern Alentejo region called “Ancient prehistory in the North-eastern Alentejo” (PHANA), are presented in this paper. The first field work started in 2001, under a “National Plan of Archaeological Works”, approved by the Portuguese Institute of Archaeology (IPA). Our first goal was to draw a general picture of human occupation of this area in Palaeolithic times. Now, six years later, it is time for the first synopsis describing the results of this research on vestiges left by the first inhabitants of this part of Portugal. The first part of the field work was mainly undertaken in short, annual summer campaigns in order to locate around thirty sites with occupations dating from Lower to Upper Palaeolithic chronologies (Fig. 3.1). This survey enabled the identification of the pattern

3.2. IMPORTANCE OF GEOARCHAEOLOGY FOR THIS RESEARCH In its broadest sense, geo-archaeology implies the integration of archaeology with earth sciences, in order to obtain a more “holistic” or complete image of the past human occupation of an area. Furthermore, close cooperation between these two disciplines can solve many problems experienced by the separate disciplines. 19

N. ALMEIDA, S. DEPREZ & M. DE DAPPER

Fig. 3.1. Maps of the regions focused in the paper: Localization of the study area in the Iberian Peninsula (Up right corner); Localization of the sites discovered in the northeast Alentejo region (major map); Palaeolithic occupations in the Arneiro cluster (amplified area)

two small water streams (Fig. 3.1). Distributed over an area of 25.000 m² a large quantity of knapped material in quartzite, flint and quartz were found. In the northern limit of this platform, in a section created by the Roman/Medieval gold mining activities that took place in this region, it is possible to recognise the presence of a pebble terrace level at a depth of 40 cm from the top. The huge quantity of archaeological material found at the surface is probably derived from this terrace level when it was affected by the planting of olive trees.

Therefore, in this paper we will first discuss the Middle Palaeolithic archaeology of the study area, followed by a description of the geomorphological characteristics of the area and the sites. To conclude, the synthesis of both investigations will result in a better understanding of the Palaeolithic human occupation of the area. 3.3. THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC SITES

The typological analysis made in the material collected during the survey enables an a priori definition of two distinct chronologies for this site. The first corresponds to a Middle Palaeolithic industry characterized by a Leval-

3.3.1. Tapada do Montinho The Palaeolithic site named Tapada do Montinho was discovered in 2003 on the top of a platform defined by 20

THE PALAEOLITHIC OCCUPATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN ALENTEJO (PORTUGAL): A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH

The Azinhal Palaeolithic site is located in an area of tree cultures that give the name to the area: grove of holmoaks. The whole area is subject of annual tilling. The possibility of destruction of the Palaeolithic layer by this kind of soil alteration was a real concern. The digging campaign consisted of the opening of three pits of 1 m² distributed over the area of the occupation. This campaign allowed the insertion of the Palaeolithic layer in the geological context (Fig. 3.4) and to ascertain that the agricultural work had not affected the Palaeolithic occupation. Five layers were identified during the intervention (Fig. 3.4), the one with Palaeolithic lithic remains being the third described (L3). This layer underlies two others deposits. The first geological unit consists of the top soil, a mixture of sand with organic matter that gives it a greybrown colour. The second stratigraphic unit is exclusively composed of an orange sandy/silty sediment, the same sandy material that is found in the matrix of the third level. In this layer were found a lithic industry with a total of 147 pieces, mainly in quartzite. The artefacts found were predominantly denticulate flakes, some blades and there was also a residual presence of Micoquian handaxes (Fig. 3.5, number 1 to 4). Layer 4 consists of the same sandy sediment but with the presence of some small clay nodules. The last stratigraphic unit detected during the intervention consists of a terrace layer made of a silty grey sediment matrix with rounded pebbles deposited in a fluvial context. In this layer some lithic artefacts were also present.

lois debitage, as seen in cores number 1 and 2 presented in Fig. 3.2. The first one corresponds to a centripetal recurrent core in flint (it is the only specimen in this type of material found in all the discovered middle Palaeolithic sites of the area). The second core is an exhausted Levallois core in quartzite. The two other cores depicted in Fig. 3.2 were knapped in local flint pebbles to produce bladelets. Number 3 is a prismatic core with a straight striking platform, number 4 is another bladelet core with three striking platforms. These kinds of cores are typical for Upper Palaeolithic industries.

Fig. 3.2. Lithic industry from Tapada do Montinho: 1- Centripetal recurrent core in flint; 2- Exhausted Levallois core in quartzite; 3- Prismatic core with a straight striking platform; 4- Bladelet core with three striking platforms

3.3.2. Azinhal In 2003, during the annual survey campaign, a layer was defined in the section made by the opening of a road that links the local cemetery to the villages of Monte do Duque and Monte do Arneiro. One of the Palaeolithic artefacts found during the survey was the Micoquian handaxe shown as number 5 in Fig. 3.3. In this same year an archaeological excavation was performed on this site. The purposes defined previously were to identify the extension of the occupation more clearly, its conservation level and to identify the chronology of the site.

Fig. 3.3. Lithic industry from Azinhal: 1 and 5- “Micoquian” handaxes in quartzite; 2- Denticulated blade in quartzite; 3- Denticulated flake with faceted butt; 4“Tayac point”? with thinned bulb

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Fig. 3.4. Stratigraphic section of Azinhal (Square L5): Layer 1- Mixture of sand with organic matter that forms the top soil; Layer 2- Orange sandy/silty sediment; Layer 3- (Archaeo-logical level) – Orange sandy/silty sediment with rounded and angular pebbles and lithic industry; Layer 4- Orange sandy/silty sediment but with the presence of some small clay nodules; Layer 5- Terrace layer made of a silty grey sediment matrix with rounded pebbles deposited in a fluvial context

debris). The preliminary stratigraphic section of the site is presented in Fig. 3.5 to illustrate the localization of the archaeological layer in its geological context. The archaeological occupation is lying beneath four other stratigraphic units. The first unit corresponds to top soil disturbed by agricultural works. The matrix is sandy with the presence of small angular quartzite pebbles that comes from the nearby quartzite ridge. The second layer shows the same sandy material without the humus component that was present in the previous layer. There were some few small angular quartzite pebbles identified in the top of the unit. The third deposit is formed by a red clay that shows gaps filled with the sediment of the second layer. The fourth, an orange sandy layer, present some irregular white clay deposits. This unit covers the archaeological occupation (layer 5) that is packed in the same sediment with some rounded pebbles. While the digging of this site is still undergoing it is premature to talk about the lithic industry that characterizes this occupation. What can be

3.3.3. Pegos do Tejo 2 The archaeological site known as Pegos do Tejo 2 is located 100 m south from the Tejo river left margin (Fig. 3.1), near the edge of the Roman/medieval mining exploration front. In the 2003 survey campaign, some artefacts were found but without the definition of a clear provenance. Another survey, done in 2005, permitted the discovery of a Mousterian core (Fig. 3.6, number 4) in a section created by the opening of a small road. In December 2006 an excavation campaign was initiated in this site. After mechanical removal of the sediment covering the Palaeolithic occupation until 40 cm above it, a grid of 3 m x 2 m was implemented in the field. The last portion of sediments recovering the occupation level was removed manually. The works are still in progress but already revealed the presence of a very well conserved archaeological level (the riddling of the sediment have permit the identification of about 4/5 mm long knapping 22

THE PALAEOLITHIC OCCUPATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN ALENTEJO (PORTUGAL): A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH

Fig. 3.5. Stratigraphic section of Pegos do tejo 2 (Squares L4/M4): Layer 1- top soil disturbed by agricultural works. Sandy matrix with organic matter and the presence of small angular quartzite pebbles; Layer 2- Orange sandy material with some few small angular quartzite pebbles in the top of the unit; Layer 3- Deposit formed by red clay that probably suffers erosional processes that create gaps after filled with the same sediment of the second layer; Layer 4- Orange sandy layer with some irregular white clay deposits. In this layer a step of approximately 50 cm were kept to avoid water infiltration into the excavation area; Layer 5- (Archaeological level)- Orange sandy layer with some irregular white clay deposits, angular and rounded pebbles and lithic industry

done is to present the material discovered until now without any derivations of chronology, as this could prove to be erroneous. Aside from the Mousterian core that contributed to the discovery of the exact localization of the site, other material knapped in local quartzite was found in the top of the archaeological layer. In this material two right angle notches have to be emphasised: one made from a Levalloisian flake (Fig. 3.6, number 3) and the second from a cortical flake (Fig. 3.6, number 2). A cortical knife with signs of wear was also found during the digging campaign (Fig. 3.6, number 1).

3.4. GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE ARNEIRO AREA AND THE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC SITES From a geomorphological point of view, the Arneiro area is located on the left margin of the Tejo River, at the foot of a very hard and resistant ridge of quartzites, that dominates the view in the study area. The Arneiro area itself has undergone major fluvial erosion and deposition processes at least since 500.000 years ago, and up to ca. 40.000 years ago. The archaeological sites discussed 23

N. ALMEIDA, S. DEPREZ & M. DE DAPPER

Fig. 3.6. Lithic industry from Pegos do tejo 2: 1- Cortical knife in quartzite with use scars; 2- Right angle notch from a cortical quartzite flake; 3- Right angle notch made from a Levalloisian flake, in quartzite; 4- Mousterian core in quartzite

graphic position, in a layer of approximately 8 m of sand with some gravel and pebble layers in between, derived from the reworking of Paleogene arkoses. The archaeological artefact layer (L5 on Fig. 3.5), was dated by quartzOSL and revealed an age of 135 ± 21 ka (GLL code 050301).

above are all located in river terrace material of this period. Therefore, the archaeological artefact layers were also investigated from the point of view of river evolution. The sites of Pegos do Tejo and Tapada do Montinho are located in sediments of the Tejo; During the deposition of these sediments, the Tejo was following a different course than the one at present, namely North-South (Fig. 3.7). The site of Azinhal is located in a deposit of a former tributary river (Fig. 3.7).

The site of Azinhal is located at an altitude of 152 m. The archaeological artefact layer (L3 on Fig. 3.4) forms the basis of a sedimentary deposit of a small tributary river of the Tejo that was flowing here in the past (Fig. 3.7). L2 represents the fluvial sand deposited by the river. A quartz-OSL datation of the lower part of L2, this means just above the archaeological artefact layer, revealed an age of 61 ± 7 ka (GLL code 050302).

The site of Tapada do Montinho is located at an altitude of 125 m. The archaeological artefact layer corresponds to the top level of a 14 m thick Tejo River terrace. This specific level consists of rounded pebbles of quartz in a sandy matrix. No absolute ages could be obtained for this terrace level because the sediments are not suitable for absolute dating (too old for carbon-14, too many roots for OSL dating, etc.). However, by comparison with other sections of this terrace deposit (for which datations could be obtained), we believe that it was deposited between 100 ka and 50 ka.

3.5. CONCLUSIONS Past archaeological surveys in the northeast of the Alentejo region had already identified significant human presence during the Palaeolithic times in this area of Portugal. The Palaeolithic occupations in the territory of this region were detected mainly near water courses. The research presented in this paper has once more revealed the importance of the Tejo River as fundamental land mark for the implantation of human communities. The abundance of Palaeolithic sites in the Arneiro cluster, as

The site of Pegos do Tejo is located in a lower landscape position, at 110 m of altitude. The sedimentary unit belongs to the same terrace deposit as the one observed in Tapada do Montinho, but is located in a lower strati24

THE PALAEOLITHIC OCCUPATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN ALENTEJO (PORTUGAL): A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH

Fig. 3.7. Tejo River course during Middle Palaeolithic times

Further, the use of absolute dating methods (OSL) allowed to control the artefact-based chronology of the human occupation, as the ascription of chronologies based only on typological and morphological artefact criteria can often result in conclusions that distort the real image of the human evolution during Palaeolithic times.

some sites of more recent chronologies, is an example of this indubitable significance. Another conclusion that can be draw in this preliminary phase of the project, is that the digging campaigns that took and still take place in this area already have demonstrated the existence of well preserved Palaeolithic occupations. This good preservation of the sites and their stratigraphy contributes to the viability of geomorphological research, so that an insight could be gained into the environmental context of the human occupation. By this multidisciplinary, geoarchaeological approach, we now have an idea of the landscape in which the Middle Paleolithic humans were living. The Tejo river was characterised by a different, North-South course, and the people settled on the shores of the river.

The Palaeolithic cluster of Arneiro, considering the amount of data already obtained, can play a major role in enlightening the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic, the definition of the Middle Palaeolithic occupation and the boundary between this period and Upper Palaeolithic of this region, of Iberian Peninsula and in the wider context of Prehistoric Europe.

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Chapter 4 EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO Enrique CERRILLO CUENCA Instituto de Arqueología de Mérida Resumen: Se discuten algunas cuestiones sobre la aparición de la agricultura en la zona extremeña del Tajo. La documentación de poblamiento epipaleolítico datado en el VIII milenio en el área ribereña del Tajo nos permite relacionar toda una serie de evidencias gráficas con los primeros contextos documentados de este tipo en la zona. Además, se resumen los logros obtenidos sobre el estudio del Neolítico Antiguo en los últimos años con la excavación de sitios como Los Barruecos o Garganta Canaleja. Las cuestiones abiertas sobre el proceso de neolitización cierran este trabajo, que pretende ser un balance de las actuaciones realizadas en este sector y plantear perspectivas futuras en torno a la explicación del Neolítico en un sector aparentemente vacío de poblamiento como era el Tajo interior. Palabras clave: cuenca extremeña del Tajo; Epipaleolítico; Neolítico Abstract: Some questions about the rising of agriculture in the region of Tagus in Extremadura are discussed. The information about Mesolithic dwelling dated in the VIIIth millennium cal BC in the riverine area of Tagus let us to correlate a set of graphical evidences with the first known context in the area. Moreover, we summarize some achievements on the study of Early Neolithic in the sites of Los Barruecos and Canaleja Gorge during the last years. The opened questions about the process of neolithization are also treated. This works intends to be a balance of archaeological actuations in this sector and to plan further perspectives about the explanation of Neolithic in an apparently inhabited territory as Tagus was supposed to be. Key words: basin of Tagus in Extremadura; Mesolithic; Neolithic

partir del análisis crítico de ciertos aspectos del registro arqueológico durante el proceso previo de formación de los paisajes agrícolas que se inician en esta área a partir del VI milenio para consolidarse, según todas las evidencias arqueológicas disponibles a partir del IV milenio cal BC.

4.1. UNA INTRODUCCIÓN CADA VEZ MÁS INNECESARIA Durante los últimos años el Área de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares se ha centrado en el análisis del territorio de los grupos productores de la cuenca del Tajo teniendo en cuenta que marcadores gráficos y elementos megalíticos forman parte de un mismo sistema cultural con una decidida vocación de establecimiento territorial (Bueno y Balbín 2000, 2000b; Bueno et al. 2004a). Los trabajos desarrollados en la cuenca interior del Tajo, y de manera especial en torno a La Raya luso-extremeña ponen de manifiesto esta realidad a partir de una visión diversa a partir tanto del arte rupestre como de auténticos conjuntos megalíticos, y cada vez con una presencia mayor, los datos del poblamiento, que ahora juegan un papel de ineludible referencia a la hora de comprender el modelo de ocupación del territorio de los grupos neolíticos y calcolíticos. Son ya algunos los avances concretos que en torno al poblamiento la cuenca interior del Tajo se han efectuado en distintos entornos de actuación.

Quizás resulte superfluo tratar aquí todos los problemas de interpretación que se ha generado del análisis del territorio durante el Holoceno inicial y la evolución de las distintas hipótesis de interpretación de estos procesos. Las propuestas publicadas para esta área geográfica atendían básicamente a la ocupación megalítica del territorio, y a ciertas evidencias de poblamiento, por ejemplo fortificaciones y otros tipos de poblados calcolíticos, que acaban por resumir la realidad de las ocupaciones prehistóricas en un teórico proceso de expansión muy polarizada entre agricultura y ganadería desde finales del IV milenio cal BC. Durante la década de 1980, el panorama científico se decantó por admitir el vacío de poblamiento de este sector desde los inicios del Holoceno. Tanto la aparición del megalitismo como las actividades agrícolas estaba por tanto condicionada a la consideración de un proceso de expansión demográfica como único recurso.

El tema de estas jornadas, enfocadas al análisis de los primitivos territorios neolíticos y calcolíticos del Tajo Internacional, no nos es ajeno al haber desarrollado una propuesta sobre el desarrollo cultural de este sector del Tajo durante el primer tramo del Neolítico recientemente (Cerrillo Cuenca 2005). La incorporación de datos a ese mismo tramo temporal nos obliga a revisar de una manera periódica algunas de las premisas vertidas en torno a la neolitización del Tajo interior. Por tanto, el objetivo principal de este trabajo es actualizar en parte el conocimiento que tenemos de este periodo concreto a

Si bien algunas manifestaciones tan expresivas como los cérvidos grabados de las rocas de Fratel, datados estilísticamente en una fase naturalista que iniciaba el arte del Tajo (Baptista, 1981), daban crédito a la existencia de poblamiento antes del establecimiento definitivo de los paisajes agrícolas, este extremo cobra mayor validez ahora con la investigación desarrollada en el poblamiento tanto de las márgenes del Guadiana como las del Tajo. De 27

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1984), Los Barruecos (Sauceda 1986) o de un modo muy neto en el Cerro de la Horca (González Cordero et al. 1991), único yacimiento en el que la identificación de horizontes “tardo-neolíticos” sellados había sido determinante en la caracterización del primer “horizonte” neolítico.

este modo las superposiciones presentes en los conjuntos rupestres conocidos, seriados estilísticamente pero no con referencias expresas a una cronología concreta, pueden ser considerados hoy en día como un argumento de la continuidad poblacional, y lo que resulta más interesante desde el punto de vista del poblamiento, de la superposición de concepciones del paisaje en los mismos espacios (Bueno et al. 2000 y 2004a) Sin duda, en un inicio, el poblamiento y una serie de elementos significativos del paisaje, entre los que podríamos incluir dólmenes y marcadores gráficos, van a interpretarse de manera aislada impidiendo una valoración conjunta de todo el proceso.

Nuestro trabajo a partir de la última década ha tratado de explicar por un lado el proceso de formación de las primeras comunidades agrícolas, y de manera más laxa su conexión real con las evidencias de poblamiento que se han venido datando a lo largo del IV milenio cal BC. El principal argumento que empleamos es el de una evidente continuidad poblacional durante el Holoceno, cuyas primeras manifestaciones han comenzado a evidenciarse por dataciones absolutas desde al menos el VIII milenio cal BC. A la definición de esa fase previa y a los problemas reales de documentación arqueológica que se plantean para establecer un modelo de adopción de la agricultura en torno a la cuenca interior del Tajo dedicaremos las siguientes páginas.

El megalitismo fue durante la década de 1980 y 1990 la referencia obligada para el análisis de ese tipo de lecturas económicas. A lo largo de todo este tiempo, distintos trabajos han insistido en la vinculación entre megalitos y distintos tipos de actividades agrícolas, entre las que siempre ha destacado la ganadería como actividad preferente si se tenía en cuenta la valoración de los terrenos que ocupaban los megalitos (Galán y Martín 1991-92), como entornos económicos de distintas capacidades agro-pecuarias actuales (Oliveira 1997a), pero en cualquier caso con una más que decidida fijación al territorio y a sus posibilidades de explotación (Bueno 2000: 40-41), entre las que destacaría su implantación en territorios con posibilidades de uso mixto. La interpretación por tanto, se dirigía hacia el megalitismo como elemento sobresaliente en el registro arqueológico actual y con un peso muy relevante en la organización territorial de los grupos neolíticos y calcolíticos extremeños, pero existía un vacío importante en torno a los espacios de hábitat más antiguos, los de los grupos neolíticos.

4.2. EN BUSCA DE UN COMIENZO: EL EPIPALEOLÍTICO Los diversos modelos trazados para explicar la presencia de las primeras evidencias de agricultura en as áreas interiores de la Península Ibérica han topado de una manera u otra con la necesidad de explicar la presencia de poblamiento previo en estas áreas para validar o rechazar la cuestión de un proceso de colonización agrícola del interior. Es un hecho que muchas de las propuestas publicadas antes del cambio de siglo han incidido en negar la presencia de poblamiento en las áreas interiores peninsulares antes del IV milenio cal BC, y que por tanto la generalización de la agricultura sólo habría podido explicarse desde un puro proceso de expansión démica desde áreas aledañas.

La ausencia de un poblamiento estable ha sido otro de los puntos que se han tratado con mayor recurrencia, tratando de ver en los últimos desarrollos del Neolítico Final el origen del Calcolítico y su disociación real con los elementos megalíticos que probablemente corresponderían a un desarrollo anterior (Hurtado 1995).

Del mismo modo que las dataciones neolíticas de varios yacimientos interiores permitían cuestionar la idea de un proceso retardatario en la llegada de la agricultura, no citaremos aquí una lista de casos que va en progresivo aumento, una realidad muy similar parecen experimentar los yacimientos del primer tramo del Holoceno. Frente a la indeterminación que mostraba la seriación tipológica de algunos conjuntos como el de La Dehesa en Salamanca (Fabián 1997), en los últimos años parece más probable que las cuencas interiores de los grandes ríos peninsulares estuvieran ya pobladas desde los inicios del Holoceno. Una cuestión que hoy parece tender a lo evidente, teniendo en cuenta la proliferación de estudios que se ha conocido en el análisis de los grupos del Paleolítico Superior, tanto a partir del incremento en la documentación de arte rupestre (Balbín y Alcolea 2003) como en la posibilidad real de un poblamiento que comienza a datarse y comprenderse bajo nuevos supuestos (Ripoll y Muñoz 2003). La discontinuidad poblacional en la que se ha basado la investigación parece desvanecerse desde el

La presencia de algunas cerámicas impresas, similares a las de otros conjuntos peninsulares tratados como epicardiales o “post-cardiales” o incluso como pertenecientes a una evolución del Neolítico Antiguo, permitía establecer la sospecha real de un poblamiento previo que generalmente se tildó como “Tardo-Neolítico” (González Cordero et al. 1988) a la espera de contar con dataciones absolutas, y lo que resulta más importante, sin una confirmación cronológica real, que nos obligaba a mantener el IV milenio no calibrado como margen más probable para el desarrollo de estas ocupaciones (Cerrillo Cuenca 1999: 127). Hasta la década de 1990, y refiriéndonos a la Extremadura española, la identificación de “horizontes tardoneolíticos” había resultado siempre tan aleatoria como ligada a programas de investigación específicamente orientados al estudio del Calcolítico, casos de El Conejar (Sauceda 28

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

Explicar su presencia no resulta fácil toda vez que no hay asociaciones específicas con materiales arqueológicos u otros elementos caracterizadores de un paisaje habitado, pero son una posible evidencia de fenómenos de ocupación.

momento que los estudios acometidos en ciertos territorios comienzan a ofrecer datos reales de poblamiento. Así no resulta extraño que sitios del interior portugués como Prazo (Monteiro y Angelucci 2000) o Barca do Xarez Baixo (Almeida et al. 1999) hayan sido datados recientemente en el VIII milenio cal BC, atestiguando que el “desierto interior” es en sí un presupuesto más teórico que real. En el lado español, empezamos a ver la correspondencia de esta misma ocupación en la cuenca del Tajo. En la provincia de Cáceres conocemos ya dos entornos datados en ese mismo segmento temporal, si bien las atribuciones materiales, de manera específica las series líticas, siguen siendo de difícil caracterización, aunque apreciemos dos tendencias que deberán refutarse a medida que nuevos contextos vayan siendo conocidos.

La reunificación de estos datos y su relación con el arte rupestre del Tajo, como algunos cérvidos de las rocas de Fratel (Baptista 1981) y hallazgos de cortes naturalistas como el cérvido del abrigo del Paso de Pablo (González y Alvarado 1993) o el cérvido infrapuesto a los antropomorfos de la cueva del Castillo de Monfragüe (Collado 2004) van definiendo un ambiente cultural cuyos elementos tienen un recorrido parejo al de otras áreas peninsulares donde el conocimiento del Epipaleolítico está marcado por el desarrollo de elementos cronológicos y estilísticos, en el caso del arte rupestre, semejantes.

El primer yacimiento que caracteriza una de esas tendencias es la cueva de El Conejar, donde se ha datado recientemente una ocupación epipaleolítica en el VIII milenio cal BC (Canals et al. 2005), localizada en una pequeña brecha caliza adosada a la pared de la cueva. Al parecer a esta ocupación se puede adscribir una industria lítica realizada en cantos de cuarcita o cuarzo tallados unifacial o bifacialmente que entroncan con toda la tradición de lo que tradicionalmente se ha denominado “langedocense” en el occidente peninsular, y que está bien caracterizada por las dataciones de sitios Palheirões de Alegra (Raposo 1994). Un elemento a tener en cuenta es la aparición de una plaquita de pizarra decorada con decoraciones lineales que recuerda a otras halladas en la Dehesa (Fabián 1997).

Pese a este notable incremento de datos hay dos aspectos que deben resaltarse. El primero de ellos es que no puede trazar con nitidez el tránsito de los grupos epipaleolíticos a los productores: el nivel de información es tan débil, y sobre todo el rango de dataciones absolutas es tan escueto, que nuestros datos se encuentran circunscritos a un periodo de tiempo en el que no es posible diseñar un modelo preciso de tránsito entre ambos tipos de entidades. Pese a esa aparente desventaja en relación a otras áreas mejor estudiadas, lo que sí es seguro es que la valoración del despoblamiento previo al VI milenio cal BC como argumento que valida la colonización neolítica es una cuestión que debería dejarse a un lado a raíz de los datos que el interior peninsular va ofreciendo (Arias et al. e.p.). El sector extremeño del Tajo no parece por tanto ajeno a esa dinámica, y como hipótesis de trabajo resultaría posible que un incremento en los trabajos de documentación aumentaran la información disponible.

Las últimas aportaciones dentro de este campo de trabajo son las dataciones absolutas de un hogar (Tabla 1) en los niveles inferiores del abrigo de Canaleja II en la Garganta Canaleja (Romangordo, Cáceres). La industria lítica asociada a este sitio es muy escasa, se caracteriza por escasos geométricos e industria microlaminar, pero difieren de los materiales que la excavación de El Conejar ha puesto de relieve.

La segunda cuestión que se nos plantea a raíz de este tipo de hallazgos es que se están marcando desde un inicio ciertas bases para admitir la diversidad material de las ocupaciones epipaleolíticas del interior peninsular. Las industrias sobre cuarcita, y su posible convivencia con series líticas más o menos estandarizadas dentro del registro cultural de otros ámbitos peninsulares, nos permite admitir que no existen elementos definitorios per se en la caracterización industrial del Epipaleolítico de este amplio sector del Tajo, con los inconvenientes añadidos que convergen en la caracterización de este tipo de poblamiento en general. Son sin duda cuestiones que abren nuevas vías de análisis, pero que vislumbran evidencias de continuidad poblacional en torno al valle del Tajo.

Tabla 4.1. Datación de carbones procedentes del nivel V de Canaleja II (calibradas usando la curva atmosférica IntCal04, Reimer et al. 2004). Referencia laboratorio

Datación

Intervalos calibrados (95,4% de probabilidad)

Beta-214600

8740±40 BP

7940-7611 cal BC

Habría que destacar además las dataciones absolutas obtenidas en los niveles de suelo de algunos sepulcros megalíticos extremeños (Ruiz-Gálvez 2000) y portugueses (Oliveira 1997), cuya explicación resulta hoy por hoy, compleja, pero que atañe a casos similares localizados fuera de la cuenca del Tajo en otras construcciones megalíticas (Delibes y Rojo 1997).

4.3. EL ORIGEN DE LA PRODUCCIÓN EN EL TAJO INTERIOR Nuestro trabajo en la cuenca extremeña del Tajo se decantaba por admitir un origen temprano de lo que denominábamos “paisajes de producción” (Cerrillo 29

E. CERRILLO CUENCA

aunque no se cuentan con dataciones absolutas de los niveles con cerámicas impresas. De ese modo parece que el establecimiento territorial de las ocupaciones neolíticas sobre el terreno es bastante homogéneo, y que la producción agrícola parece ir relacionada con distintos modelos de ocupación del paisaje.

Cuenca 2005: 148), al menos en relación con la propuesta tradicional de secuencia en Extremadura, que admitía únicamente los prolegómenos del III milenio sin calibrar como momento en el que se conforma el primer poblamiento agrícola del tramo del Guadiana (Hurtado 1995). El análisis del origen de la agricultura en el Tajo era una cuestión peor definida por la falta de datos arqueológicos de producción, así como una patente ausencia de estratigrafías con dataciones absolutas para la secuencia neolítica.

Las prácticas ganaderas están no obstante peor documentadas, entre los huesos recuperados en la fase I de Los Barruecos no se han encontrado indicadores claros de ganadería, excepto por la presencia de una calcáneo cuya adscripción a la variedad doméstica de la oveja es problemática (Morales 2006). Los análisis palinológicos, para los yacimientos descritos parecen ser momentáneamente la única opción válida para identificar situaciones de presión ganadera, habida cuenta de la ausencia de huesos de mamíferos en Canaleja II.

Con el fin de salvar estos problemas iniciamos en 2001 una serie de campañas de excavación en el yacimiento de Los Barruecos (Cerrillo Cuenca 2006) que posibilitaran frenar las barreras a las que venimos haciendo referencia. De este modo los resultados obtenidos en su primera fase de ocupación avalaban la presencia de una actividad antrópica de baja intensidad en este sector concreto en el tránsito del VI al V milenio cal BC, en la que la agricultura parece tener una cierta representatividad. Pese a que desarrollaremos estos datos con más detalle a continuación, nos gustaría resaltar desde un principio que los datos de esta ocupación no suponen la evidencia de la primera ocupación agrícola del Tajo extremeño, si no el establecimiento provisional de una cronología en la que ya conocemos por un caso concreto que las prácticas agrícolas están fijadas en el territorio (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2005: 942), a la espera de lo que otros datos obtenidos en el entorno del Tajo permitan corregir o calibrar esa perspectiva.

Actualmente conocemos en la provincia de Cáceres más de una veintena de localizaciones geográficas repartidas esencialmente por las comarcas más orientales de la provincia de Cáceres (La Vera y Campo Arañuelo) y la penillanura cacereña. Tal distribución es sin lugar a dudas totalmente aleatoria, pues son las zonas donde se cuentan con análisis más profundos del poblamiento prehistórico. No debería extrañar que una ampliación de los trabajos en las áreas aledañas al Tajo Internacional tendría como consecuencia una verdadera ampliación del número de localizaciones con cerámicas impresas. Desde la perspectiva del paisaje resulta necesario tener en cuenta la distribución del poblamiento en el espacio de la cuenca del Tajo. El estudio pormenorizado de una pauta de asentamiento, permitiría discernir, como hemos propuesto en otro sitio (Cerrillo Cuenca e.p.) hasta que punto la creación de los primeros paisajes agrícolas obedece a una implantación de características homogéneas o se puede rastrear en ellos una diversidad de elementos que indicaran la presencia de un sustrato poblacional previo que admite y rechaza novedades, y sobre todo con una tradición de explotación del medio muy diversificada.

Los trabajos en Los Barruecos permitieron obtener una secuencia neolítica recientemente publicada (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2006) que comprende tres episodios de ocupación durante el Neolítico. La fase más antigua fue datada en el intervalo cronológico 5054-4852 cal BC en correspondencia con otras ocupaciones similares del interior peninsular. Los datos de producción obtenidos en esta fase incluyen el cultivo cereal, que desgraciadamente no pudo documentarse en forma de semillas, pero sí a través del análisis de fitolitos (Juan y Matamala 2006) y de manera más específica a partir del registro palinológico analizado (López Sáez et al. 2005). Esta situación de producción se refuerza con el hallazgo de estructuras de almacenaje, silos cubiertos, excavadas en la capa de descomposición de los granitos, que van teniendo cierta visibilidad en los yacimientos neolíticos del occidente ibérico (Cerrillo Cuenca e.p). Exceptuando esta situación de producción, bien definida, son pocos los indicadores que tenemos registrados en la cuenca extremeña del Tajo. Las semillas de trigo desnudo y escanda halladas en la cueva de El Conejar (Canals et al. 2005) no cuentan con dataciones absolutas y su adscripción a la ocupación neolítica sigue siendo bastante problemática.

Hay que recalcar que en la actualidad los datos son muy desiguales, dado que hay una inexistencia de prospecciones sistemáticas en las distintas comarcas agrícolas que componen la provincia de Cáceres (Fig. 4.1). Un reparto desigual que no puede explicarse por la preferencia real de determinado tipo de paisajes en el establecimiento de los asentamientos, sino a factores positivos y negativos que posibilitan o impiden su identificación, que en cualquier caso acaban por distorsionar nuestra imagen de la ocupación neolítica en el entorno. La imagen actual del poblamiento neolítico del Tajo extremeño es la de los poblados establecidos sobre litologías graníticas que predominan de un modo claro sobre cualquier otro tipo de localización geológica. Por ejemplo, los datos del reborde de La Meseta, en la provincia de Salamanca (Fabián 1995), en Ávila (Gutiérrez 1966) o en la plataforma del Mondego (Valera 2005), por no hablar de las amplias

Los análisis palinológicos del Cerro de la Horca (López Sáez et al. 2007) y Canaleja 2 (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2007) indican que en estos dos contextos, poblado al aire libre y abrigo, respectivamente se documentan prácticas de producción mediante la presencia de polen de cereal, 30

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

Fig. 4.1. Distribución del poblamiento de Neolítico Antiguo en Cáceres en el que se aprecia la aleatoriedad de la distribución de los yacimientos, a falta de programas de prospección orientados

coincidencias que parecen existir en torno al establecimiento de los poblados neolíticos alentejanos, cuyo caso paradigmático en sin lugar a dudas Valada do Mato (Diniz 2003). Parecería que la pauta de ocupación preferente de estos primeros poblados va a establecerse en las áreas graníticas del Macizo Hespérico y con cierta uniformidad sobre esta litología.

4.4. PERSPECTIVAS RESUELTAS Y CUESTIONES ABIERTAS El análisis del poblamiento en el Tajo extremeño presenta algunas cuestiones abiertas en torno al proceso de introducción de la agricultura. En los últimos tiempos (Cerrillo Cuenca 2005; e.p.) he venido poniendo de relieve que existe una necesidad real de definir el grado de variación que existe en la formación de las distintas comunidades agrícolas del interior peninsular. A finales de la década de 1980 L. Municio (1988: 308) propugnaba por definir si el Neolítico del área interior peninsular respondía a una realidad homogénea o si por el contrario podrían encontrarse rasgos comunes que separaran distintos aspectos. En la actualidad, pese a que se ha incrementado la información en torno a los yacimientos neolíticos del interior peninsular, el grado de entropía entre los diversos grupos neolíticos peninsulares es una cuestión que está por dirimir. El planteamiento de un Neolítico tardío para el área interior peninsular desconectado temporalmente de los focos más antiguos de la neolitización peninsular fomentaba especialmente la

Si bien esa presunción choca de una manera radical con la documentación de poblados sobre pizarras, o de un modo más claro, con el establecimiento de los yacimientos en entornos de ribero, según ha publicado A. González Cordero (1999) en la zona de Navalmoral, o nosotros mismos para el caso del yacimiento del Pantano de Valdecañas junto a El Gordo (Cerrillo Cuenca y González 2006: 186). Actualmente, la inmersión de amplias áreas de ribero bajo los embalses del Tajo impide reconocer si en estas áreas la localización de poblamiento hubiera resultado positiva. Por otro lado el escaso horizonte edafológico de las litologías formadas por materiales de origen sedimentario habría impedido la conservación de la evidencia en este entorno concreto. 31

E. CERRILLO CUENCA

reparábamos en aquel entonces en la existencia de una brecha entre las dataciones epipaleolíticas de El Conejar y las de Los Barruecos (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2002: 110), que efectivamente se convertía en una limitación a la hora de establecer procesos. La documentación de un hábitat, si es que así puede denominarse, del VIII milenio cal BC en la cueva 2 de Garganta Canaleja (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2007) no supera esta limitación, pero incide en la presencia de un poblamiento previo, que frecuentemente fue negado (Zilhão 2003) en las posturas que incidían en la difusión démica como explicación de la neolitización.

idea evolucionista de las decoraciones cerámicas como elementos de datación, abundando en la idea que ya fuera expresada por Guilaine y Ferreira (1970) con el paradigma de la regionalización estilística de las cerámicas post-cardiales. Ese argumento, que puede rebatirse abiertamente con algunas cronologías ciertamente antiguas de las provincias más interiores como Soria (Kunst y Rojo 2000) o Madrid (Jiménez 2005), sigue siendo empleado en las interpretaciones más generalistas sobre el Neolítico peninsular (Juan-Cabanilles y Martí 2002). Que los patrones decorativos de la cerámica no describen necesariamente modelos de transición entre comunidades de signo cazador-recolector y agricultor debería ser una base en el desarrollo de futuros trabajos en toda la zona del Tajo (Cerrillo Cuenca 2005: 95). La existencia de dos fragmentos con decoraciones de “estilo cardial” de cierta indefinición en El Conejar y Boquique desde luego no soporta ningún tipo de planteamiento de difusión. Más bien parece que conjuntos más occidentales como Valada do Mato, donde es abundante la cerámica cardial, tienen cronologías parejas (Diniz 2003: 79) a las del nivel más antiguo de Los Barruecos, donde recordemos no se documentaron cardiales, y los rasgos de producción económica están bien definidos. Incluso más al interior, dataciones más antiguas como las de la fase I de La Vaquera (Estremera 2003) no muestran tan siquiera fragmento alguno de cerámica cardial.

Como ya señalé más arriba, la imagen de la expansión del poblamiento neolítico sobre un fondo geológico común, con la que se ha querido explicar por ejemplo la colonización de Europa Central (Bogucki 2003: 263) no puede aplicarse al Neolítico Antiguo del Tajo, pese a que algunos rasgos puedan insinuarlo. El uso de cuevas y la enorme incidencia de hábitats al aire libre vuelven a sugerir una interesante complementariedad que a todas luces se define por la existencia de una agricultura desarrollada en un ambiente de débil intervención sobre el medio. Tal vez sea de ese poco agresivo uso del medio donde se pueda inferir el desarrollo de una economía agrícola aún basada en un sistema aún basado en la recolección de los recursos silvestres, como de manera muy puntual se ha confirmado en los análisis realizados en Los Barruecos con el procesado de bellotas (Juan-Treserras y Matamala 2006) y que nos lleva a comenzar un análisis de largo recorrido como es el de la explotación de bosque esclerófilo durante todo el desarrollo del Neolítico (López Sáez et al. 2007). Aún así el problema sigue siendo medir el grado de tradicionalismo de ciertas industrias de los primeros momentos de la neolitización. En los únicos contextos conservados in situ y excavados (Cerro de la Horca, Barruecos y Canaleja 2) la industria lítica es tan pobre que no permite más que una breve caracterización tipológica (Gibaja y Cerrillo Cuenca 2007) en la que se reflejan de manera muy escueta geométricos y industrias microlaminares, muchas veces con retoques abruptos o semi-abruptos, con un amplio devenir en su desarrollo. Tan sólo algunos segmentos de círculo corrientes en algunos yacimientos permiten evidenciar un indicio de novedad en estas industrias.

Puede afirmarse que a medida que se avanza en el conocimiento arqueológico de los primeros agricultores del Tajo extremeño, y del interior peninsular en general, comenzamos a encontrar un grado de diversificación bien visible en el que es admisible que no siempre los primeros horizontes de neolitización estén formados por un poblamiento caracterizado por cerámicas cardiales. La variabilidad de modelos de explotación del paisaje, y lo que es más interesante, de manifestaciones materiales en momentos sincrónicos nos permiten valorar el entorno del Tajo como un espacio formado desde la diversidad de situaciones. En todo caso el límite real que encontramos para definir de un modo más objetivo ese tránsito entre un hipotético Mesolítico y un Neolítico Antiguo es la propia calidad de la información arqueológica y de manera mucho más especial el escaso nivel de resolución que ofrecen las cronologías absolutas en este sector peninsular. Nuestras propuestas más recientes en torno a la explicación de la transición entre un hipotético Mesolítico local y un desarrollo pleno de la agricultura (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2007) inciden en que es preciso superar el nivel de “eventualidad” que existe en la identificación de determinadas situaciones y lograr: a) una serie de datos de nuevos yacimientos que cubran el lapso cronológico entre el Epipaleolítico y el Neolítico, b) una interpretación del proceso de implantación del Neolítico desde el análisis del paisaje y c) la identificación de rasgos de “tradición” en los modelos de explotación del medio y otros elementos materiales del Neolítico Antiguo.

La presencia de poblamiento previo en sí nos obliga a tener en cuenta a un contingente de población previo en la explicación de los procesos de neolitización. Que encontremos ciertos límites en las vías de análisis descritas no impide que aboguemos por considera un proceso culturalmente complejo, en el que posiblemente tengan mucho que decir las redes de intercambio ya establecidas desde el inicio del proceso. El modelo de capilaridad, ya propuesto para el caso de la Península Ibérica por otros autores (Vicent 1996), nos parece una alternativa interesante si consideramos que, no tanto las fechas del Tajo como las de áreas más interiores, describen un proceso sobre el territorio muy rápido,

Media década atrás publicábamos la primera de las dataciones absolutas del Neolítico Antiguo de Los Barruecos, 32

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

señalan un intervalo de unos 1500 años de distancia (Cerrillo Cuenca et al. 2007). No obstante, los análisis polínicos y faunísticos que se han efectuado en este yacimiento marcan un interesante incremento de la intervención humana sobre el medio que sólo puede ser comprendida dentro de una amplia perspectiva de intensificación (Cerrillo Cuenca 2005) y una continuidad poblacional, completamente paralela al desarrollo del megalitismo. Una vez más en este punto debemos tratar de superar la noción de “evento” para tratar de explicar cuáles son los cauces por los cuales se produce una definitiva consolidación de la agricultura en todo el recorrido interior del Tajo.

coetáneo diríamos dada la escasa resolución que aportan las fechas en la descripción del proceso. Para finalizar añadiríamos que el problema fundamental en el estudio del Neolítico del Tajo sigue siendo el de la continuidad de los hábitats en momentos más avanzados de la secuencia. Los sitios excavados no muestran realmente una continuidad más allá del V milenio, al igual que ocurre en Portugal (Calado y Rocha 2007). En el único sitio en el que se aprecia una superposición estratigráfica es el de Los Barruecos, aunque la discontinuidad estratigráfica entre las dos ocupaciones es evidente y está avalada por las dataciones de AMS entre ambas que

Fig. 4.2. Visión tridimensional del valle de la Garganta Canaleja (Romangordo, Cáceres)

33

E. CERRILLO CUENCA

Fig. 4.3. Evidencias de presencia humana durante el Post-glaciar en torno al Tajo: poblamiento datado (Canaleja II y Conejar) y elementos gráficos (Paso de Pablo, Monfragüe y conjunto de representaciones del Tajo en Fratel)

Fig. 4.4. Planta de Canaleja II, lugar de donde proceden las dataciones de VIII milenio cal BC de la Garganta Canaleja

34

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

Fig. 4.5. Diagrama de calibración de la datación del nivel V de Canaleja II

Fig. 4.6. Placa decorada con incisiones procedente de la cueva de El Conejar

Fig. 4.7. Principales yacimientos neolíticos excavados que se mencionan en el texto 35

E. CERRILLO CUENCA

Figura 4.8. Los Barruecos, planta del área excavada en la fase I (Neolítico Antiguo)

Figura 4.9. Material neolítico procedente de Canaleja I, hallado sin ningún tipo de contexto estratigráfico 36

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

Fig. 4.10. Material contextualizado (nivel 3) de Canaleja II, perteneciente al Neolítico Antiguo

Fig. 4.11. Los recipientes de contención de la fase I de Los Barruecos son un elemento diagnóstico de la situación de producción documentada en la misma 37

E. CERRILLO CUENCA

Fig. 4.12. Distintos modelos de ocupación del paisaje neolítico. 1. Los Barruecos, en área llana protegida por bolos graníticos, 2. Boquique, abrigo localizado a media ladera, 3. El Conejar, cavidad localizada en un entorno llano 38

EL PRIMER POBLAMIENTO AGRÍCOLA DEL TAJO EXTREMEÑO

Fig. 4.13. Un ejemplo de la distribución de hábitats neolíticos en torno a la penillanura cacereña que ocupan distintas geologías y modalidades de poblamiento: El Conejar cueva en calizas, abrigos en granito (Atambores y Peña Aguilera) y una serie de poblados al aire libre sobre granitos (Barruecos, Cerro de la Horca, Castillejos II) y excepcionalmente sobre pizarra (Cerro del Acebuche)

39

Chapter 5 THE NECROPOLIS OF ERA DE LA LAGUNA, SANTIAGO DE ALCÁNTARA, CÁCERES, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEGALITHISM OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS Primitiva BUENO RAMIREZ, Rosa BARROSO BERMEJO & Rodrigo de BALBÍN BEHRMANN Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Abstract: The historiographic development from the 1990’s until the present has placed the region of the International Tagus as one of the most interesting platforms for the discussion of the reality of the evolutive sequences applied to the south-western megalithism. The result of these has led to new research lines that have considerably enriched a panorama that was essentially static since the 1950’s and practically since the late 20th century. The project “Graphical markers and megalith builders”, of which are latest interventions at Santiago de Alcántara are part, had as a central objective the integration of data regarding funerary sites, habitational sites, paintings and engravings in order to put forward a global assessment of the megalithic territories of the region. Since our first research at Santiago de Alcántara we were aware of the megalithic richness of the district and the choice of a necropolis to which to dedicate our efforts had to respond to a series of parameters that would allow it to be used as a case study for the remaining cemeteries of the area at which it would probably be more difficult to excavate. Era de La Laguna corresponded to our expectatives in terms of intervisibility with the most important natural monument of the region, the hills of Sierra de San Pedro, and the clearest evidence of cultural integration with the rock painting bearing shelter of El Buraco. The distinguished position of monument III led it to be the first to be excavated. Its archaeological information later led to its consolidation which has made the monument visitable to the public. A large chambered tomb was signalled by a statue-menhir upon a mound and possessed a monumental facade in front of which we documented the first structure of external deposits documented in the area. The structure of Lagunita III and particularly the grave goods have been the object of different analyses, some of which were applied to the contents of the pottery. Indeed, the plates and carinated dishes show evidence of foodstuffs. Elements which make possible a reconstruction of the practices associated with the death of the ancestors include the documentation of ochre mixed with animal fat and of sculptures and engravings which connect this necropolis with the creators of the engravings of the Tagus and the paintings of the Sierra. Key words: Megalithism; International Tagus; Territory; Graphical markers; Paintings; Chalcolithic Resumen: La evolución historiográfica desde los años 90 hasta ahora, ha situado a la región del Tajo Internacional como una de las más interesantes plataformas de discusión y reflexión sobre la realidad de las secuencias evolutivas aplicadas al megalitismo suroccidental. El resultado de éstas ha conducido a nuevas perspectivas investigadoras, que han enriquecido sensiblemente un panorama, prácticamente estático desde los años 50 hasta casi el final del siglo XX. El proyecto “Marcadores gráficos y constructores de megalitos” en el que se insertan nuestras últimas intervenciones en Santiago de Alcántara, tenía como principal objetivo incardinar los datos de yacimientos funerarios, de habitación, pinturas y grabados con el fin de proponer una valoración global de los territorios megalíticos de la región. Desde nuestros primeros trabajos en Santiago de Alcántara éramos conscientes de la riqueza megalítica del término y elegir una necrópolis para dedicarle nuestros esfuerzos, debía reunir una serie de parámetros que permitieran utilizarla como caso de estudio respecto al restos de los cementerios del término, en los que muy probablemente nos sería más difícil intervenir. Era de La Laguna respondía a nuestras expectativas de intervisibilidad con el monumento natural más notorio de la región, la Sierra y su evidencia más clara de integración cultural, el abrigo con pinturas de El Buraco. La destacada posición del monumento III lo erigió en el primero de los intervenidos. Su información arqueológica ha dado lugar a una consolidación posterior que hace visitable el monumento. Una gran cámara con corredor estuvo señalada con una estela-mnehir sobre el túmulo y dispuso de una fachada monumental ante la cual hemos documentado la primera estructura de depósitos exteriores en todo el sector. El zócalo de Lagunita III y todo su dispositivo de ofrendas, ha sido objeto de distintas analíticas, entre ellas de las aplicadas a los contenidos de la cerámica que demuestran la inclusión de conservas alimenticias en platos y cazuelas carenadas. Las posibilidades de proponer una reconstrucción de los gestos relacionados con la muerte de los ancestros, incluyen la documentación de ocre con aglutinante de grasa animal y la documentación de esculturas y grabados, que conectan a los constructores de esta necrópolis con los realizadores de los grabados del Tajo y de las pinturas de la Sierra. Palabras clave: megalitos; Tajo Internacional; territorio; grafías; pinturas; Calcolítico

marked by painted and engraved symbols, which broadly define our study area.

5.1. INTRODUCTION The research projects carried out by our team throughout the Interior Tagus Basin fitted from the outset with our main research line that attempted to relate the position of the megaliths and of their builders within a territory

The Tagus Basin, as an interior peninsular territory, fulfilled the parameters that had been defined by the late pre-historic cultures, that corresponded to unstructured 41

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Fig. 5.1. Map of the Tagus Basin with paintings, engravings and decorated megalithic monuments

Fig. 5.2. Necropolis of small monuments in the International Tagus: 1.- Vila Velha de Ródão; 2.- Cedillo; 3.- Herrera de Alcántara; 4.- Valencia de Alcántara; 5.- Santiago de Alcántara; 6.- Rosmaninhal; 7.- Alcántara; 8.- Brozas; 9.- Garrovillas; 10.- Sierra de San Pedro; 11.- Hurdes-Gata; 12.- Montehermoso; 13.- Jaraiz de la Vera; 14.- La Cumbre.

groups with little demographic entity and low social complexity.

The strategy applied was to work in the sectors considered most conflictive in the hypothesis of a real division between the chronologies of the megaliths of Portugal and those of Extremadura, and between the latter and those of the area of Toledo. The topic of this meeting, the International Tagus, has led us to frame the issues addressed in these pages within this particular context.

The supposed demographic scarcity lay in contrast to the presence of megalithic monuments, especially in the western area of Cáceres. Our work therefore focused on the archaeological recording of the monuments that had been thought to be a millennium later in date than their Portuguese counterparts (Almagro, 1962) and on the study of the interior megalithic phenomenon, thus defining a coherent study-unit given the little difference between the two territories.

When we began our project at Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1988), the megalithism of Extremadura was characterised by the exclusive presence of large chambers with long passages, characteristic of the apogee of the 42

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cists within the group was a fact (Bueno, 1994:87) as has been observed in other necropoli of the Southwest (Carrasco & Enriquez, 2000), and the small tombs were associated with other larger tombs with large chambers and long passages or with corbelled vaults. These associations, the grave-goods that included later materials and the identification of some Late Neolithic-Copper Age settlements nearby, suggest that the tombs that we are analysing must belong to a date range around the late fourth millennium and third millennium in calibrated dates BC (Bueno et al. 2004). The continuity of these necropoli has reached further acceptance through new finds (Cardoso et al. 2003) and confirms the hypothesis defended by Kalb (1981).

megalithic phenomenon and considered to be a result of their expansion from Portugal (Bosch, 1965). Valencia de Alcántara showed, for the first time in the megalithism of Extremadura, the presence of varied architectures, among which chambers with short passages held an important place, similar to that observed in the classical areas of Portuguese megalithism (Bueno, 1988: 202; 2000: 367). The materials, the architectures and the dates provided for the interior of the Basin (Bueno, 1991; 2000; Bueno et al. 2005) supported the Neolithic origin of the megaliths of Extremadura. Turning to the topic of this paper, Valencia de Alcántara possessed a necropolis of small monuments, built out of slate and located in the southern area of the district, precisely where the schist-based geology that defines the district of Santiago de Alcántara, Herrera and Cedillo begins.

Our hypothesis hoped, moreover, to put forward a deep reflection upon the unidirectional model that had become prevailing in the interpretation of the origin and development of the megalithism of the Southwest. According to this model, all of the small tombs would have belonged to the beginning of an architectural and ritual evolutive system that would have led to the differentiation of spaces and the lengthening of the passages in the more recent constructions.

This previously unidentified necropolis of varied monuments (Bueno, 1989) required exhaustive study, especially since the size of the monuments corresponded to that of the earliest megalithic monuments of the West (Arnaud, 1978) whilst their materials pointed towards quite a different situation.

Antiquity and architectural simplicity were added to the lack of wheat agriculture (Oliveira, 2000a; Santos, 2000: 413) to defend a view of the production of the region that did not consider the possibility of early Neolithic inhabitants. The evidence from the settlements of Los Barruecos, Caceres (Cerrillo, 2005), has however shed more light on this issue.

The identification of monuments of this type at Santiago de Alcántara led to the excavation at the necropoli located to the north of the present-day town. And it was this work that enabled us to formulate a critique of the commonplace interpretations of small monuments as the earliest in the megalithic sequences of the Southwest (Bueno, 1994).

The inclusion of a large majority of the small monuments associated with the origins of south-western megalithism within a recent chronological fork provided reasonable doubts about the generalisation of their role in the southwestern megalithic sequence. Most of the necropoli of this type fit well, as we argued at the time (Bueno, 1994:75), with the most recent dates of the megalithic phenomenon, in both the North and the South of the Iberian Peninsula (Bueno et al. 2004).

5.2. THE ARCHITECTURAL DEBATE IN THE MEGALITHISM OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS A review of the data obtained from our 1980’s excavations pointed towards issues that found echoes in the references which, since the Leisner’s (1951) work at Reguengos de Monsaraz or in their repertory of the West (1959), described necropoli similar to that identified at Santiago de Alcántara.

Such a drastic change in the traditional assumptions about south-western megalithism required a more detailed empirical basis which the continuation of our work and of that of other colleagues in the Portuguese area has provided.

We are referring to clusters that can exceed ten monuments, whose tombs are not remarkable in the diameter of their mounds nor in height, and that were built out of slate in schist areas and out of granite in areas where the geology permitted (Bueno, 1994: 86). There is abundant evidence from North to South of Caceres and, taking into account the more interior evidence from, for instance, the necropolis of La Cumbre in Toledo (Bueno et al. 2004:97), these necropoli are also found to the North of the area that we have defined, at Las Hurdes and in Salamanca, and to the South, in the area of the Guadiana.

On one hand, the polymorphism of Spanish Extremadura was defined more clearly, supporting the idea that we had put forward (Bueno, 1987, 1988) of important architectural variability, similar to that of the classic Portuguese sites. The radiocarbon dates, although few in number, have underlined that the evolutionist model that saw the origin in the simplest passage-less tombs and the most recent development in the chambers with passage does not work. There are chambers with passage with early dates from the interior of the Peninsula (Bueno et al. 2005; 2006) and the continuity of regional architectures

The state of the question that we are proposing thus considers a broad reality in which the monuments of small size were related among themselves, the presence of 43

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building materials and the terrain upon which the monuments stood in order to suggest a synchronic relationship between the large monuments and the smaller tombs and to argue that the small necropoli corresponded to herding ways of life and weakly hierarchised societies, again in line with the idea of generically early tombs and following the hypotheses of Arnaud (1978). The richer, agricultural groups would have built large granite tombs whilst the poor herders would have been the builders of the small schist monuments (Oliveira, 2000a). Their constant social and economic tension would have been made visible through the presence of a border materialised by means of the erection of standing stones in the geological divide between schist and granite.

throughout the megalithic sequence (Bueno, 2000: 67) has been confirmed by the dates provided in recent years (Oliveira, 1997; Gonçalves, 2006: 493). On the other hand, our knowledge about the territory frequented by the megalith builders has increased significantly. At present, evidence concerning settlement, data for assessing palaeo-economic reconstructions (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno, 1994; Bueno et al. 2004:8586), radiocarbon dates (Oliveira, 1997; Oliveira, 2000a) and, of course, the identification of an important group of paintings and engravings, which along with the standing stones, define the places through which the groups that occupied these regions would have moved on their everyday comings and goings (Bueno & Balbín 2000; Bueno et al. 2004a; Bueno et al. 2006a).

Since our first publications, we have insisted that pottery, polished objects, ornaments and decorated plaques make up the grave goods of the small tombs (Bueno, 1994; Bueno et al. 1998a., 1999, 2000). Moreover, many chambers display great wealth, to the same extent as the larger granite monuments with distinguished grave goods. In this sense, we argue in favour of the contemporary nature of larger and smaller tombs within an advanced phase of the regional megalithic phenomenon.

For all of these reasons, it is particularly appropriate to integrate the necropoli under consideration into this context, from which they are quite inseparable, and to take on board the implications in terms of social organisation and the occupation of an area to which we have dedicated most of our work over the past 25 years: the Spanish area of the International Tagus.

The arrangement of the small tombs around a larger one and their recurrent architectural associations have led us to define these necropoli as characteristic of social organisations in developing hierarchisation, with the capacity to produce surplus and with marked differences in the grave goods and decoration of the monuments (Bueno et al. 2000). The radiocarbon date of Trincones I (Bueno et al. 2004:95), at Alcántara, associated with incised Beaker pottery and that from the anta of Joaninha, at Cedillo (Oliveira, 2000a: 434), situated many of these constructions within the second half of the third millennium cal. BC. These dates, in turn, fit well with the more organised necropoli associated with the Chalcolithic settlements of the Peninsula. Those from the Southeast are a good illustration of our point and the structures of smaller size, such as those of Gorafe (Castellano et al. 2001) show the abundance of small architectures within funerary groups that also possess chambers with longer passages and corbelled vaulted tombs.

As we have mentioned, our interpretation produced different responses within the research context of this area. However, it is fair to say that few authors formed part of this debate, since it has only been in recent years that this region, previously thought of as marginal and of little interest to the panorama of later prehistory, has been the object of new interest. For a long time, the Associaçao de Estudos do Alto Tejo, the University of Evora and the University of Alcalá de Henares were the only teams that developed systematic research projects in this area, with different degrees of economic and institutional support. The first of these groups developed and develops the praiseworthy task of the archaeological recording of the regional megalithism, that has always taken into account the rich graphical reality (Henriques et al. 1993). Their work has included excavations of necropoli very close to the sites that we have been digging (Cardoso et al. 1997), although from a perspective that gave more importance to the supposed early origin of these tombs than to their artefactual reality that included Beaker pottery, wrist guards and objects that pointed towards a Chalcolithic occupation (Cardoso et al. 2003). Although we cannot deny the existence of an early phase in some of these necropoli, we continue to think that this does not exclude the dating of their apogee among the most recent dates for Iberian constructions.

The large quantity of data compiled by J. Oliveira in the Portuguese area led him to change his interpretation in favour of reconstructions closer to our 1994 proposal and further considerations (Bueno et al. 2000, 2004), thus placing the apogee of these necropoli in the recent megalithic phases of the Southwest (Oliveira, 2003). The historiographical development from the 1990’s to the present day has placed the International Tagus region among the most interesting platforms for the discussion and reflection of the reality of the evolutive sequences applied to the megalithism of the Southwest. The consequence of this has been the development of new research prospects that have substantially enriched a panorama that had been static since the 1950’s through to

The team of the University of Evora, directed by J. Oliveira, centred its effort in the area of the Sever, giving rise to one of the most exhaustive syntheses of regional megalithism, after that of the Leisner (Oliveira, 1997a). He insisted on the poverty of the materials recovered, the 44

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Fig. 5.3. Association of small monuments and other types of the recent megalithic sequence, after Bueno et al. 2004

the last years of the 20th century. This starting point and the interest generated by the teams who have developed their work in this region, previously considered as a humble megalithic area, has acted as an advertisement that has invited new teams to contribute their points of view.

5.3. THE EXCAVATIONS AT THE NECROPOLIS OF ERA DE LA LAGUNA, SANTIAGO DE ALCÁNTARA, CÁCERES: PREVIOUS ASSUMPTIONS The project “Graphical markers and megalith builders”, of which our latest excavations at Santiago de Alcántara are part, set as a main objective the systematisation of the data concerning funerary sites, settlements, paintings and engravings, in order to put forward a global assessment of the megalithic territories of the region.

This is why it is precisely now when the possibilities to carry out larger scale projects must be made reality. Enclaves such as the International Tagus, with the track of time engraved on its stones, its hundreds of megalithic sites, the presence of fortified settlements and an ever growing number of identified paintings, are showing themselves as ideal settings for establishing models of analysis for the interior areas of the Iberian Peninsula that can enable us to assess processes of production and metallurgy from broader perspectives.

From the outset of our work at Santiago de Alcántara we were aware of the megalithic wealth of the area. The choice of the necropolis on which we would focus all of our efforts was directed by a series of criteria that would enable the site to be later used as a case-study for the rest 45

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Fig, 5.4. View of Santiago de Alcántara with position of El Buraco and the necropolis Era de la Laguna be excavated. Later on, a further mound was located, among those already identified, that unfortunately had been ploughed out by the machines working on the reforestation of the dehesa. The largest of these mounds was named Lagunita III, being the furthest along the path that enters the dehesa (Bueno et al. 2006a) (Fig. 5.5).

of the cemeteries of the area where it would probably be more difficult to intervene. Our enormous interest in understanding the symbolic relationships between the location of the necropoli and the paintings of the Sierra, led us to choose the necropolis of La Lagunita, name by which it is known in the area. From El Buraco, the necropolis is not only visible but many of the anthropomorphic figures also stand facing it. And from the tombs, El Buraco rises as an impressive dark eye over the Sierra which at some times of the day hides the horizon. Its clear definition as a natural monument (Bradley, 1997) leaves no doubt and the presence of paintings confirms that this place was manipulated by the megalith builders in order to integrate it into their concept of territory, defining it as their own through the use of their traditional symbols. (Fig. 5.4).

The choice of Lagunita III was based on its distinguished position with regards to the other two tombs and on the evidence of a chamber and passage in schist of similar dimensions as those built out of granite, thus reinforcing the idea that it is not the raw material which dictates the size, layout and height of the monuments. Its monumentality was an important factor in a project that, among other questions, hoped to carry out volumetric reconstructions and to assist in the restoration of these monuments in order to facilitate and promote their tourist visit. Its intervisibility with the other two monuments of the necropolis and its position with regards to El Buraco, the painted shelter located above the necropolis of Santiago de Alcántara were also of interest.

The necropolis of Era de la Laguna reunited the necessary conditions to be considered as the case-study in which to analyse the symbolic links between the megalith builders and the painters.

Our work began in 2003 and continued throughout 2004 and 2005. From the outset, we set about a systematic archaeological recording that included the area surrounding the monument with the aim to locate evidence for other events related with the construction of the monument, its maintenance or the rituals carried out throughout its period of use. For the same reasons our project included drawing the best-preserved sections of the mound, with the idea to retrieve pollen, seed remains

The land that it occupies was public, belonging to the local council, and as such may have been exploited in very similar ways since Prehistory: good pastures and acorn harvests as well as small scale agriculture and horticulture, whose use, enjoyment and exploitation is guided by old traditional norms. The work carried out in 1994 had already described two of the monuments of the necropolis, one of which was to 46

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Fig. 5.5. Location of monuments in the municipality of Santiago de Alcántara. Detail of Dehesa with the megalithic monuments (made by E. Cerrillo), and the area of surface survey final results of the samples from Lagunita III although their analyst, J.A. López, has advanced the observation of wheat agriculture. This conclusion has also been indicated at other monuments of the area such as Trincones 1 at Alcántara and those that we had excavated early on at Santiago or Huerta de las Monjas, at Valencia (López, 1994).

or traces of activities prior to the construction. Our ambitious intentions and the sparse funding slowed down the work over three campaigns. We are now in a position to offer the results of our intervention alongside the proposal for the restoration of the monument for it to be visitable (Fig. 5.6). The scientific results of the intervention have been released in several meetings with our Portuguese colleagues, at the Coloquio de Cascaes (Bueno et al. in press) and at the recent U.I.S.S.P.P Congress (Bueno et al. in press a). They have also been disclosed in two small volumes (Bueno et al. 2006a; Carrera et al. 2007) in which we have presented the theoretical and methodological framework of our Project within the broader scope of the megalithism of the International Tagus.

The collective burial rite reiterates a series of constant parameters in the objects that accompany it, among which ceramic vessels play a distinguished role (Bueno, 2000:63). To suggest that these were used to deposit food and drink in the context of the funerary ritual requires empirical data that we have attempted to reach by means of the new analytical advances of the past years. We have been assisted by J. Juan Treserras’ team from the University of Barcelona, whose laboratory has traced the residues of phytoliths in hand grinders and quern stones, and in the contents of the ceramic vessels. The results of the analyses of some of the vessels from the dolmen of Trincones I have been published (Bueno et al. in press), and show the presence of a barley-based preparation associated with an wrist guard.

In all of our projects in the area, we have attempted to create a sample to reflect on the economic activities of the megalith builders. Since our first studies at Santiago and Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1998; 1994), the pollen record beneath the mound indicated the presence of wheat crops, that have been confirmed by other data (Bueno et al. 2004:86). We have thus provided strong evidence against the supposed ignorance of wheat by the inhabitants of the region. We are currently awaiting the

In the case of Era de la Laguna III, several vessels were analysed although positive results were only obtained from some of them. Given the importance of the issues 47

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Fig. 5.6. Works of Lagunita III monument and its next surroundings. Campaigns 2003, 2004 and 2005

in this case with important contents in cholesterol, that J. Juan Treserras identifies as slaughter products. These could have been fats used to preserve foods, perhaps pork meat prepared in different ways.

of megalithic decoration on which we have insisted so much (Bueno et al. 2000, 2004), the presence of a small bowl inside the mound of Laguntita III with residues of ochre and animal fat (land mammal) suggests that the monument was painted. These paintings have now vanished but have a close parallel in the same area at the painted shelters of the Sierra. The identification of the use of animal fat as a fixer suggested, based on the first analyses of megalithic paintings at the Galician dolmen of Dombate (Bello & Carrera, 1997), arguments related to the likely exploitation of domestic animals. However, the recent analyses of the pigments of the Palaeolithic paintings of Tito Bustillo (Balbín et al. 2003) confirm the use of animal fat as a fixer, and thus considerably weaken this interpretation. Similar conclusions have been drawn from the recent analyses of megalithic pigments from the North of the Iberian Peninsula (Carrera, 2006:99). The animal fat identified in the ceramic vessel from Lagunita III thus consolidates the hypothesis of the use of this substance as a fixer for paints, continuing a system of graphical production known since Palaeolithic times, although it is impossible to determine if the fats used correspond to domestic or wild animals.

This hypothesis is of particular interest in a dehesa setting such as that of the ancient landscape (Bueno et al. 2004:86), especially if one takes into account the important role of pig farming among the Late Neolithic and Copper Age groups of the Iberian Peninsula. Their role in the use and management of the dehesa (Stevenson & Harrison, 1992) is but one of the issues raised by these new observations. Among all of the questions formulated for the excavation of Lagunita III, the recording of the evidence that may enable specific symbolic reconstructions was of particular interest. For this reason, all of the stones of the monument were analysed using the appropriate methodology (Bueno & Balbín, 2003), including artificial lighting in night conditions. Thanks to this we were able to observe an important sculptural presence in the form of a stelemenhir, probably an indicator of the location of the monument, a stele in the interior of the tomb and several small stelae in its exterior facade. In the outer device of the tomb, another two small standing stones were identified, of which only one survives.

Other vessels have provided positive results. The samples taken from the vessels deposited in the open area of the monument have also revealed the presence of animal fat, 48

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The gentle pecking present on these stones underlines again the close technical relationship between the dolmens of the area and the engravings of the Tagus, and suggests their very possible association with red paint, the clearest evidence of which was found in the sample from the bowl with ochre and animal fat mentioned above. 5.4. LAGUNITA III, A LARGE CHAMBER WITH A SCHIST PASSAGE WITHIN A NECROPOLIS OF SMALL SIZED MONUMENTS The necropoli of Santiago de Alcántara are located –as far as we know- preferentially to the North and Southwest of the area, along a stretch of land that runs parallel to the Sever until its confluence with the Tagus and throughout this fertile river valley. The evidence of more monuments at the feet of the San Pedro hills suggests a greater extension that would require further confirmation.

Fig. 5.7. View of Lagunita III monument from the shelter of El Buraco, Santiago de Alcántara Apart from saying that the mound contains a schist monument, nothing more can be said about typology or size, until further work is carried out, hopefully in the 2007 campaign.

Defining the associations between monuments is not a simple task, but the strong topographic relationship between some of these tombs reveals the intentional proximity between several monuments. This is the case of the tombs that form what we have defined as the necropolis of Era de la Laguna, that spreads parallel to the Sever, at the feet of the Aurela, and is located opposite some of the tombs of the necropolis of Valencia de Alcántara which repeats similar architectures and associations. This is also the case at the necropolis of Porqueros and its nearby tombs (Bueno, 1988: 26-30).

Returning to the path across the dehesa, in direction towards the Aurela, one can find the two further monuments, Era de la Laguna II, at a lower height and destroyed by the machines as we have mentioned above, and Era de la Laguna III, upon a natural high-point that is used to create a particularly distinguished position with regards to the rest of the necropolis. From this monument, the two others can be seen. The visibility of Era de la Laguna II is quite limited, with the exception of its view of El Buraco whilst El Buraco and Era de la Laguna III can be seen from Era de la Laguna I (Fig. 5.8).

The possibility of the existence of a settlement at the feet of the hills has been suspected since the 1980’s (Bueno, 1994: 43), particularly at the site of El Esparragalejo. Our research in this area must be further pursued in the future development of this project.

We have no doubt that the builders of this necropolis had specific awareness of those located on the other margin of the river. This is not so much due to the actual visibility of monuments but to the enormous stretch of land that can be viewed from the mound of Era de la Laguna III, that includes great part of the necropoli of Valencia de Alcántara. By means of fires and other visible signals, the Portuguese necropoli of the International Tagus would have been equally prominent.

Between the Sever and El Buraco, the river and the mountain, the dehesa of Santiago forms a landscape of small hills located 400 m. above sea level. It extends as far as Portugal in such a way that the views from the painted shelter of El Buraco would have been the vast plain of the Tagus. Similarly, it is feasible that the shelter may have been visible from the spectacular landscape of Portas de Rodâo. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the traditional path between Spain and Portugal led from the dehesa to Rosmaninhal, thus emphasising the location of the necropoli on one side and another of the border (Fig. 5.7).

Our excavation at Lagunita III has defined it as a large chamber with a long passage and a compact mound, thus revealing a series of architectural parameters of great interest for the assessment of the constructive techniques usually attributed to schist tombs. Its chamber, displaying important recent damage, provided the necessary information for the reconstruction of the location of its seven original supports. Still standing, the head-stone almost two meters high, gives an indication of the height of the monument. Its rectangular silhouette echoes that of other frontal stones of chambers in the Alentejo region which, in both granite and schist monuments, are shaped in the same way. Lagunita III thus displays quite similar traits to Juan Rón I, the largest

The first of the monuments of the necropolis can be found close to the present-day county road that connects Santiago with the main Cáceres-Portugal axis. A mound of considerable diameter, much larger than is usual in these necropoli, shows signs of at least one chamber. The 2005 campaign, frustrated by the persistent fires due to the great heat, was limited to fieldsurvey that could not be pursued in 2006 due to the lack of funding. 49

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN

Fig. 5.8. Topographical survey with the location of the graphical markers, paintings, engravings, and megalithic monuments (made by E. Cerrillo)

We were able to define an important intrusion in the southern side that had led to the removal of three of the uprights of the chamber and the one closest to the passage, as well as an important disturbance of materials towards the Northern side of the chamber and passage. Polished objects, flint flat-based arrow heads, flint knives, disc-shaped schist beads, fragments of pottery and fragments of decorated plaques constituted the bulk of the displaced materials.

monument of the necropolis (Bueno et al. 2000:146) in terms of layout, distribution of the supports, height of the chamber, size of the chamber and length of the slate passage. Of similar characteristics is also the nearby chamber of Maimón 1 (Bueno et al. 2000:132). Its structural relationship with the granite dolmen of Huerta de las Monjas, at Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1988: 61), is of particular interest. On the other hand, its layout, height and the distribution of its supports are different to the rest of the monuments of these necropoli, such as those of Maimón 2 and Trincones 1 at Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2000: 138 y 153) or those of Gorrón Blanco and Baldío Morchón at Santiago de Alcántara (Bueno, 1994: 33 and 39), all of which share areas of the same necropoli. This coexistence of different architectural solutions has its best parallel in the closest Portuguese necropoli of Rosmaninhal (Cardoso et al. 1997a) and Amieiro (Cardoso et al. 2003) (Fig. 5.9).

Only part of the floor of the Northern side and close to the head-stone conserved a yellow level upon the slate of the terrain in which we recorded some materials in situ. These must be added to those recovered from the excavation of the base of the uprights of the southern side. The latter, whatever the explanation for their presence, perhaps the evidence of a previous occupation, indicate that the chronology of the in situ elements is very close to that of the construction of the monument. One arrow head and a fragment of plaque confirm this hypothesis (Fig. 5.10).

The rest of the supports, both thinner and more pointed in shape, were distributed in groups of three to each side of the head-stone, in order to spread the force towards the head-stone and the back part of the buttress of the chamber.

The level II of the chamber, in which remains of the original floor were preserved, contained the materials mentioned above. Some groups of beads were so firmly packed that we dare to suggest they were part of necklaces whose organic string disappeared leaving the beads in their original position. In this case, a body must have been located in the right-hand side, to which one of these necklaces would have belonged.

The materials of the chamber must have been numerous and rich, as is suggested by the sparse objects remaining close to the natural ground level and those recovered from the notoriously mixed fill that formed the upper level of earth, stones and roots inside the chamber. 50

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Fig. 5.9. Plans of megalithic monuments with passage in the International Tagus: 1.- Baldío Morchón; 2.- Juan Ron I; 3.- Garrapata I; 4.- Lagunita III; 5.- Maimón II; 6.- Maimón I; 7.- Trincones I

with human burials remains sound despite the bone evidence having disappeared (Fig. 5.11).

If it is logical to think that this ornament was worn around the neck, then the accumulation of arrow heads, at the base of the upright that connects the passage with this side of the chamber, leads us to assume the presence of a box or some type of container in which these objects were gathered, thus supporting the idea that the individual was placed with its head oriented towards the passage.

A similar exercise was carried out to demonstrate a collective burial in the chamber of Trincones I, at Alcántara (Bueno et al. 1999:139). Regarding the pottery recovered from this level, the sharp difference between the vessel forms present and those found outside the tombs is very interesting, as is also the case at Trincones I (Bueno et al. 2000). In contrast to the predominant globular forms, medium sized and small bowls from inside the monument, the forms from outside correspond to carinated dishes and almond rimmed plates. The necessary contemporary date, with some nuance, of

Another concentration of arrow heads was located at the base of the head-stone, together with beads. In the context of the hypothesis regarding the position of the deceased, we can suggest the presence of a second individual, possible placed with its head pointing south. Although the orientations suggested are only one hypothesis among the acceptable possibilities, the association of the grave goods 51

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN

Fig. 5.10. Materials of the chamber of Lagunita III. First half remains from the damaged upper level. Underneath remains of the original floor and the base of the uprights of the southern side

of funerary banquets in the immediate open surroundings of the monument (Fig. 5.12).

the internal and external deposits, reveals a new parameter in the study of these monuments since it appears to suggest that the typology of the funerary vessels could have been in direct relation with the specific contents of these containers.

A further vessel was analysed and provided interesting results. The vessel was recovered from one of the trenches excavated in the northern area of the mound, in the area of the chamber. Its find-spot beneath a level of stones and within the solid level of yellow earth that constituted its central fill, suggests a relationship between its contents of ochre and animal fat and events related to the construction of the monument. That it may be the paint used for the uprights is an attractive hypothesis.

To explore this hypothesis, we have carried out a program of analyses of contents together with the laboratory directed by Dr. Juan Tresserras at the University of Barcelona. The different samples of the globular forms from the chambers of both Lagunita III and Trincones I did not give positive results. A deep bowl from the passage of Trincones I provided the evidence of barley contents mentioned above that we have related to the presence of beer.

The analyses are still in progress and we hope to offer more information soon.

On the contrary, the samples from plates and dishes from the exterior of both tombs have given better results. The latest results from Lagunita III support the presence of meat conserves, probably pork, as described above, that we understand as offerings to the deceased or the remains

The passage with a marked V-shaped layout, narrower at the access to the monument and wider at the access to the chamber, displayed two clearly differentiated areas. The area closest to the chamber was affected by the disturbance that had destroyed most of the southern side 52

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Fig. 5.11. Level II of the chamber of Lagunita III with the concentrations of the grave goods

of the monument, and explains the mixed materials of similar aspect to those recorded in the entrance area of the chamber.

use of the passage as, quite literally, an access to the chamber where the main deposits of human remains would have taken place.

The remaining area displayed a compact level of stone that was lifted and recorded in seven well ordered levels. The observation that some of the deeper layers were made up of larger pieces suggests that part of them belonged to the cover of this area of the monument. The finds, although sparse, can be considered contemporary to the use of the monument (Fig. 5.13).

And, finally, the most external area of the chamber, whose limited height would have made impossible for it to be covered, disposed of a stone structure that closed off the entrance to the monument at some point of its use, as has also been observed at Trincones I (Bueno et al. 2000). Moreover, we believe that this closure may explain the location of the anthropomorphic stele. Its lying location at the end closest to the open area may be the result of its displacement from its original interior position in order for it to be visible once the tomb was closed. This interpretation is based on the identification during excavation of the possible pit where this stone stood in the section of the passage closest to the chamber.

This allows us to consider several questions. Regarding the grave goods, the deposit of almost exclusively polished objects at the entrance of the passage reiterates the existence of collective deposits that, in this case, may have been part of the last phase of use of the monument given that their location would have obstaculated the entrance. Another noteworthy parameter is that, if we consider the good preservation of the two initial sections of the passage, grave goods are rare, thus indicating the

The excavation of the mound demonstrated the compact character of the solid oval shaped structure, the first of its 53

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & R. DE BALBÍN BEHRMANN

Fig. 5.12. Analyses of the residues in the ceramic vessels from the dolmen of Trincones I (Alcántara), and Lagunita III (Santiago de Alcántara)

However, the finishing of the mound in the access area of the monument is considerably more complex. A further line of stones sets off from its lateral sides, and reaches beyond the expected perimeter. To both the North and South of the monument, this added stone line defines an elbowed area and is characterised by a single row of stones, mainly quartzite pebbles and pieces of schist. This line is better preserved on the Northern side and less so on the Southern side. It thus defines a wide open area at the entrance to the monument and an interior area resembling a patio or forecourt (Fig. 5.14).

kind to be recorded in our study area. Lines of larger stones were used to define a belt around the monument that was filled with compact quartz pebbles and earth. Between this belt and the construction, lies a strip of yellow coloured earth, the same as the sediment recorded as the original floor of the chamber and passage. At ground level, the monument is formed by the excavation of the pits for the uprights, compacted on the outside by medium sized quartz pebbles. This rear compactation of the uprights and the excavation of a wider ditch for the thickness of the supports is a constructive system that has also been recorded at the dolmen of Trincones I, with the difference that the latter did not reach the same height and tumular volume as the monument we are now describing.

Its delimitation was marked by a small standing stone on each side, or at least this was the case on the Northern side. A large quantity of materials was deposited upon and at the base of this structure. The largest concentrations were found at the base of the markers of the access, beneath the small standing stones or votive stones: polished stone objects, arrowheads, dishes and plates, some fragments of decorated plaques, hand grinders and quern stones were concentrated in the area outside this feature. Although it is difficult to confirm, the concentration of these finds and the data revealed by the

The contention of the mound is applied to its entire perimeter, by means of schist and grey quartzite stones stood into the ground. The upper part of the fill contained a great accumulation of white quartzite that would have made the monument more visible. This characteristic was already observed in our 1980’s excavations of the necropolis located to the North of the area (Bueno, 1994:48). 54

THE NECROPOLIS OF ERA DE LA LAGUNA, SANTIAGO DE ALCÁNTARA, CÁCERES…

Fig. 5.13. Levels of the passage with closure of stone

heights of the find spots, seem to suggest an area, perhaps delimited by wood or another organic material, in which offerings were placed as if on an altar during the different public events staged around the monument.

This spectacular evidence for rituals associated with the open areas of the monument had been suggested by evidence from other dolmens of the area although Lagunita III confirms beyond doubt the presence of 55

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Fig. 5.14. Open area at the entrance of Dolmen Lagunita III, Santiago de Alcántara

structures that could often have been made of organic materials (Bueno et al. in press). The confirmation of a monumental facade and the identification of a stele-menhir, along with the distinguished location of the monument and its volume, make Lagunita III one of the best indicators of complex rituals in open areas, that may have acted as sanctuaries related with the cult of the ancestors in particular places, and were associated with the Chalcolithic settlement of the region (Fig. 5.15). The facade displays two different heights, thus displaying steps such as those recorded at some Breton monuments. Its southern side is less well preserved due to the recent reforestation machine activity. However, its northern side preserves three small stelae of different shapes and fragments of others. These were located on the lower and upper steps as an exhibition of anthropomorphic figures that we can relate with the ancestors. The presence on them of incised engravings can be added to the importance of pecking to relate them, as was the case of the decoration of the dolmens

Fig. 5.15. Lagunita III. Detail of the open area at the entrance of the monument (photo R. Balbín)

of Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2000b), with the creators of the engravings of the Tagus. These include nearby locations such as the Los Canchitos stream, in the nearby area of Santiago de Alcántara (Bueno et al. 2006:49-54). 56

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Fig. 5.16. Plan of Lagunita with position, photo and drawing of the steles and the small anthropomorphic pieces

As we have said, we are in an optimal moment to unite our efforts in joint projects that enable global assessments of the prehistoric occupation of the International Tagus to be made.

As we have mentioned above, it is possible that, at the time of the closure of the tomb, the stele from inside the monument, may have been added as the central and most distinguished piece alongside the smaller representations belonging to the façade (Fig. 5.16).

The data available enables us to present some general traits that must be confirmed through future work. The presence of producers and metallurgists in our area is put into a context of previous occupations of which the engravings of the river are an excellent confirmation. The assessment of the long occupational discourse of which the megalith building groups are part thus enables us to confirm the use of the supports of the river engravings within the same enclaves as in more remote periods (Bueno, in press).

5.5. CHALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE IN THE MEGALITHS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS BASIN The cultural and symbolic wealth of the megalith builders of the International Tagus has been demonstrated over the past years by models of analysis that integrate different types of evidence regarding the use of the territory by these groups.

With regards to symbolic issues, the research carried out at the painted shelters of El Buraco and La Grajera, at Santiago de Alcántara (Carrera et al. 2007), also offer supportive evidence. Both sites indeed display different superimposed styles that correspond to the constant use of

The spectacular recurrence of groups of carved rocks should also correspond to the presence of human groups in a landscape with great economic possibilities, as has been demonstrated by recent research projects. 57

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Fig. 5.17. Tomb VI of Los Millares, after Almagro & Arribas, 1963

The relationship between the open area of Lagunita III and the structures documented in the most classical necropolis of the Southeast, Los Millares (Almagro y Arribas, 1963: 175) (Fig. 5.17), offers an interesting point of reference to place our study area within the broad network of interactions that was characteristic of the third millennium cal. BC in the Iberian Peninsula. This is strengthened by the presence of special ornaments, such as the gold of Juan Rón I, the jet beads of Valencia de Alcántara and Alcántara or the variscite from the latter (Bueno et al. 2000: 166). As we have argued elsewhere, (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno et al.2004 ), the alluvial gold and the extraction possibilities of the region played an undeniable role in the economic intensification that is materialised in the concentration of necropoli, settlement areas, engravings and paintings throughout the third millennium cal. BC.

these symbolic sites throughout, in this case, the Later Prehistory of the area. We therefore hope to be able to observe a Neolithic-Chalcolithic sequence at Santiago de Alcántara, similar to that observed in neighbouring areas. The necropoli of monuments of varied architectures that include tombs of small dimensions are part of the evidence of an occupation characterised by an economic and symbolic intensification that we have dated to the third millennium cal. BC (Bueno et al. in press, in press a). Corbel-vaulted tombs such as those of Amioeiro and Rosmaninhal, recently located at Herrera de Alcántara or, further inland, those identified early on at Garrovillas or Sierra de San Pedro (Bueno, 1994: 6572) and fortified settlements appear as the traits most clearly associated with the Chalcolithic in a region in which large chambers with long passages, chambers with short passages and open settlements are in use simultaneously (Bueno, 2000:73), as is the case in the well known areas of Portugal or Andalusia. The megaliths display an early sequence from the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards and the necropoli under study offer a vivid confirmation of their richness of expression within the time span of the most recent megalithic period.

Flint and, most of all, the elaborate arrow heads, some closer to spearheads as for instance that from the Northern wall of Lagunita III (Fig. 5.18), are subject to exchange since no local sources of this material have been recorded. The quantity and variety of objects displayed in the deposits of Trincones I, Maimón I or Lagunita III reinforce the idea of the capacity of these peoples to obtain such goods. 58

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The coexistence with cists characteristic of the Bronze Age of the Southwest, as is the case of the Pepino I valley, has counterparts in the closest Portuguese necropoli where the materials from some tombs indicate continuity in more recent times. This would however constitute one of the challenges for future research. Understanding the role of the rituals of the ancestors in the context of groups with clear symptoms of social hierarchisation, whose funerary and symbolic traditions were deeply rooted in the mythology of the early farmers, will be one of the aims of the studies that are being undertaken with renewed energy. The International Tagus displays a demography that is in every way comparable to the classical areas and a prehistoric sequence that finds in the open-air engravings and paintings of the hills the clearest evidence of references to tradition as a system of territorial definition. The evidence obtained from the late megalithism of the region is one of the more solid starting points for the discussion of the origin of western inequality. As we have observed, the use of the group references operate in small spheres, as is the case of the dolmens and the distinguished objects recovered from them, including Beaker pottery, are of very high interest.

Fig. 5.18. Arrow heads from the open area of Lagunita III

The typology of the materials, the presence of metal, Beaker pottery and wrist guards, and the radiocarbon date obtained from the floor of Trincones I (Bueno et al. 2004; in press) can be added to the evidence gathered by our Portuguese colleagues who have obtained similar radiocarbon dates with identical parameter (Oliveira, 2000:) – metal, Beaker pottery and wrist guards –, that confirm the apogee of these necropoli in the second half of the third millennium cal. BC.

Establishing the basis of this economic intensification requires understanding the distinguished role that metallurgic resources, particularly gold (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno & Balbín, 2000; Bueno et al. 2004a), played in the position held by particular social groups, materiallised in their tombs and anthropomorphic representations (Bueno et al. 2005a).

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Chapter 6 DIRECT ACTIONS ON ROCK ART ONE EXAMPLE – TWO ROCKSHELTERS CONTAINING POST-PALAEOLITHIC PAINTINGS F. CARRERA RAMIREZ Escola Superior de Conservación e Restauración de Bens Culturais de Galicia Abstract: Some recent direct actions on rock art are briefly reviewed after presenting an introductory consideration regarding the intense transforming nature of these actions. As an example of this type of actions, two cleaning and documentation works carried out in the rockshelters of El Buraco and La Grajera in Santiago de Alcántara (Cáceres, Spain) are presented. Key words: rock art; prehistoric art; conservation; documentation; analysis; direct intervention Resumen: Tras una reflexión introductoria sobre el carácter intensamente transformador de las actuaciones directas sobre arte rupestre, se revisan brevemente algunas actuaciones recientes. Como ejemplo de este tipo de intervenciones, a continuación se exponen los trabajos de limpieza y documentación realizadas en los abrigos de El Buraco y La Grajera, en Santiago de Álcántara (Cáceres, España). Palabras clave: arte rupestre; arte prehistórico; conservación; documentación; análisis; intervención directa

aware of the possibility of speeding up this change if we don’t act properly. In these conditions, the more realistic attitude is shown by Stanley Price (1996) in the sense that our actions should be better oriented to establish the speed of the changing processes and try to slow them down if possible.

6.1. INTRODUCTION: DIRECT INTERVENTIONS AND ROCK ART The criteria to be considered when analysing intervenetions on cultural heritage seem completely consolidated worldwide. These criteria suggest the need of carrying out reversible conservation interventions, full of research, identified and restricted to what is strictly necessary in order to ensure the cultural heritage preservation. This need of absolute honesty becomes intensified in the case of archaeological heritage, which is distinguished by its virtual nature – it relies only on the scientific analysis done by the archaeologist. Therefore, the loss of its cultural context is irreversible and leads to the extinction of archaeological artefacts as part of history. This idea encourages archaeologists and conservator to work in order to study an artefact now and in the future, any cultural sign must be respected as well as, if possible, the original compositions and properties.

Despite the aforementioned warnings, these changes force us frequently to take part intensively. As conservators and archaeologists, we land on sites and we transform them: we clean them, we consolidate them, we put indicating signs and fences, we change in short not only the materials’ internal composition but also the dim relationship between the site and its environment. Not willing to undermine the authority of these actions, in which we also take part, we would like to specifically remark that any intervention on prehistoric art must be understood as something unusual that needs to be thoroughly justified. The intensity and nature of interventions are directly related to the aims of that action. The examination of scientific literature, however reasonably rare, lets us classify actions on prehistoric art according to these aims:

There is still another difficulty concerning prehistoric art: apart from the restrictions arising from its archaeological nature, there are the ones that prehistoric art entails as an artistic element and the subsequent submission to the subjective aesthetic assessment of every observer. This aesthetic experience must be respected, therefore, between the artefact and the public the slightest interfering element must be introduced.

Due to their inevitable nature, we must mention firstly the interventions aiming to obtain the documentation of artistic elements, an essential requirement for their scientific analysis and for their medium-term recognition as cultural heritage. Broadly speaking, these are cleaning processes, based on physical-mechanical or chemical principles, where a series of deposits that conceals prehistoric art is removed. There is a reasonable amount of such cases published, especially concerning French Palaeolithic caves, where it has been experimented with a wide range of chemical cleaning methods, and highly efficient mechanical cleanings of carbonated layers that

In our opinion, we don't study prehistoric art done by man in ancient times, but only the part that nature and other men's actions have left us. This approach lets us sense the huge delicacy of the relations between the prehistoric artefact and its environment (natural, climatic, anthropic, etc.) and suggests the responsibility of the decisions regarding its conservation: on the one hand, we can recognize the degradation risks; on the other hand, we are 61

F. CARRERA RAMIREZ

Finally, direct interventions for conservation aiming to stop alteration processes by active and direct treatment on cultural artefacts are frequently and clearly inevitable. The interventions carried out in the Region of Valencia (Martínez, 2001) constitute a good example of this type, where different types of actions are performed: from cleanings, stabilization of instable rocks up to runoff water control that has also occurred in French caves (Niaux: Guillamet, 2000: 116). Along the same lines, interventions for the sealing of upper parts in rockshelters in order to avoid filtration of rain water (Meneses et al. 2002) can be mentioned.

concealed paintings, using preliminary infra-red techniques for identification (Girard et al. 2002). In some cases, the degree of alteration is so strong that documentation research can only begin after severe cleaning works. That is the case of sites where prehistoric inscriptions were concealed due to anthropic alteration, usually due to lamp-black layers produced by bonfires. This is the case of the rockshelter in El Buraco, which will be described below, or the Cueva del Engarbo II (Rodríguez de Guzmán et al. 2001). Sometimes, concealment has a biological origin like the plant roots that covered the paintings in the rockshelter of Arco de Covão (Guidon & Meneses, 2002: 157). Finally, the need to clean drawings and various aggressions made on rock art panels is unfortunately very frequent, some examples can be found in Australia (Thorn, 1991), in French caves (Brunet et al. 1990) or in rockshelters in South-eastern Spain (Guillamet, 2000: 113). In this type of situations, the use of chemical methods (solvents, etc.) can be essential in order to make progress with the cleaning works.

Moreover, under conservation we understand all treatments oriented to the removal of biological alteration agents, whose most significant precedent was the algicide treatment carried out in Lascaux (Brunet et al. 1985). Subsequently, this type of actions was repeated very often (e.g. García, 2002) but above all, analysis and control systems for biodeterioration have been refined (Simó, 1993; Hoyos & Soler, 1993). Lastly, a wide range of treatments have to do with the applying of adhesive and consolidation products in situations of extreme degradation. This intervention modifies definitively the original composition of the artefacts, therefore it is seldom used. Examples of this can be found in the fixation of powdery pigments in Libya (Ponti & Persia, 2002: 130) or in the consolidation and adhesion of megalithic paintings (Carrera, 1996). An extreme example of this type of interventions is the readhesion of several fallen plaques containing rock art that were returned to their original place in the rockshelter of Toca do Veado (Guidon & Meneses, 2002).

Much more advisable can be the indirect or preventive conservation actions focused on removing the deteriorating agent present in the climate or in the anthropic environment. The best example of anthropic factors control systems is the closings of caves and rockshelters in order to avoid access to visitors. As it has been tested in Palaeolithic caves across France and Spain, controlling visitors allows a parallel balancing of climate parameters. The alteration factors control (particularly anthropic factors) is more difficult in open air rockshelters and sites. Fences and blocking barriers have not always been effective and they sometimes attract vandals, but they are still used in various areas (Royo, 2005). However, a deep thought about this type of solutions seems to be necessary (Hernández & Castells, 2001), proposing a change in favour of fences located far from the sites (Martínez García, 2001) or, above all, of structures more psychological than tangible. It seems even more interesting to manage more intelligently access to sites and movements within them (Bednarik, 1995).

6.2. OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS Following the context that has been considered, it seems clear that to decide upon an intervention on an assemblage containing rock art is a critical moment that belongs to a series of very justified decisions, and it is much more critical if a direct action is suggested.

An extreme preventive protection action for open air sites is covering, as it has been done with panels containing prehistoric engravings in France (Ballet, 2002: 107), and in monuments with megalithic paintings in Spain (Carrera, 2006a: 286).

As it has been mentioned before, protection of cultural heritage has social recognition as a previous and necessary requirement and it is preceded by scientific analysis submitted by the rchaeologist. In the cases of the painted rockshelters of El Buraco and La Grajera there was a small public knowledge regarding the presence of paintings, but due to the huge degree of dirt, it was impossible to carry out an archaeological analysis other than a partial and surface one.

Actions related to site exhibition not always imply direct actions on wall art but intense actions on immediate environment in order to provide access and comprehension for the visitors. However, a previous cleaning action in needed in much cases in order to improve the aesthetic potential of the prehistoric assemblage and to make it more visible. This is the nature of several actions carried out in rockshelters in eastern Spain (Guillamet, 2000) and in French caves (Brunet et al. 1990).

Therefore, the initiative of an intervention in the rockshelters came as part of an prehistoric research project led by professors Balbín and Bueno (Bueno et al. 2004a). The objective was the identification and documentation of a prehistoric painting severely dama62

DIRECT ACTIONS ON ROCK ART – ONE EXAMPLE – TWO ROCKSHELTERS CONTAINING POST-PALAEOLITHIC PAINTINGS

however, located in the breach opened by the stream Aurela in order to facilitate the drainage of the inner areas of the Sierra. This is (Fig. 6.4, 6.5) a much less deep rockshelter and more open, and its topographical position is less remarkable.

ged, before an in-depth analysis was carried out by the team of archaeologists. As a result of this, works would allow a medium-term exhibition of the sites and, finally this time, the recognition of their heritage importance by the public, which seemed indifferent until now. The severe state of conservation involved the professional challenge of implementing a methodology more or less new and necessarily strong about a type of cultural goods, in which, as it has been shown before, there are few direct work experiences. Consequently, we had to tackle the work as a scientific research project that would cover the following stages: – Good diagnosis describing the alteration processes that took place and containing a suitable characterization of the alteration products; – Development of cleaning tests in laboratory before spreading them in the field; – Direct cleaning works in archaeological sites based on the two previous stages; – Appropriate documentation prehistoric art;

of

the

Fig. 6.1. Exterior view of the rockshelter of El Buraco

discovered

– Design and implementation of direct conservation actions to ensure the future preservation of sites; – Design and implementation of exhibition actions of sites. The work was outlined during a visit in September 2003, and finally implemented in two working campaigns that were developed between 2004 and 2005. In 2004, all the work was focused on El Buraco, thus making progress with the documentation and cleaning works. During the 2005 campaign, two teams were established: one had to finish the cleaning works in El Buraco and the other was assigned the works in La Grajera. The results of them are described below: a brief but essential description of the rockshelters and the paintings; the analyses and diagnostics carried out; the cleaning works and documentation involved, and finally, a brief assessment of the works to be done in the future. 6.3. THE ROCKSHELTERS WITH PAINTINGS IN EL BURACO AND LA GRAJERA

Fig. 6.2. Visibility conditions from El Buraco

The sites where all the work was performed are two open rockshelters in the quartzite crests of the north-west part of the Sierra de San Pedro, in the province of Cáceres (Spain). The configuration of both sites is, however slightly different. El Buraco (Fig. 6.1) is located at some altitude in the heights of the Sierra and its topographical position is very remarkable since it offers a high visibility (Fig. 6.2). It is also a reasonably long (more than 18m) and narrow rockshelter (Fig. 6.3). Formed from the fractures of the same quartzite materials, La Grajera is,

The features and chronology of use in prehistoric times of both sites is still unknown, although the plentiful pictorial decoration suggests at least a ritual function and, according to the proposals of Bueno et al. 2004a, a possible chrono-cultural relation to the valley megaliths. The works carried out show a plentiful painted decoration and the apparent absence of engravings, which is understandable given the extreme hardness of the supporting rock. As far as we know, all cases are red 63

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Fig. 6.3. Topographical map of the rockshelter of El Buraco showing work areas and approximate distribution of prehistoric painting

Fig. 6.4. Topographical map of therockshelter of La Grajera showing work areas and approximate distribution of prehistoric painting 64

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paintings depicting motifs in a schematic style. Occasionally, the presence of several moments of painting can be proved. This would obviously agree with the suggestions that come out from the valley sites. These different stages cannot be disagreed when using different colours, as well as in the apparent superimpositions of paintings (Fig. 6.3). An analysis of the style, which hasn’t been carried out and would be necessary in the future, is however to be carried out. Finally, the scarce paint, the lack of black paint (charcoal, etc.) and the intense cleaning interventions prevented the direct radiocarbon dating. The paintings in El Buraco are in the external areas – on the north and south sides of the rockshelter, and occasionally in the inner part of it (see figure 6.6). There seems to be a logic preference for fractures that leave flat panels of a certain size. Altogether, 29 panels have been identified, each of them comprising different figures (Fig. 6.7). The represented motifs are reasonably homogeneous, with prominent finger flutings (Fig. 6.8) and schematic anthropomorphic figures. The documented stele-

Fig. 6.5. General view of the rockshelter of La Grajera

Fig. 6.6. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco 65

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Fig. 6.7. Panels 1 to 9 in area D of El Buraco

Fig. 6.9. Anthropomorphic motifs in El Buraco

Fig. 6.8. Finger fluting motifs in El Buraco shaped inscriptions are very significant, some of them already known (Fig. 6.10) and some new ones (Fig. 6.11), or some sun-like paintings done by using extremely thin brushstrokes (Fig. 6.12).

represented motifs are the same as in El Buraco, although for the moment, anthropomorphic motifs seem to predominate (some of them are of special interest (Fig. 6.13 and 6.14) and maybe even idol-like forms (Fig. 6.15).

In La Grajera, the distribution seems to be restricted to the south-eastern side of the rockshelter, with a higher concentration on the edges (area A and D). The

In the same way as in El Buraco, the frequent flat areas are used for painting. 66

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Plate 6.10 & 6.11. Idol-like motif in El Buraco

Fig. 6.12. Panel 1 in area B of El Buraco 67

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6.4. ANALYSES AND DIAGNOSTICS The state of conservation The paintings' degree of degradation in both rockshelters is very strong. In addition to the more or less marked natural changes, in El Buraco there has been also indiscriminate action of not-malicious vandalism, based on the ignorance of the extraordinary heritage value of the preserved paintings. On the contrary, the supporting rock shows an excellent state of conservation with no remarkable hints of chemical weathering. It is impossible to determine the amount of lost paint in percentage terms, either because of natural reasons (washing) or because of anthropic action. Anyway, a loss of intensity in the better preserved paintings is obvious both because of direct washing (paint with small content of binder or soluble paint) and due to chemical and/or biological attack on the organic binder of the paint. Despite this, the actual paint, and even what it is covered by layers and deposits of smoke, has a reasonable state of conservation and is neither powdery nor soluble. Only in some spots in El Buraco (area B), close to the zones affected by fire, powdery areas have been detected. These had to be treated with adhesive products (acrylic polymers: Paralloid B-82 (5%) in acetone applied with paintbrush).

Fig. 6.13. Dotted-constituted motif

The most frequent and significant alteration is an accumulation of inorganic natural layers that conceal the paintings to a greater or lesser extent. As it will be shown below, they are oxalate precipitates, iron oxides and maybe phosphates in the majority of cases. The changing composition of these layers would explain their different colours, degrees of hardness and chemical stability that very often are completely insoluble. In fact, the layers in La Grajera are quite thick.

Fig. 6.14. Replica of the motifs recorded in Fig.6.13.

In the case of El Buraco, there are very large lamp-black deposits (Fig. 6.16) over these layers, produced by the repetitive bonfires done in the north side of the rockshelter. This deposit not only affects this side but also reaches the upper parts and ceiling of the rockshelter. In the lower parts, fallen plaques and fractures of thermal origin and even iron mineral oxides of the rock can be observed. The existence of bonfires in La Grajera is deemed very probable, but since they are not recent, partial washing and/or concealment might have been induced. The greater or lesser lack of difficulty experienced during the cleaning works of these black layers will have probably to do with the time period since their formation, where the smoke deposit is partially layered and quite hardened in some cases. The fractures are widespread throughout the rockshelter and it could indeed be described as a feature of the supporting rock. However, the process is still active and occasional fallings of fragments can be seen, even in areas that might have been painted. Although it is a small risk,

Fig. 6.15. Anthropomorphic motifs 68

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Fig. 6.18. Drawing in El Buraco. Under the letters, a reddish hue corresponding to the prehistoric paint can be noticed

Fig. 6.16. General view of the north side of El Buraco, where the strong action of bonfires can be seen

the stability of some blocks should be reviewed in case of a possible falling and subsequent danger to visitors.

All these alterations almost concealed the preserved prehistoric paint. Apart from the photographs, all these situations have been recorded and detailed using alteration maps (Fig. 6.19).

Biological activity is very high in both sites, thus enabling the possible tracking of mammals actions (goats) in form of excrements, birds (swifts, swallows) that build nests on the ceilings (Fig. 6.17) and spots (excrements) on the walls and insects (flies) that form a continuing deposit that can be observed in the most inner parts of both rockshelters, especially in El Buraco. Moreover, lichen colonies are very common in the external parts. Looking inwards, algae colonies are occasionally detected in the same areas where water was filtered from the upper part.

In La Grajera, the alterations are similar although they present slightly different distributions. Except for the inner part (areas C and D), recent bonfire traces are barely noticeable. The same could be said about the organic deposits slightly formed in this site that is much more aired and open. However, the layers are very prominent and present a wide range of colours and a severe degree of concealment of the prehistoric paint that in some areas (B and C) could not even be identified. Analysis of layers In order to recognise some of the alterations, Mr Ayora (Instituto Jaume Almera, CSIC, Barcelona) was responsible for the characterization analyses carried out. The samples come from rocks and layers obtained in 2003 and 2004 in the rockshelters of El Buraco and La Grajera. The aim was to know the rock geology and, above all, the composition of the different existing layers placed on it that conceal the prehistoric paint (Fig. 6.20). This identification would help to know not only the formation of the layers, but also the possible cleaning methods that could be effective for them.

Fig. 6.17. Swift nest with baby birds on the ceiling of El Buraco. N.B. the spider’s webs

With regard to the different samples, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses were carried out. The analyses reveal that the supporting rock has a homogeneous quartzite composition. Layers of different thickness, hardness and colours form deposits on this rock. It is obvious that the composition will not be homogeneous in all the analysed samples. Apart from the noise introduced by the quartz of the supporting rock that appears in every analysis, there seems to be a mixture of substances that form layers of significant hardness:

Finally, repetitive acts of vandalism are typical of El Buraco: abrasions, drawings and graffittis (Fig. 6.18) are very often done on the paintings. As in the bonfires, this type of anthropic actions seems to be related to the custom of holding meetings in the rockshelter. The most critical issue is the apparent persistence of this type of actions. 69

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Fig. 6.19. Alterations map of areas A and B in the rockshelter of El Buraco

– Iron oxides (goethite and amorphous oxides) probably leached from the rock that form layers on the evaporation surfaces, both on surface and on inner planes of fractures; – Oxalates (weddellite and whewellite) are generally associated with biological activity (oxalic acid secretions by biodeterioration organisms) that, like iron oxides, might appear dissolved in running waters coming from the upper part of the rockshelter; – Despite the hardness, no sign of calcite or amorphous silica has been detected. These materials could be proposed as binders of the aforementioned minerals, above all, in those cases where there is no oxalate. The continuing presence of amorphous phosphates could play a relevant role acting as binders of all the particles mentioned above;

Fig. 6.20. Detailed photograph of the rockshelter’s walls in La Grajera. N.B. the strong layer concealing the rock

– Black patina in some places (especially in El Buraco), certainly composed of charcoal or black-lamp remains that cannot be analysed using the methods employed and that are plentiful.

– The continuing presence of quartz must be considered not only as the remains of the supporting rock, but also as the microscopic fragments that flow in the water and form deposits together with the rest of the minerals;

Waiting for the analyses to be continued in order to know the exact formation of the layers, it seems evident that they are precipitates formed from solutions that filtrated through the planes of fracture of the quartzite. The composition’s complexity as well as its diversity must be also associated with the variety of properties observed in the layers (colour, hardness), and it suggests the idea of

– Other identified minerals must be also considered as transported substances: Feldspars (microcline, albite, gypsum), mica (muscovite) or even substances arising from mineral weathering (kaolinite); 70

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intervention was proposed that would allow its constant review and improvement as well as its unfinished and temporary nature.

multiform formation processes during a long period of time. In fact, goethite layers are characteristic of the geological environment and prehistoric paint is often applied on them. To a large or a great extent, the layers are whitish (oxalates, silica, phosphates?) and simply have an important blackened layer whose origin might be probably anthropic (bonfires). In other cases, this black layer seems insoluble and might be associated with bacterial action. These differences in colour are very remarkable in La Grajera (Fig. 6.21), and seem related to different chonological phases, maybe particular climate incidents.

So, cleaning tests were carried out in the laboratories of the Escola Superior de Conservación e Restauración de Bens Culturais de Galicia (High School of Conservation and Restauration of Cultural Objects of Galicia) using samples obtained in 2003, as well as some tests (microabrasion and laser) carried out in the laboratories of the MPA S.L. company. Firstly, a previous dry cleaning was performed using mechanical means: brushes, paintbrushes, blowing with compressed air that allowed the removal of the most recent and less solid deposits that covered the walls (sand deposits, spider’s webs, etc). Then, water and non-ionic detergent (teepol) were used for cleaning followed by water neutralisation along with a slight mechanical action. The aim was to remove thicker water soluble deposits. This treatment partly removed charcoal deposits, bird excrements, biodeterioration remains and some charcoal drawings. The hard deposit of organic matter on the walls of the inner parts was basically treated with this method (Fig. 6.22).

Fig. 6.21. Partial photograph of La Grajera, Where different colours belonging to several layers can be seen

In addition to this, and at least in the case of El Buraco, there seems to be a certain difference between the layers of the northern and the southern side (the latter being thicker), probably due to microclimatic issues that are still to be studied. This circumstance certainly explains the differences observed between the inner spaces, with higher humidity and temperature stable, that show thicker layers. Finally, the layers are only on vertical surfaces an do not appear on horizontal ones (they barely appear on the ceiling).

Fig. 6.22. Organic deposits cleaning prospect

More marked compared to the previous step is the steam cleaning (Fig. 6.23) that involves an improvement of the dissolving action of water. This facilitates the cleaning of lamp-black deposits accumulated on the rockshelters' ceilings and walls. It was also used for cleaning organic deposits that had already been partially removed with water and detergent. In fact, this cleaning technique has been exhaustively used for cleaning the ceilings and inner areas of El Buraco that were extremely dirty of lampblack and organic deposits.

6.5. TESTS AND CLEANING TREATMENTS As it has been mentioned before, the work's main objective was the identification and documentation of a prehistoric painting of unknown dimension. And since not only the dimension but also the state of conservation was unknown, the beginning proposal requested a more or less exhaustive cleaning. The paint's composition and properties were also unknown. This involved an extreme care when applying direct treatments that could threaten both the future conservation and the analyses that could be demanded in the future. Therefore, and despite the need of carrying out powerful treatments, a gradual

More occasionally and together with some of the treatments mentioned before, 5% ammonia solutions were occasionally used for the purpose of softening more 71

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However, its interest on pure inorganic layers as the ones detected in area C of that site or in La Grajera is very limited, and therefore a slight softening on the surface can be seen after cleaning several times without an existing real solution.

Fig. 6.23. Results after steam cleaning on the ceilings with lamp-black compact deposits of organic matter, smoke spots and other minor deposits. For the removal of some drawings (done with felt-tip pens, sprays, etc.), solvents or mixtures of them were applied: preferably acetone, amyl acetate and nitrocellulosic solvent.

Fig. 6.24. Cleaning treatments with ion exchange resins

The abrasion of harder inorganic layers was treated with an experimental microabrasion cleaning equipment. Although the cleaning results are acceptable, it doesn't seem to be an interesting treatment since there is an important risk of removing the underlying paint, which is invisible under the layers and considerably softer than them. The use of ion exchange resins was more effective1 (Fig. 6.24) in order to remove the hardest layers of dirt. The effectiveness of this chemical method had already been tested and it was able to break down the hardest black layers (lamp-black slightly accumulated) and, in some cases, thin inorganic layers. Obviously, a significant difference according to the implementation time and the layers’ composition was found, thus revealing in general a lower effectiveness in La Grajera, where the layers are signifcantly thick and chemically stable. The resin was applied in wet conditions as a continuous layer on a specific area and then set apart for drying (between 10 and 15 minutes depending on climate conditions and thickness). Afterwards it was removed and a wet mechanical cleaning was carried out (watered cotton swab) in the affected area. Depending on the effectiveness, the process was repeated or the resin was reactivated by sprinkling water on the dry resin. This procedure was used up to 10 times in some particularly dirty areas, until the elements that form the layers of dirt were clearly dissolved. The ability of action on inorganic layers is slow and superficial, thus the cleaning action has been very significant regarding the layers where smoke is combined with a slight precipitate, a frequent situation in El Buraco.

At the same time and as in every chemical treatment, the resin has a low selective effect and forms organic and inorganic element complexes of all sorts, therefore it could theoretically imply also an aggressive action on the painting. The experience in El Buraco has been satisfactory because the same layers protected the painting. Although those treatments were used during the 2005 campaign, it was the very presence of the described restrictions what suggested the experimentation with laser equipment2 in order to clean the black layers still present in El Buraco (Fig. 6.25). Even at high frequencies (100150 Hz) and energies (10 mJ), the effect observed is the removal of the black layer without affecting the red underlying paint. Despite its slowness, the result is highly effective and respects apparently the prehistoric paint. It only affects the black layers, therefore its level of control is quite noticeable. The only restriction found was of economic nature, since the leasing of the equipment was unaffordable given the tight budget assigned for this research project.

6.6. DOCUMENTATION All the works described up to now required an exhaustive documentation that was carried out along with a photo2

MAESTRO laser equipment traded by MPA, S.L. It is a type 4 equipment with an active medium of Nd:YAG that produces a radiation of wavelength 1,064 nm. The cleaning principle of these equipments is very well-known and is based on the sublimation of the dirt layer when laser radiation impacts on it, therefore the colour of the layer is essential. The absorption of luminous energy takes place essentially on dark colours (Iglesias, 2005).

1

AMBERLITE IR 120 H, traded by CTS. The ion exchange resins are granulated insoluble substances with acid or basic radicals that can be exchanged with ions of the same sign present in the solution that is in contact with them.

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sufficient. However, the documentation procedure consisted essentially in doing 1:1 scale replicas using transparent material (polyester plate: melinex paper) (Fig. 6.26). On every painted panel, a plate of this material was placed and the remains of paint were labelled. Given the bad conservation of the paint, establishing the boundaries of every figure was an exhausting task. All this material has been digitalized in the department in order to obtain definitive replicas of the prehistoric paintings (Fig. 6.27). 6.7. ASSESSMENT AND FUTURE OUTLOOK: THE PAINT IN EL BURACO AND LA GRAJERA It is almost impossible for conservators and restorers to deem final a cleaning treatment. Therefore, we cannot consider the work as ended, above all, when it would bear fruit for sure if continued, especially in La Grajera. However, it seems that a pause and a critical review of the work carried out have to be done, in order to face, maybe in future times, new challenges.

Fig. 6.25. Laser cleaning

graphic tracking. Besides, it was necessary to record properly all the paintings that were discovered as a result of the cleaning works carried out, so an exhaustive graphic documentation had to be done.

The work done has been quite efficient despite its complexity, and the full cleaning of El Buraco has been accomplished. This enabled not only the identification of prehistoric motifs but also the changing of a critically damaged site in a place of high heritage value that must be promoted (Figures 6.28 to 6.31). In La Grajera, the results are also significant despite the fact that a lesser effort was involved. In both cases, recognition and documentation are without any doubt the most significant aspects concerning a great deal of prehistoric inscriptions of high interest that remain unknown for now in both sites.

The first works carried out consisted in doing a general 1:100 scale topographical map of both rockshelters. On this map, the areas where the works were carried out in 2004 and 2005 (Figures 6.3 and 6.4) were identified. A latticed diagram layed over the working areas (A, B, C and D in both rockshelters) served as reference for an indepth topographical map (1:20) that was used for the paintings replicas. Some of these maps were also used in order to draw alteration maps, where all the different damages observed were marked and notes concerning the different cleaning works carried out were written on a daily basis.

Considering the initial objectives and ignoring the intensity regarding the painting’s destruction, it could be considered that the goals have been achieved. After these remarks, the lines of a possible work could be oriented towards: – “Aesthetic”-type cleanings in the areas without paintings (inner parts and ceilings) of El Buraco in order to improve the rockshelter’s appearance for exhibition; – With regard to the cleaning progress in La Grajera, the exact characterization of the different layers detected would be convenient with a view to designing new physical and chemical treatments that could improve the results;– Experiment with the physical treatments that weren't applied in La Grajera. Microabrasion for bright inorganic layers and laser for dark layers; – Experiment with indirect documentation methods like infrared photography or reflectography.

Fig. 6.26. Direct replicas execution

Chemical characterization works of the paint have not begun either due to several reasons: extreme pollution

With regard to the painting, fotographic documentation thereof was carried out when the state of clealiness was 73

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Fig. 6.27. Final replica of panel 7 in area D of El Buraco

this exhibition task seems presently to be the most pressing work.

(fires, cleaning) that prevent any chance of analysing organic residues; moreover, the need of samples of reasonable size in order to analyse inorganic materials whose result is obvious – pigments are iron oxides in all cases. In a subsequent research stage and considering the possibility of characterizing painting and superimposition stages, an in-depth chemical analysis of pigments could perhaps be interesting. Concerning the active conservation works (fixation, etc.), there is no natural alteration risk that might require an urgent specific treatment. Some anthropic alteration risks should however be pointed out and should be placed under control using other type of actions (protection, diffusion, etc.). Besides, from an objective point of view, the extreme difficulty of the works seems to point out our inability to obtain a high aesthetic quality concerning the cleaning of an excessively damaged assemblage. Therefore, although a greater progress could be expecetd concerning this “aesthetic” cleaning, we believe that the possibility of exhibiting should be based on a strong exhibiting display (posters, etc.). Designing and implementing

Fig. 6.28. Area B in El Buraco before intervention 74

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Fig. 6.29. Area B in El Buraco after intervention Fig. 6.31. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco after intervention

Acknowledgements All the works were publicly financed by the Town Hall of Santiago de Alcántara. The implementation was possible thanks to the essential help of Alfredo Prada and the students of the Escola Superior de Conservación de Bens Culturais de Galicia (High School of Conservation and Restauration of Cultural Objects of Galicia) Alejandra del Pino, Ángela Blanco, Iria Sinde, Laura García, Antonio Abad, Beatríz Blanco and Lidia Piñeiro, apart from the collaboration of Mercedes Calvo. Their selfless and indefatigable collaboration must be acknowledged. The presented analyses have been carried out by Carlos Ayora (Instituto Jaume Almera, CSIC; Barcelona) whose permanent accessibility and help must be pointed out. Thanks to Manuel Iglesias, the opportunities that the company MPA, S.L. offered have to be pointed out. They advised us seflessly on the use of the microabrasion and laser equipment used in the rockshelters.

Fig. 6.30. Panel 3 of area B in El Buraco before intervention

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Chapter 7 ARTE RUPESTRE DO VALE DO TEJO, 35 ANOS DEPOIS A.M. BAPTISTA Centro Nacional de Arte Rupestre Resumo: Entre 1972 e 1974, dezenas de milhares de gravuras rupestres de tipologia pré-histórica foram sendo descobertas e (muito) rapidamente estudadas em ambas as margens xisto-grauváquicas do Vale do Tejo, em território português. Parte da sua área de expansão alongar-se-ia ainda pelo chamado Tejo Internacional. O conjunto de sítios insculturados, com mais de 40.000 gravuras identificadas, que ficaria conhecido como o Complexo de Arte Rupestre do Vale do Tejo, seria logo em 1974 quase integralmente submerso pelas águas da barragem de Fratel, construída um pouco a montante da foz do Ocreza. Afundava-se assim a maior concentração de arte rupestre pós-glaciar até hoje identificada na Península Ibérica. Revisitando os sítios a partir da documentação arqueológica então recolhida, 35 anos depois das primeiras descobertas pouco se alterou relativamente às perspectivas que desde finais dos anos 70 defendemos para o ciclo artístico do Tejo. Muitos outros sítios foram desde então descobertos, a arte pré-histórica peninsular está hoje um pouco melhor sistematizada e é ordenada a partir de novas correntes de pesquisa, mas a Arte do Tejo permanece como o lugar charneira incontornável para o estudo da chamada Arte Esquemática ibérica. Ali se cruzaram tradições artísticas mediterrânicas e atlânticas, no Vale do Tejo floresceram alguns dos modelos tipológicos da pintura esquemática, das tradições artísticas megalíticas e foram gravadas muitas formas de clara raíz atlântica. Três teses foram apresentadas como tentativas de explicação evolutiva da simbólica artística do Vale do Tejo. Permanece ainda por ordenar a necessária sistematização deste imenso corpvs rupestre que, pelo facto de estar quase permanentemente afogado sob as águas do Tejo, não teve até hoje a sua merecida valorização arqueológica, como aconteceu, por exemplo, no Vale do Côa. Este facto não permitiu mesmo que até hoje os sítios rupestres do Tejo fossem classificados como Monumento Nacional de Portugal! Palavras chave: Arte Rupestre; Grabado; Tejo; Arte Esquemática Abstract: Between 1972 and 1974, tens of thousands of rock engravings of prehistoric typology were discovered and studied, very rapidly, on both schist-greywacke banks of the Tagus Valley, in Portuguese territory. Part of their distribution area extends along the so-called International Tagus. The ensemble of engraved sites, with over 40.000 known engravings, is known as the Complejo de Arte Rupestre del Vale del Tejo and was covered after 1974 by the waters of the Fratel reservoir, built by the mouth of the Ocreza River. Thus the greatest concentration of postglacial rock art identified until the present was flooded. Revisting the sites on the basis of the archaeological information recorded at the time, 35 years after the first discoveries, little did change the perspectives defended in the 1970’s regarding the artistic circle of the Tagus. Since then, many more sites have been discovered and the prehistoric rock art of the Iberian Peninsula is a little more systematised and has been reorganised on the basis of new research lines. However, the Art of the Tagus remains an area of special importance for the study of the so-called Iberian Schematic Art. It was there that Mediterranean and Atlantic artistic traditions met and in the Tagus Valley flourished some of the typological models of schematic art, of the megalithic artistic traditions, and some engravings were created that reflected clear Atlantic roots. Three hypotheses have been suggested that explain the evolution of the artistic symbology of the Tagus Valley. The huge rock art corpus remains to be systematised, which because it is permanently under the waters of the Tagus did not receive the archaeological assessment that it deserved, unlike the case for instance of the Côa Valley. This circumstance has impeded the rock art sites of the Tagus to be classified as National Monuments of Portugal. Key words: Rock Art; Engravings; Tagus; Schematic art

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Chapter 8 CARTA ARQUEOLÓGICA DE VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO - UMA LEITURA ACTUALIZADA DOS DADOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE Francisco HENRIQUES, João CANINAS, Mário CHAMBINO Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo Resumo: O concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão dispõe de cinco documentos com as características de inventário arqueológico. Nesta comunicação faz-se uma apresentação preliminar dos resultados do mais recente inventário, cujo Relatório Final está em preparação. O primeiro data de 1910, é da responsabilidade de Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior e integra um inventário de âmbito distrital, a Archeologia do Districto de Castello Branco. O segundo, de 1980, é da responsabilidade de Francisco Henriques e João Caninas (Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica dos Concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão e Nisa). O terceiro contributo, de 1986, é uma continuação do documento anterior, abrange a mesma área geográfica e é da responsabilidade dos mesmos autores. A quarta contribuição, de 1993, inédita, também da responsabilidade de Francisco Henriques e João Caninas, funde os dois documentos anteriores num único, e foi elaborado para a Câmara Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão, aquando da elaboração do primeiro Plano Director Municipal (PDM). O trabalho de campo para a quinta contribuição, elaborada novamente a pedido da Câmara Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão no âmbito da revisão do PDM, ocorreu entre 2004 e 2006. Contém 420 registos de sítios e monumentos com interesse arqueológico (acréscimo de 78% relativamente à contribuição de 1993). Identifica 120 arqueossítios atribuíveis à Pré-história Recente, cerca de 29% da totalidade dos registos deste inventário actualizado, distribuídos tipologicamente do seguinte modo: – 24 manchas de ocupação (20%); – 23 sítios com arte rupestre (19%); – 45 sepulturas megalíticas, antas, mamoas e tumuli (37%); – 26 achados isolados (21%) com destaque para os instrumentos de pedra polida; – 3 outros ou indeterminados (3%). As manchas de ocupação estão implantadas a curta distância do rio Tejo sobre plataformas detríticas e terraços com ocupação dispersa por vários hectares e frequentemente associadas aos maiores núcleos de arte rupestre do Tejo. Este modelo de ocupação tem equivalência na outra margem do Rio Tejo (concelho de Nisa) e a vários quilómetros a montante (concelho de Idanha-a-Nova). Dos sítios com arte rupestre destaca-se o complexo de Arte Rupestre do Tejo, sobejamente conhecido. Os outros sítios com gravuras rupestres, fora daquele contexto, correspondem quase exclusivamente a rochas gravadas com covinhas. As sepulturas (megalítica e não megalíticas) distribuem-se por todo o concelho, ocorrendo em terraços e plataformas detríticas, em relevos xisto-grauváquicos e até numa planície aluvial. Estão ausentes sobre cristas quartzíticas embora ocorram nos depósitos de vertente daquele tipo de relevos. A forte correlação espacial entre sepulturas, rochas gravadas e sítios de habitat (manchas de ocupação) emerge como um dado relevante para investigação. Palavras chave: Tajo; Inventário arqueológico; Sepulturas; Rochas gravadas; Habitat Abstract: Vila Velha de Ródão has five documents with the characteristics of archaelogic inventory. In this communication we do a preliminary presentation of the results of the most recent inventory wich the final report is in preparation. The first one dates from 1910, and his responsable is Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior and it integrates a most vast inventory named “Archeologia do Districto de Castelo Branco”. The second dates from 1980 and their responsables are Francisco Henriques e João Caninas (Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica dos Concelhos de V.V. de Ródão e Nisa). The third dates from 1986, and it’s a following resumption of the previous inventory, it includes the same geographic area wich responsibility belongs to the same authors. The fourth contribution, from 1993, unpublished, also from Francisco Henriques e João Caninas, melts the two previous documents in one and it was made for the Municipality of Vila Velha de Ródão when it was elaborated the first P.D.M. (Municipal Director Plan). The field labour to the fifth contribution, also elaborated on the request of the Municipality of Vila Velha de Ródão in scope of the revision of the P.D.M. ocurred between 2004 and 2006. It contains 420 registers of sites and monuments with archaeological interest. It identifies 120 archaeological sites to the recent Pre-History, about 29% of all the registers numbers from this updating inventory typologically classified in the following way: – 24 occupation spots (20%); – 23 sites with Rupestral Art (19%); – 45 megalithic graves, dolmens, mamoas and tumuli (37%); – 26 isolated remains (21%), with evidence for the polished stone tools; – 3 others or uncertain (3%). The occupation spots are implanted from short distance of the Tagus river, above detrital platforms and terraces with spread occupation for several hectares and mostly associated to the larger nucleus of Rupestral Art of the Tagus river. This model of occupation is equal to the other border of the Tagus river (that belongs to Nisa) and to several Kms upstream (that belongs to Idanha-a-Nova). From the sites with Rupestral Art we put in relief the Complex of Rupestral Art of the Tagus river, very well known. The other sites with rupestral engravings out from that context, suit almost exclusively to engraved rocks with little holes. The graves (Megalithic and none megalithic) are divided by all this area of Vila Velha de Ródão and occurred in terraces and detrital platforms, in reliefs schist-grauwackes and even in an alluvial plain. They are absent above quartzitic ridges although occurred on the sediments of declivity of those kind of reliefs. The strong special co-relation between graves, engraved rocks and habitat sites appears as a relevant clue to this investigation. Key words: Tagus; Archeologic inventory; Graves; Engraved rocks; Settlement

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Fig. 8.1. Localização geral do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão

Este texto traduz a comunicação apresentada na I Reunión de Estudos sobre la Prehistoria Reciente en el Tajo Internacional, realizada nos dias 1, 2 e 3 de Março de 2007 em Santiago de Alcântara (Espanha), a convite da Professora Doutora Primitiva Bueno. É uma primeira e rápida leitura dos dados referentes à Pré-História Recente, (do Neolítico ao Bronze Final) no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão.

8.1. INTRODUÇÃO No âmbito da revisão do Plano Director Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão a Câmara Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão (CMVVR) e a Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo (AEAT) assinaram, em 2005, um protocolo tendo como objectivo a actualização do inventário de sítios e monumentos de interesse arqueológico do território municipal.

8.2. A PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE NA CARTOGRAFIA E INVESTIGAÇÃO ARQUEOLÓGICA EM VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO

A informação contida nos inventários de 1980 (Henriques e Caninas), 1986 (Henriques e Caninas) e 1993 (Henriques e Caninas), passados que são mais de vinte anos desde a sua primeira divulgação, está manifestamente desactualizada em virtude de novas descobertas, fruto de investigações recentes e do tipo de registo realizado na época. Impunha-se, por este facto, a a sua actualização com reconhecimento, em campo, da totalidade dos sítios referenciados.

8.2.1. O território O território de Vila Velha de Ródão fica localizado no centro interior de Portugal, na margem direita do rio Tejo e junto à fronteira com Espanha. Tem como fronteiras naturais os rios Ponsul a Este, Ocreza a Norte e Oeste e Tejo a Sul.

Em resultado da revisão executada no âmbito do protocolo citado, verificou-se um acréscimo de 87,5% de arqueossítios. Da globalidade dos sítios e monumentos agora conhecidos destacam-se os datados da Pré-História Recente, que representam 29 % do total do novo inventário.

Este território de 328 Km2 reparte-se por quatro unidades geomorfológicas (Carvalho et al. 2006): a plataforma xisto-grauváquica (Grupo das Beiras do Pré-Câmbrico e 80

CARTA ARQUEOLÓGICA DE VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO – UMA LEITURA ACTUALIZADA DOS DADOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE

Fig. 8.2. Carta Geológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (seg. Carvalho et al. 2006)

Câmbrico; a crista quartzítica (Ordovícico), constituída pela serra das Talhadas; as plataformas detríticas (Formações de Falagueira, do Placenciano, e de Cabeço do Infante, do Paleogénico, e depósitos de terraço); e rio Tejo (Figura 8.2). Estas unidades condicionaram a presença humana neste território ao longo da sua História.

da ribeira do Açafal1 e de monumentos semelhantes em Fratel e Monte Fidalgo.

Devido à sua localização e morfologia, a área de Ródão tem sido palco de dois movimentos estruturantes para a região. O primeiro, de orientação Norte – Sul, pode ser ilustrado pela transumância. O segundo teve como eixo o rio Tejo, que proporcionou a ligação entre o interior peninsular e o oceano e poderá ser ilustrado com a navegação fluvial que atingiu Toledo na Época Moderna.

A anta da Urgueira parece ter sido o primeiro monumento que identificou no concelho (10.11.1903) tendo sido escavado uns meses mais tarde (7 e 8 de Agosto e 10 de Outubro de 19043). Posteriormente, foram escavados

Nos primeiros anos do século XX surge Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior2. Foi o primeiro arqueólogo a desenvolver actividade no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão.

1 Provável anta do Famaco ou anta do Açafal. “XLII – Dolmin? Trilithes. Proximo de Vila Velha de Rodam, e ao nascente da ribeira da Açafalla. O Sr. Schiappa diz-nos que nesta localidade se encontram na parte superior de uma collina três lajes (menhires) das quaes uma está cravada verticalmente, outra bastante inclinada e a terceira caída no chão. A sua altura proximadamente igual é de 1m,5”. 2 Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior (1883 – 1916). Era natural de Castelo Branco e filho de uma família aristocrática. Foi estudante do curso de direito da Universidade de Coimbra, durante os primeiros anos do século XX. O seu interesse superior foi a arqueologia. 3 Indíce nº 1 “Notações e dados iconográficos respeitantes às antas do districto de C. Branco”, datado de 1907. Em 1904 é apresentada a planta do monumento com a legenda “1º plano começo da exploração”. Terlhe-á dedicado um dia de trabalho.

8.2.2. A investigação arqueológica O primeiro documento conhecido, com propósito científico, acerca de monumentos e sítios com importância arqueológica do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão remonta a 1868 e é da responsabilidade de Pereira da Costa. Este autor refere informação relativa à existência de uma anta próximo de Vila Velha de Ródão, a nascente 81

F. HENRIQUES, J. CANINAS & M. CHAMBINO

outros monumentos, como algumas antas da necrópole megalítica de Sarnadas4 e o túmulo I do Lucriz (descoberto em 27.12.1904 e escavado em 30.10.1905).

Soromenho com vista à confirmação de uma informação recolhida em 1946 e que dava conta da existência de pedras escritas no Cachão do Boi, na margem direita do rio Tejo. A informação foi confirmada, o elevado interesse arqueológico do achado, como arte rupestre, foi reconhecido de imediato e a necessidade de empreender o seu estudo urgente provocou um abrandamento no ritmo da pesquisa nos terraços aluvionares do rio Tejo.

Uma das suas obras de referência é dedicada a um monumento deste concelho. É um trabalho monográfico publicado em 1909, relativo à Anta da Urgueira (Proença Júnior, 1909). Foi também a primeira publicação relativa à escavação de uma anta no distrito de Castelo Branco. Numa segunda, a Archeologia do Districto de Castello Branco (Proença Júnior, 1910), sintetiza a actividade arqueológico desenvolvida no distrito durante uma década.

Os trabalhos de planeamento para o indispensável levantamento da arte rupestre do Tejo iniciaram-se imediatamente e com carácter urgente, porque a jusante estava em fase adiantada de construção uma barragem hidroeléctrica (Fratel).

Relativamente ao concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão este documento lista 26 monumentos megalíticos (antas e mamoas), com destaque para a necrópole megalítica de Sarnadas, com 14 monumentos, 92 instrumentos de pedra polida e dois rebotalhos em sílex recolhidos.

As campanhas de prospecção nas margens do rio Tejo iniciaram-se na Primavera do ano seguinte (Maio, 1972), primeiro para jusante, depois para montante e mais tarde nos principais afluentes do rio Tejo. Em termos operacionais o grupo de trabalho foi dividido em quatro equipas (prospecção, topografia, fotografia e moldagem). A sua actividade, ao longo de dois anos, permitiu a recolha de um importante acervo documental constituído por mais de 1500 moldes em latex, fotografias e outros documentos para continuação do estudo até um futuro esvaziamento da albufeira.

Após a morte, prematura, de Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior o concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão ficou esquecido, ao nível da investigação arqueológica, por um período superior a 50 anos. Nas décadas 60 e 70 do século passado Vera Leisner, do Instituto Arqueológico Alemão de Lisboa, reviu a bibliografia dos monumentos megalíticos do concelho. Deste trabalho surgiu uma obra póstuma desta investigadora (Leisner, 1998), sob a coordenação de Philine Kalb, do mesmo Instituto, onde registam 29 monumentos megalíticos no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão, tantos quantos os indicados por Tavares Proença, ainda que a sua distribuição pareça não coincidir.

O complexo de arte rupestre do Vale do Tejo viria a ser corporizado por cerca de 40 mil gravuras abertas por picotagem sobre os bancos xisto - grauváquicos das margens daquele rio, ao longo de mais de 40 km. A sua cronologia abrange um espaço de tempo que medeia entre o Epipaleolítico e a Idade do Bronze. Após meados de 1974, o complexo de arte rupestre do Tejo ficaria submerso, pela albufeira de Fratel, em 95% da sua área. Restam visíveis dois núcleos a jusante da mesma barragem (Gardete e Ocreza, concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão e Mação) e outro a montante (São Simão, concelho de Nisa).

Em 1971 chegou a Ródão um grupo de jovens investigadores, do Grupo para o Estudos do Paleolítico Português (GEPP)5, com o objectivo de pesquisar os depósitos quaternários do concelho com vista à identificação e estudo da ocupação humana durante o período Paleolítico. Numa das primeiras estadas em Vila Velha de Ródão o grupo6 deslocou-se a Fratel (estação de caminhos-deferro) para um encontro com o Doutor Paulo Caratão

Em finais do ano de 1969 um grupo de jovens estudantes de Castelo Branco, na altura adolescentes, juntaram-se informalmente e começaram a visitar lugares, nos concelhos de Castelo Branco e de Vila Velha de Ródão, que a tradição popular referia como antigos e misteriosos. Unia-os a paixão pela aventura relacionada com o passado, ainda sem objectivos científicos.

4

Em Apontamentos, de 1904, apresenta o esboço de planta e respectiva localização de seis antas. Estes registos não têm data mas encontram-se entre páginas datadas de 03.09.1904 e 29.09.1904. Na Archeologia do Districto de Castello Branco (Proença Júnior, 1910: 3) escreve: “Atalaia. (Sarnadas). Há a pequena distancia d’esta localidade 14 ou talvez 16 antas quasi todas destruídas, algumas já exploradas por mim...”. 5 O Grupo para o Estudos do Paleolítico Português estava sedeado no Museu Nacional de Arqueologia e Etnologia, em Lisboa. Desenvolvia actividade desde 1970 e pretendia fazer “a revisão de jazidas anteriormente estudadas assim como o conhecimento de novas estações... orientando os estudos para a pesquisa dos terraços fluviais do interior”. 6 Esse grupo era constituído no dia 31 de Outubro de 1971 (Domingo) por Francisco Sande Lemos, Maria de los Angeles Querol, Susana Rodrigues Lopes, Jorge Pinho Monteiro, Maria Helena Afonso, Manuel Esteves (o guia), Vitor Coelho Martins e Paulo Caratão Soromenho. Este grupo assumiu-se, posteriormente, com a geração do Tejo (Raposo e Silva, 1996, p. 293-296).

Mas, em finais de 1971, estabeleceram contacto com elementos do GEPP. Este encontro foi o início de uma longa e profícua colaboração. E quando as grandes campanhas de levantamento da arte do Tejo terminaram em 1974, ficou no terreno um grupo7 de jovens muito 7 Grupo Amador Juvenil de Arqueologia (GAJA). Em 1975 alterou o nome para Núcleo Regional de Investigação Arqueológica (NRIA), que manteve até 1988, após o que passou a Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo (AEAT). Em 1988 a associação passou a ter personalidade jurídica mediante escritura pública.

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Quadro 8.1. Escavações em sítios da Pré-História Recente no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão Ano

Tipo de Sítio

Localização (Freguesia)

Responsável

1904

Anta

Urgueira (Perais)

F. Tavares de Proença Júnior

1904 -1908

Antas

Sarnadas – Atalaia (Sarnadas)

F. Tavares de Proença Júnior

1983 e 1985

Anta

Farranhão (Perais)

J. Caninas e F. Henriques (AEAT)

1987

Habitat

Charneca do Fratel (Fratel)

J. Soares et al (Museu de Setúbal/AEAT)

1989

Habitat

Cabeço da Velha (Fratel)

João Luis Cardoso et al (AEAT)

1990

Mamoa

Charneca das Canas (Fratel)

Fernando A. Pereira da Silva

2000

Mamoa

Charneca das Vinhas (Fratel)

J. Caninas e F. Henriques (AEAT)

2005

Habitat

Charneca do Janome

J. Caninas, F. Henriques et al (EMERITA)

motivados para dar continuidade ao levantamento arqueológico da região envolvente, visando cumulativamente a contextualização do complexo artístico.

Neolítico à Idade do Bronze na área considerada, objectivos gerais em tudo semelhantes aos das anteriores linhas de investigação.

O âmbito geográfico deste novo objectivo extravasou os limites do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão estendendo-se a Castelo Branco, Nisa, Idanha-a-Nova e Proença-a-Nova.

O Quadro 8.1 lista as escavações arqueológicas, em sítios da Pré-História Recente no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão.

Em 1980, como resultado das prospecções efectuadas na década de 70, surgiu a primeira contribuição para a carta arqueológica dos concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão e Nisa8 e uma nova contribuição em 1986.

8.2.3. Os inventários O concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão dispõe de cinco documentos com as características de inventário arqueológico.

Em 1886 o NRIA apresentou à Comissão Nacional para o Ano Europeu do Ambiente um projecto de investigação, de âmbito regional, designado Paleoantropologia e Paleoecologia no Alto Tejo Português. Teve a duração de quatro anos e permitiu intensificar os trabalhos de prospecção e escavação arqueológica na região, principalmente nos concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão (escavações em Cabeço da Velha, Charneca de Fratel e mamoa das Canas) e de Idanha-a-Nova (prospecções na freguesia de Rosmaninhal) e acções de divulgação.

O primeiro é da responsabilidade de Francisco Tavares de Proença Júnior (Proença Júnior, 1910), e integra um inventário de âmbito distrital, a Archeologia do Districto de Castello Branco. O segundo inventário data de 1980 (Henriques & Caninas, 1980). Foi divulgado numa publicação periódica do NRIA e contém os resultados das prospecções efectuadas na década de 70 do século passado. Para o concelho de Ródão, este inventário tem 95 registos relativos a monumentos e sítios, de tipologia muito diversificada, datados entre o Paleolítico e a Época Moderna.

Em 1992 deu-se continuidade ao projecto mencionado anteriormente sob a designação de Ocupação PréHistórica do Alto Tejo Português, agora com o patrocínio do Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico (IPPAR) e das autarquias locais. Na vigência deste projecto a área do concelho de Ródão foi contemplada com trabalhos de cartografia arqueológica.

O terceiro contributo para a carta arqueológica do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (Henriques & Caninas, 1986a) surgiu em 1986 e é uma continuação do inventário anterior. Este documento divulga 138 novos sítios e monumentos repartidos por várias épocas e tipos, tal como o anterior. Incluem-se, pela primeira vez, novos tipos como conheiras e muros de sirga.

Na continuidade dos dois projectos anteriores desenvolveu-se um terceiro programa denominado Pré-História Recente na Margem Direita do Alto Tejo Português (Altejo) homologado pelo Instituto Português de Arqueologia (IPA), no âmbito do Plano Nacional de Trabalhos Arqueológicos. Foi também da responsabili-dade da Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo e visava, essencialmente, inventariar os traços de humanização inscritos no território9 e caracterizar a evolução do povoamento do

O quarto documento, intitulado Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão, que permanece inédito, foi apresentado em 1986 na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra – Departamento de Arqueologia no âmbito de um seminário de investigação das alunas Cristina Silva e Luisa Filipe, coordenado pelo Prof. Doutor Jorge de Alarcão. Tem dois inventários, um de microtopónimos e outro de sítios

8

Henriques e Caninas (1980 e 1986). Corresponde, administrativamente, às áreas dos concelhos de Oleiros, Proença-a-Nova, Vila Velha de Ródão, Castelo Branco e Idanha-a-Nova. 9

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F. HENRIQUES, J. CANINAS & M. CHAMBINO

Quadro 8.2. Inventários arqueológicos do concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão Ano

Autores

Identificação

Nº total sítios

Nº sítios da PréHistória Recente

1910

Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior

Archeologia do Districto de Castello Branco

32

29

1980

Francisco Henriques e João Caninas

Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica dos Concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão e Nisa

95

24

1986

Francisco Henriques e João Caninas

Nova Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica dos Concelhos de Vila Velha de Ródão e Nisa

138

31

1986

Alexandra Piedade Silva e Luísa Filipe

Contribuição para a Carta Arqueológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (inédito)

68

1993

Francisco Henriques e João Caninas

Carta Arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão / para inclusão no Plano Director Municipal (inédito).

224

arqueológicos, este último com 68 ocorrências que vão, cronologicamente, do Paleolítico à Época Romana10.

53

– elaborar o registo de todos os sítios com importância histórica – lendário; – realizar o levantamento fotográfico dos sítios inventariados;

A quinta contribuição (Henriques & Caninas, 1993) resultou de uma solicitação do presidente da Câmara Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão, Inspector Baptista Martins, à Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo. Pretendia-se obter um instrumento de apoio à salvaguarda do património concelhio para inclusão no Plano Director Municipal. O documento tinha 244 registos e resultou, em grande parte, da fusão das contribuições de 1980 e 1986.

– georeferenciar os sítios inventariados, em colaboração com os serviços técnicos da CMVVR; – definir áreas arqueológicas sensíveis. No âmbito deste trabalho identificaram-se 418 sítios, o que representa um acréscimo de 87,5% de novos sítios relativamente ao inventário de 1993. Este acréscimo deveu-se, principalmente, à metodologia de trabalho de campo executada. No Quadro 8.3 apresenta-se a sua distribuição quantitativa por períodos históricos.

8.2.4. Trabalhos de campo de 2005-2006 Os últimos trabalhos de inventariação decorreram entre Março de 2005 e final de 2006 e foram proporcionados pelo processo de revisão do Plano Director Municipal. Para o efeito, a Câmara Municipal de Vila Velha de Ródão (CMVVR) e a Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo (AEAT) assinaram um protocolo que regula os termos da actualização do inventário concelhio de sítios (e monumentos) de interesse arqueológico.

Quadro 8.3. Carta Arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão. Distribuição dos sítios e monumentos segundo a sua cronologia

Este projecto foi designado Carta Arqueológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão e a sua coordenação tem sido assegurada por um dos signatários (F. Henriques).Tem como objectivos11:

Período Histórico

Nº

%

Pré-História Recente

121

29

Época Romana

99

24

Idade Moderna

76

18

Paleolítico

30

7

– elaborar uma ficha descritiva por sítio12;

Época Contemporânea

26

6

– elaborar uma base de dados informatizada para arquivo dos dados relativos ao sítios inventariados;

Idade Média

18

4

Idade do Ferro

2

1

– elaborar um inventário bibliográfico de relevância histórica e arqueológica;

Indeterminado

46

11

– revisitar os sítios com importância arqueológica; – prospectar áreas específicas, não atingidas por anteriores campanhas;

Verifica-se que os sítios da Pré-História Recente ocupam o topo da lista.

10 Na elaboração deste trabalho as autoras destacam a informação disponibilizada pelo NRIA. 11 O Relatório Final está em elaboração. 12 Seguiram-se os itens e a nomenclatura da base de dados de sítios arqueológicos do Instituto Português de Arqueologia.

O Quadro 8.4 mostra a representação, decrescente, das categorias mais significativas de sítios. Verifica-se que os sítios da Pré-História Recente (antas/mamoas, habitats e arte rupestre) ocupam posições cimeiras ou médias 84

CARTA ARQUEOLÓGICA DE VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO – UMA LEITURA ACTUALIZADA DOS DADOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE

Fig. 8.3. Distribuição global dos sítios da Pré-História Recente no concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão, sobre Carta Geológica do Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão (seg. Carvalho et al. 2006)

naquela lista, o que traduz a sua importância no contexto geral da presença humana no território de Ródão.

8.3. SÍTIOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE Apresenta-se, seguidamente, uma caracterização sumária das três principais categorias de sítios da Pré-História Recente, os habitats, as antas / mamoas e a arte rupestre. Excluíram-se desta apresentação, pela sua menor relevância cartográfica, os achados isolados, que neste período histórico correspondem, quase sempre, a ferramentas em pedra polida e a elementos de moagem.

Quadro 8.4. Carta Arqueológica de Vila Velha de Ródão. Hierarquização das principais categorias por nível de representação Categorias

Nº

Explorações Mineiras

66

Antas / Mamoas

44

Vias

26

Habitats da Pré-história Recente

25

Habitats Romanos

22

Igrejas / Capelas

22

Arte Rupestre

21

Sepulturas escavadas rocha

14

Sítios Paleolíticos

10

Inscrições

8

8.3.1. Habitats Foram identificados até ao momento 25 sítios desta categoria (Quadro 8.4). Os sítios de habitat, que atribuímos genericamente ao Neolítico-Calcolitico, implantam-se sobre terraços sedimentares, na área da Charneca de Vila Velha de Ródão, ou sobre relevos sedimentares residuais, na freguesia de Fratel (Carvalho et al. 2006). 85

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Os diferentes terraços sedimentares da área da Charneca de Vila Velha de Ródão representam embutimentos sucessivos da rede fluvial. O primeiro destes terraços (T1), o mais alto (cotas entre os 183 e 200 m), é constituído por conglomerado com blocos de quartzito e quartzo leitoso arredondados. É neste terraço (T1) que se observam os principais vestígios de ocupação datados da Pré-História Recente. A densidade dos vestígios diminui drasticamente nos restantes terraços (T2, T3, T4 e T5). A quase totalidade destes vestígios situa-se a curta distância do rio Tejo, a menos de 1000 m. Na freguesia de Fratel os sítios de habitat estão implantados sobre os relevos sedimentares residuais que integram a Formação da Falagueira, ocupando as cotas superiores do interflúvio Tejo / Ocreza e sobreelevados em relação à área circundante. A partir deles desfruta-se boa visibilidade em todo o redor. A distância que os separa dos rios Tejo ou Ocreza é variável nunca excedendo os 4000 m. Neste território todas as formações sedimentares residuais apresentam vestígios de ocupação.

Fig. 8.4. Cabeço da Velha (habitat do Neolítico Final)

A área que estes sítios ocupam, da ordem de vários hectares, e o tipo de dispersão de materiais presentes à superfície indiciam um povoamento disperso. Fora destes suportes geológicos identificaram-se outros quatro pequenos habitats, sobre arcoses. Os materiais visíveis á superfície sugerem ocupação mais antiga, eventualmente do Neolítico Inicial. O único sítio atribuível à Idade do Bronze está localizado junto a Gardete, sobre o único relevo granitóide existente no concelho e a poucas centenas de metros do rio Tejo, embora também esteja documentada uma presença episódica na Charneca de Fratel.

Fig. 8.5. Charneca de Fratel (muralha calcolítica)

O estado de conservação destes habitats é variável. Assim, os implantados em áreas agrícolas apresentam estado de conservação razoável nos casos em que o solo é ocupado com olival (Charneca de Vila Velha de Ródão) e mau quando a ocupação agrícola corresponde a vinha (Charneca de Fratel). O estado de conservação dos sítios implantados em áreas florestadas varia consoante o tipo de mobilização do solo (surriba ou vala-cômoro). Nos solos surribados, tal como nos espaços ocupados com eucaliptal (Charneca das Vinhas e Charneca do Janome), os registos arqueológicos foram total e irremediavelmente destruídos. Nos solos mobilizados em vala-cômoro resta o espaço entre as valas. Fig. 8.6. Cabeço da Velha (empedrado de combustão) Nas áreas florestais de geração espontânea o estado de conservação dos sítios pode considerar-se regular.

8.3.2. Antas / mamoas e tumuli

As ameaças à conservação destes sítios resultam do recurso ao revolvimento profundo do solo com maquinaria pesada para florestação. É o que acontece, por exemplo, na Charneca de Vila Velha de Ródão onde as áreas até agora ocupadas com olival tradicional estão a ser substituídas por povoamentos de sobreiro com arranque do olival e mobilização do solo em vala-cômoro.

No concelho de Ródão foram identificadas 44 antas e/ou mamoas a que devemos adicionar 13 pequenos tumuli, agregados num único conjunto ou necrópole. Estes monumentos ocorrem em terraços e plataformas detríticas, em relevos xisto-grauváquicos e até numa 86

CARTA ARQUEOLÓGICA DE VILA VELHA DE RÓDÃO – UMA LEITURA ACTUALIZADA DOS DADOS DA PRÉ-HISTÓRIA RECENTE

vigia, etc.), onde também se implantam as sepulturas pré-históricas;

planície aluvial. Estão ausentes sobre cristas quartzíticas embora ocorram nos depósitos de vertente daquele tipo de relevos.

– alargamento dos povoamentos florestais reflorestação de áreas ardidas – acções problemáticas devido ao tipo de mobilização do solo.

Os 13 tumuli mencionados estão concentrados num único local e em mau estado de conservação devido à incidência de práticas agrícolas tradicionais.

A prevenção de danos, nomeadamente sobre monumentos ainda não descobertos, passaria pela prospecção sistemática das áreas a florestar e pelo acompanhamento por arqueólogo das operações de mobilização de solo, nas áreas mais sensíveis.

Distribuem-se por todo o concelho, embora se observe uma maior concentração na freguesia de Fratel (a oeste da crista quartzitica), que é uma das áreas do concelho onde se identificou um conjunto expressivo de sítios de habitat coevos daqueles monumentos. Noutra área de concentração de habitats, a Charneca de Vila Velha de Ródão, foram identificados apenas dois monumentos deste tipo, nos rebordos da plataforma. Tal rarefação poderá dever-se à intensa ocupação do solo, desde a época romana, para fins agrícolas e mineiros. O estado de conservação destes monumentos está sintetizado no Quadro 8.5. Encontram-se em estado de conservação razoável apenas um quarto (25%) destes monumentos e 64 % foram destruídos, total ou parcialmente. Deve salientar-se o efeito altamente negativo da floresta industrial desde meados dos anos 80 do século XX. Lamentavelmente, porque seria relativamente fácil garantir a sua conservação. Quadro 8.5. Estado de Conservação das Antas / mamoas Estado de Conservação

Nº

%

Regular

11

25%

Mau

3

7%

Em perigo (por floresta industrial)

2

4%

Destruído (total ou parcialmente)

28

64%

Causas várias

8

18%

Agrícolas

7

16%

Floresta industrial

13

30%

Fig. 8.7. Cabeço D´Ante (anta)

A partir do conhecimento adquirido neste território, há várias décadas, indicam-se algumas das principais ameaças à conservação deste tipo de monumentos: – vulnerabilidade dos monumentos – pelas suas dimensões são facilmente destruídos, principalmente pela maquinaria pesada usada na mobilização do solo;

Fig. 8.8. Murtal (anta)

– revolvimento profundo do solo em operações de florestação – pelo tipo de meios utilizados (maquinaria pesada) no revolvimento do solo. Estes monumentos resistiram durante milénios e sobreviveram às mobilizações de solo praticadas na agricultura tradicional;

8.3.3. Arte rupestre Foram identificados 21 sítios com manifestação de arte rupestre, gravada, onde sobressai o vasto complexo de arte rupestre do Tejo, do qual apenas se consideram os conjuntos da margem direita do rio Tejo, abrangidos pelo município de Ródão.

– construção de infra-estrururas de apoio à florestação – é comum a implantação de infra-estruras de apoio à floresta sobre cumeadas (aceiros, estradões, postos de 87

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Exceptuando um pequeno conjunto de covinhas gravadas em quartzito, em ponto elevado da serra do Gavião (crista quartzítica) e um bloco móvel em granito, também com covinhas, a grande maioria das gravuras rupestres tem como suportes afloramentos de xisto. Por outro lado, a larga maioria dos afloramentos insculpidos situa-se nas margens de cursos de água, de diferente caudal (rios Tejo e Ocreza, ribeira da Malaguarda e ribeiro das Ferraduras). É esta a posição topográfica do chamado arte rupestre do Tejo. Fora deste complexo rupestre, de grande diversidade temática, os motivos representados cigem-se a covinhas. O estado de conservação dos painéis gravados, em xisto ou quartzito, é regular. Este estado decorre da implantação dos suportes, em locais de difícil acesso, mesmo para maquinaria pesada, e à ausência de solo florestável. Desconhece-se o estado de conservação dos milhares de gravuras submersas pela albufeira da barragem de Fratel e que constituem o complexo de arte rupestre do Tejo. As ameaças à integridade destas gravações variam em função da implantação topográfica dos respectivos suportes. Assim, os sítios do complexo de arte rupestre do Vale do Tejo que se encontram emersos, e em locais visitáveis, estão sujeitos a actos de vandalismo da parte dos visitantes, cujas marcas são hoje visíveis em alguns locais. Deixou também de se sentir o papel benéfico das grandes cheias do rio (através do controle feito pelas barragem em toda a sua rede hidrográfica) na “limpeza” dos painéis de musgos e líquenes, agentes bióticos que minam, lentamente, as superfícies gravadas. Por sua vez, os painéis situados na zona de variação do nível da água, da albufeira de Fratel, estão sujeitos a efeitos extremamente negativos, de desagregação e fissuração, com perda das respectivas gravuras.

Fig. 8.10. Arte do Tejo (cervídeo)

8.4. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS Os trabalhos de campo executados em 2005 e 2006 vieram reforçar a percepção da excepcional importância do território de Ródão durante a Pré-História Recente, em especial com a revelação de novos sítios de habitat. Estes dados confrontam-nos com a elevada sensibilidade (em termos de conservação) dos sítios arqueológicos que estão implantados nas formações detríticas das Charnecas de Vila Velha de Ródão e de Fratel. Estes trabalhos permitiram:

Os painéis implantados fora dos vales encaixados estão mais facilmente sujeitos à destruição da sua superfície devido à passagem da maquinaria pesada utilizada na preparação dos solos para florestação.

– identificar novos habitats neo-calcolíticos; – confirmar a sua grande extensão e modelo de implantação; – confirmar a existência de habitats a curta distância dos principais conjuntos de arte rupestre; – reconhecer analogias com habitats identificados noutros territórios do vale do Tejo, na margem oposta (Nisa) e a montante (Monforte e Rosmaninhal); – identificar novas sepulturas megalíticas; – identificar sítios atribuíveis (ainda que de forma provisória) à Idade do Bronze (tumuli e habitat); – angariar dados para o aprofundamento de uma correlação espacial entre as três principais categorias de sítios Pré-História Recente, os habitats, as sepulturas (antas, mamoas) e a arte rupestre.

Fig. 8.9. Malaguarda (rocha com covinhas) 88

Chapter 9 TOMBS AND ROCK CARVINGS IN THE SERRA VERMELHA AND SERRA DE ALVÉLOS (OLEIROS - CASTELO BRANCO) João Carlos CANINAS, Armando SABROSA, Francisco HENRIQUES, José Luis MONTEIRO, Emanuel CARVALHO, Álvaro BATISTA, Mário CHAMBINO, Fernando ROBLES HENRIQUES, Mário MONTEIRO, Alexandre CANHA, Luis CARVALHO e Adriano GERMANO Associaçao de Estudos do Alto Tejo Abstract: Since 2002, within the context of the Wind Farm Project in the Pinhal Interior (Generg Group), systematic archaeological surveys have been undertaken in upland areas of the central massif, south of the River Zêzere in the Tagus river basin. The area in question (in the county of Oleiros, district of Castelo Branco) takes in the upper valley of the River Sertã, and is bordered to the south by the Serra do Cabeço Rainha (Serra de Alvélos), to the north by the Serra de Vermelha and to the east by the Serra do Moradal. This paper presents the results of findings made in the context of environmental studies for the Wind Farm Project, focusing upon sites that could possibly be from Recent Prehistory. These include circular structures of various shapes and forms, built upon artificial mounds (tombs), and rock engravings. Special attention is given to the results of the already completed excavation of a small structure (Vale de Mós I). Mounds at two other sites (Selada do Cavalo and Feiteiras, also located in the Serra Vermelha) are still undergoing excavation. The archaeological intervention at Vale de Mós I has revealed a circular constructed mound in a reasonable state of conservation, consisting of an outer embankment (outer ring) made of earth and small fragments of calibrated quartz. Next to this embankment is an inner ring formed of a series of schist slabs laid out radially, mostly lying down and leaning slightly towards the centre. Inside the monument is a broad cairn, consisting of two levels of schist slabs and blocks, mostly laid out horizontally in an orderly fashion, and filling the central space. A small ceramic fragment was collected from the base of the outer ring, corresponding to a handmade vessel, possibly dating from the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age periods. From the slabs of the inner stone ring, we also collected earth, charcoal and a seed, which have been submitted for palaeoenvironmental (pollinic and carpological) testing and radiometric dating. The results of these tests are still pending. Key words: Tagus; Mounds; Rock carvings Resumo: O Projecto Eólico do Pinhal Interior (Grupo Generg) viabilizou, a partir do ano de 2002, a execução de prospecções arqueológicas sistemáticas em locais elevados de sistema montanhoso integrado no Maciço Central, a Sul do rio Zêzere, na bacia hidrográfica do rio Tejo. O território em apreço (concelho de Oleiros, distrito de Castelo Branco) abarca o vale superior da ribeira da Sertã, sendo enquadrado a Sul pela Serra do Cabeço Rainha (Serra de Alvélos), a Norte pela Serra de Vermelha e a Leste pela Serra do Moradal. Apresentam-se os resultados das descobertas efectuadas no âmbito de estudos ambientais do Projecto Eólico, com destaque para os sítios atribuíveis à Pré-História Recente, em especial estruturas sob montículo artificial, de geometria circular e apreciável diversidade morfo-estrutural (tumuli) e grafias rupestres. Destacam-se os resultados da escavação, já concluída, de uma pequena estrutura (Vale de Mós I), estando a decorrer trabalhos de escavação de montículos em dois outros locais (Selada do Cavalo e Feiteiras), também situados na Serra Vermelha. A intervenção arqueológica em Vale de Mós 1 permitiu identificar uma construção monticular, de geometria circular, em razoável estado de conservação, constituída por um aterro exterior (anel externo) constituído por terra e pequenos fragmentos de quartzo bem calibrados. Encostado a este aterro existe um anel (interno) formado por sequência de lajes de xisto, dispostas radialmente, maioritariamente deitadas e ligeiramente inclinadas para o interior. No interior do monumento foi observado um amplo empedrado constituído por dois níveis de lajes e blocos de xisto, dispostos tendencialmente em posição horizontal, bem arrumados, e preenchendo o espaço central. Na base do anel exterior foi recolhido um pequeno fragmento de cerâmica correspondente a uma taça de fabrico manual, atribuível ao Calcolítico ou à Idade do Bronze. Sob as lajes que definem o anel lítico interno fizeram-se recolhas de terra, carvões e de uma semente para análise paleoambiental (polínica e carpológica) e datação radiométrica, cujos resultados se aguardam. Palavras chave: Tejo; Túmulo; Grafías rupestres

Interior, a project which involved the construction of ten sets of wind turbines, promoted by the group GENERG SA. The survey was performed by the archaeological company EMERITA Lda on behalf of various consultants (PROSISTEMAS SA, PROCESL Lda, PROFICO Lda and IPA Lda).

9.1. INTRODUCTION In 2002 and 2003, archaeological surveys were carried out in the counties of Oleiros, Proença-a-Nova and Sertã in the district of Castelo Branco, as part of the environmental studies for the Wind Farm of Pinhal 89

J.C. CANINAS, ET AL.

This led to the discovery, for the first time in the area, of circular artificial mounds, built of earth and clasts of schist-greywacke and quartz, apparently related to prehistoric funeral rituals (tumuli). New rocks with schematic engravings were also identified, in keeping with discoveries made some years earlier in the western part of the Serra de Alvélos (Batata, 1998; Batata & Gaspar, 2000).

9.2. LOCATION AND ANTECEDENTS The county of Oleiros, in the district of Castelo Branco, takes in the upper valley of the River Sertã, and is bordered to the south by the Serra do Cabeço Rainha (also known as the Serra de Alvélos and Serra de Lontreira, depending upon the source used), to the north by the Serra de Vermelha (also known as the Serra de Alvélos) and to the east by a quartz crest (Serra do Moradal). The River Zêzere, still part of the Tagus river basin, runs northwards.

After the devastating fires of 2003, which destroyed much of the shrub cover (mostly heather [Erica sp.] and broom [Pterospartum tridentatum]), the archaeological interest of these mounds was confirmed. Other similar structures were also discovered, which were smaller and had therefore been totally hidden by vegetation.

The Serra Vermelha, where most of the findings are concentrated, is an extensive upland area, which reaches its maximum altitude of 970m at Povoinha. It lies in a general NE-SW direction, forming a watershed between the river basins of the Zêzere in the north and the Sertã in the south.

In 2005, the Upper Tagus Study Association (AEAT) became involved in this work, and organised an extensive archaeological survey in the county of Oleiros. Priority was given to mountain top areas that had been burnt in the fires (Caninas, Henriques & Gouveia, 2003).

It is a vast pre-Ordovician geological formation of schistgreywacke at the southern end of the Central Massif (Figures 9.1 and 9.2). The great age of these rocks means that they reveal signs of the different orogenies (Hercinian and Alpine) which affected the region. They therefore tend to be highly metamorphised, with many folds, fractures and faults. Quartz, the other kind of rock present at these sites, is formed by filonian accumulations in existing fractures.

The discoveries made in the context of the environmental studies for the Pinhal Interior Wind Farm and the surveys organised by AEAT have already been presented in a regional journal (Caninas et al. 2004), at the Colloquium on Prehistoric Spaces in Central and Northern Iberia (Viseu, 2005), at the 1st Belmonte Heritage Conference (2006) and in the Itinerant Exhibition 25 Archaeological Sites of Beira Interior (Caninas et al. 2005). Within the context of the wind farm project, archaeological surveys were carried out under the auspices of EMERITA Lda and are now completed. Three different sites (Vale de Mós, Selada do Cavalo and Feiteiras) were also excavated, undertaken as a partnership between EMERITA Lda and AEAT The works of surveying, excavation and monitoring of the site were licensed by the Portuguese Institute of Archaeology (IPA) and entirely financed by GENERG SA. Logistic support for the excavations was provided by the Oleiros Town Council, and technical support by the Almada Municipal Museum and the Lisbon Regional Board of the Portuguese Institute for Architectural Heritage (IPPAR). In addition to the authors, the archaeologists Carlos Batata, Alexandre Correia, Idalina Medeiros, Carlos Chaves and Ana Rigueiro also participated in this work.

Fig. 9.1. Location in the Iberian Peninsula

Until recently, references to archaeological remains in the county were scarce, and no monuments or sites earlier than the Late Bronze Age were known.

Finally, we would like to thank Professor Primitiva Bueno from the University of Alcalá de Henares and the Ayuntamiento de Santiago de Alcantára for their kind invitation to take part in the 1st Conference on Recent Prehistory in the International Tagus.

The first Archaeological Charter of the District of Castelo Branco (Proença Jr, 1910) refers to the discovery of ten “stone axes” in the county. These were probably associated to megalithic tombs or to unidentified NeoChalcolithic habitats. This archaeological potential was highlighted in the posthumous work by Vera Leisner on megaliths in the Beiras (Leisner & Kalb, 1998), with

The translation of this paper into English was done by Karen Bennett. 90

TOMBS AND ROCK CARVINGS IN THE SERRA VERMELHA AND SERRA DE ALVÉLOS (OLEIROS - CASTELO BRANCO)

already mentioned by Proença Junior (1910). Recently, an unpublished paper was presented at the Regional Conference (W AA, 2005) about findings from the same period at Zebro, in the same mountain range. From the Roman period, there are references to two hoards of coins (Alarcão, 1988a; Batata, 2006), while archaeological excavations have been carried out in the Vale do Souto (Mosteiro) at a site where there are vestiges of the Roman-Visigoth presence (Diogo & Neto, 2000). The Francisco Tavares de Proença Jr Museum (Castelo Branco) also has in its collection a small bronze statuette of a bull from the vicinity of the Serra de Oleiros, dated from the 2nd – 3rd centuries (Gomes, 2004a). The long line of schist mountains (Alvélos, Vermelha) that crosses the county in a northeast-southwesterly direction stretches westward as far as the region of Abrantes and, to the east, at the Serra do Moradal, joins another long ridge, the Serra da Gardunha, thereby providing topographical continuity as far as Fundão. Like the waterway (River Sertã), these hills may have provided long-distance land routes between the regions today known as Cova da Beira, in the northeast, and Alto Ribatejo, in the southwest. These uplands form a unit known as the Serras da Gardunha, de Alvélos e do Moradal, the specific nature of which was recognised in a recent study into the landscape of mainland Portugal (Cancela d’Abreu et al. 2004). 9.3. TUMULI AND ROCK CARVINGS There are two types of archaeological remains identified within the context of the work described above (Figure 9.3) and which we shall be dealing with in this text: the circular artificial burial mounds (tumuli), which will be dealt with first because of their greater representativity; and secondly, the rock carvings (or grafias, in the terminology of Bueno, Balbín & Alcolea, 2003) visible on the schist-greywacke outcrops, achieved using different techniques. They are located at high altitudes, particularly in the Serra Vermelha, although they also occur in other upland areas in the region. The rock carvings are apparently more frequent in the Serra do Cabeço Rainha (or Serra de Alvélos, as it is sometimes known).

Fig. 9.2. Altimetric location in mainland Portugal (adapted from Alarcão, 1988b:12)

reference to the place name Lomba das Antas (“Slope of the Dolmens”). There is more data available about the human presence from the Late Bronze Age onwards, as has been demonstrated in Carlos Batata’s thesis on the Iron Age and Romanization of the area between the rivers Zêzere, Tagus and Ocreza (Batata, 2006), which covers the zone that interests us here. In the catalogue of sites provided by that researcher, there exist settlements very high up in the mountains, different types of Roman habitat, mines from the same period and a network of roads, which the author believes to be of considerable antiquity and connected with the exploitation of mineral resources.

The mounds are regular concentrations consisting of earth and clasts of quartz and schist, and are clearly anthropic, which means they may be classified as constructions. There is considerable variation in their form and structure, i.e. in the dimension of the volume visible above ground and in their constitution. Some may be considered megalithic, although no classic dolmen structures have as yet been documented; the majority, however, are submegalithic. They generally occur in clusters of two or three monuments.

In the county of Oleiros, there is reference to an Iron Age settlement at the southern tip of the Serra do Moradal, 91

J.C. CANINAS, ET AL.

Fig. 9.3. Distribution of tumuli (circles) and rock carvings (asterisk) in the county of Oleiros

The most impressive monument found to date is a mound around 23m in diameter and 3m high (Cova da Moura) near Selada da Póvoa (Figura 9.4), at an altitude of around 800m. It contains a central depression, 6m in diameter around the edge, corresponding to the funeral chamber. From the outside, it appears to consist mostly of earth, though there are also some rounded schist blocks and some small blocks of quartz. Other monuments with these characteristics exist in Moura and Mata do Álvaro.

ways. There are tumuli composed of mixed stones, including milky quartz and schist (such as Selada do Cavalo at around 900m in altitude, see Figure 9.5); others made almost exclusively of schist (eg. Feiteiras at around 900m in altitude, see Figure 9.6), and yet others that use only milky quartz (such as Cabeço do Seixo at around 560m in altitude, see Figure 9.7). These may be considered cairns. One of the monuments identified at Cabeço do Seixo has an inner ring of upright schist slabs.

Fig. 9.4. Mound at Selada da Póvoa

Fig. 9.5. Tumuli at Selada do Cavalo

A different kind of cluster (earth tumuli), which are more numerous, consists of smaller mounds, with diameters in the order of 12m to 8m, constructed in several different

Even smaller mounds have been identified with apparently similar composition (schist and quartz; schist alone; or quartz alone), such as in the Vale de Mós; however, 92

TOMBS AND ROCK CARVINGS IN THE SERRA VERMELHA AND SERRA DE ALVÉLOS (OLEIROS - CASTELO BRANCO)

Those identified at Alto do Pobral, in the eastern part of the Cabeço Rainha, are distributed across six different panels located on the northeast (Rocks 1 and 2) and northwest (Rocks 3 and 6) slopes of a plateau lying beneath the summit at Lontreira (1038m). The motifs have been created using pecking, abrasion and incision techniques. The plateau is positioned at the eastern edge of a vast natural amphitheatre (Figure 9.8) at the source of the River Lontreira, which flows north towards Oleiros, where it joins the River Sertã.

Fig. 9.6 Mound at Feiteiras

Fig. 9.8. Sources of the River Lontreira The motifs, engraved by pecking and abrasion, are located at an altitude of between 900 and 980m. Throughout the whole of the surrounding area, there are other outcrops with often spacious surfaces that would be eminently suitable for engraving, but which nevertheless remain empty.

Fig. 9.7. Tumulus at Cabeço do Seixo

Rock 1 shows two “horseshoe” shapes, broad pecked furrows that are hewn well into the rock, and which form a pair with their concavities facing northwards. Rock 2 is a small engraved outcrop with a delicate furrow representing a podomorph (Figure 9.9). The figure extends to the very edge of the rock. Moreover, the symmetry of the panel suggests that a pair of shod feet has been engraved. Rock 3 contains an isolated circular figure defined by a pecked furrow. Rock 4 shows an isolated circular engraving that is small in size, defined by a deeply-hewn but very irregular furrow. This figure was carved in a fine layer of milky quartz. Rock 5 includes an outcrop aligned with the support of Rock 3 and similar in shape. The panel, which is narrow and elongated, shows a pair of circular figures (Figures 9.10 and 9.11) defined by pecked furrows that are well marked in the rock.

their true dimensions will only become clear after removal of the vegetation. But amongst this cluster of small mounds, there may be others that are more modern in origin, but whose purpose could not be established through surface observation and local information. They do not appear to be agricultural in origin, ruined shelters or territorial markers. It is significant that, close to these different types of mound, there are almost always ancient cart tracks, marked by furrows made by the passage of wheels. The age of these tracks interests us here, given their proximity to the monuments. The rock carvings that have been identified to date at different sites in the county are divided into two groups of rocks (Alto do Pobral and Sesmarias), with others scattered elsewhere. The motifs are generally inscribed on subhorizontal panels, discreetly inserted into the landscape. In fact, during the course of the archaeological surveys, the most prominent rocky outcrops were found to be devoid of carvings.

Rock 6, which seems to be associated to an etiological myth, has been carved using a different technique to the others and is located higher up, near an old disused cart track. It shows two thread-like broken lines forming an M-shape. These motifs, which may be alphabetiform, are similar to the letters present in the word MITAMVS, engraved on the rock cluster at Fechadura (Batata, 1998). 93

J.C. CANINAS, ET AL.

This would mean that they were in fact from a later period, though, like at Fechadura, they also indicate that the practice of marking open-air rocks persisted.

Fig. 9.11. Location of the panel with two circles (Alto do Pobral)

These clusters of engravings effectively extend the ancient signs represented on the outcrops of the Serra do Cabeço Rainha eastward from the clusters at Fechadura and Lajeira (Batata, 1998), indicating the territorial importance of that geological feature in the recent prehistory of the region (indeed, this was the highest land in the region south of the Zêzere).

Fig. 9.9. Podomorph (Alto do Pobral)

A more remarkable group may be seen on the ridge overlooking the town of Oleiros (Sesmarias, Serra Vermelha). This consists of three rocks, of which copies of two are given below (Figures 9.12 and 9.13). It is characterized by a large number of shod feet (podomorphs), sometimes in pairs, often with pairs of transversal furrows engraved in three different ways and with numerous superimpositions. In addition to the shod feet, there are also other motifs such as elongated figures (perhaps idoliforms) and an anthropomorph. Fig. 9.10. Two circles (Alto do Pobral)

Fig. 9.12. Rock 1 at Sesmarias 94

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Fig. 9.13. Rock 2 at Sesmarias

At the base of the stratigraphic sequence, there are podomorphs, whose contours have been clearly drawn using narrow furrows or thread-like markings. These may have been sketches (Gomes & Monteiro, 1977a), although some have other figures that are oriented differently superimposed upon them. A second way of representing feet consists of an outline marked with a pecked furrow that is deep and broad.

In addition to these two clusters, there are also other occurrences with particular markings, in pairs or groups of three, representing circles, spirals and horse shoes. Finally, on a slope of the Serra Vermelha, there are two rocks (Figure 9.14) with cupmarks (Mosteiro). 9.4. TOMB 1 AT VALE DE MÓS AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS

The feet are also represented in a third way using deep, extensive and rough-hewn pecking (which might be an attempt to annihilate the preceding figures). Two examples of this type may be seen, on Rock 1 (though in only one section) and on Rock 2. The fact that the filling hides the transversal furrows of the underlying engravings would seem to support this hypothesis (Rock 2). Three types of marking may be distinguished, and the respective superimpositions in black and two shades of grey.

Structure 1 at Vale de Mós is situated on a gentle slope (Figure 9.15) at the top of the Serra Vermelha, within the compound of the Alvélos Wind Farm. It has now been totally excavated. When it was discovered in 2005, approximately half of its area had been cut off by a road that ran alongside the eucalyptus plantation. It was a well-defined mound, of around 5m in diameter, consisting of schist slabs and small blocks of milky quartz.

Fig. 9.14. Rock 2 with cupmarks (Mosteiro)

Fig. 9.15. Location of the tomb at Vale de Mós 1 95

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tombs excavated in the Viseu region (for example, Cruz et al. 1998).

On the surface, no central depression can be seen corresponding to the funeral container, nor any other structures consistent with delimitation rings. A stretch of ancient cart track was identified, marked by a channelshaped depression in the rocky substratum and by wheel tracks near the mound on the SE side.

The fact that this structure was in a reasonable state of conservation indicated that, though it was old, it had never been affected by traditional tilling methods, which would certainly have caused more generalized damage, given its surface position. Indeed, this would seem to prove that the spot had never been used for farming, either in the distant or more recent past. However, there were breaks in the southern quadrant of the structure, and some of the radial stones and part of the milky quartz sequence of the outer ring had disappeared. This could be due to some dragging caused by forestry machinery at a recent date.

The structure was therefore squeezed between the present road and the old disused cart track. Moreover, the earth had been visibly churned at the surface and there were fresh deposits of earth, resulting from the passage of heavy machinery, perhaps during the building of the road and/or the planting of the eucalyptus forest. Although the layout of the clasts on the surface of the terrain seemed at first sight to be somewhat chaotic, after the first layer of sediment had been removed, it became clear that this was a regular concentration of small blocks of milky quartz, defining a circular structure (Figure 9.16).

A stratigraphic unit (UE 1) was identified formed (inconsistently) of earth, small blocks of milky quartz and small slabs of schist. This may correspond to the remains of a lid or capstone placed upon closure of the central structure, giving it the shape of a mound. Its irregularity may also have been due to disturbances caused at a recent date by forestry machinery. The dismantling of the nucleus revealed a cairn composed exclusively of schist slabs, as had been seen on the upper level. It was seen, once again, that there was no vertical structure connecting with a funerary container or indications of a negative structure (pit). The schist slabs and blocks that occupied this space were laid out mostly horizontally and were generally well-ordered, i.e. packed closely together to reduce the spaces between them. But there had also been some cracking and vertical displacements of stones, due to pressure exerted by briars which had grown up in that space and spread over the structure from top to bottom.

Fig. 9.16. Tomb at Vale de Mós 1

Next, the second level of the cairn was dismantled and the nucleus excavated as far as the rocky substratum. The outer crown, consisting of earth and milky quartz, was dismantled; and finally, the schist slabs from the inner ring were removed.

This structure (UE 3) revealed a crown of earth and small blocks of milky quartz, raised in relation to the outer level and thus defining the perceptible limit of the monument, with a nucleus composed almost exclusively of schist blocks (UE 4). The transition from the nucleus to the outer crown consisted of a sequence of schist slabs laid out radially (UE 2), forming a second crown concentric to the first. The slabs of this inner crown lean slightly inwards.

When the second level of the inner cairn was removed, it was found that it had been laid almost directly upon the rocky substratum throughout most of the space. But the depressions and irregularities in the rock surface had also been filled in with earth and small schist blocks (UE 5), thereby flattening it out. The information gathered from the excavation of the nucleus did not provide any clue as to the function of the monument. In fact, there were no ritual artefacts of any kind, of ceramic, stone or even metal. Neither was there any evidence of burning, above or below the cairn, as shown by the presence of thermoclasts, fire-reddened earth or unusually high concentrations of carbons.

The nucleus (UE 4) was filled with schist slabs laid out horizontally, sometimes one on top of the other, and pointing in different directions. At the start of the intervention, an unsuccessful attempt was made to identify any alignments or regularities that could indicate the top of some structure that might delimit a chamber, cist or other type of funerary container. Thus, the possibility was entertained that the central nucleus of schist slabs, though over-sized, could correspond to the lid or cover of a burial pit, through analogy with the

The second stage consisted of excavating the outer ring, consisting of earth and milky quartz. This proved to be 96

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Fig. 9.17. General plan of Vale de Mós 1

disturbances. The samples collected by the field team were sent for analysis by José Mateus and Paula Queiroz of the Palaeobotany Laboratory at the CIPA (Research Centre in Human and Archaeoscientific Palaeoecology).

homogenous throughout its whole perimeter. It formed an embankment, raised in relation to the outside and inside of the monument, capped by two layers of well-calibrated milky quartz blocks. This embankment appeared, finally, to serve as a support to the inner arch of schist slabs (UE 2). In square B4, at the base of the embankment, a small smooth-sided handmade ceramic fragment was found, possibly dating from the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age periods.

A petrographic and granulometric characterization was done of the archaeological structure, involving the counting and measurement of all clasts included in it. That allowed us to recognise regularities in the spatial distribution of stones and calibres. It was noted, in particular, that the milky quartz had greater expression in the outer ring, with a granulometry mostly of 5cm or less at the corners (clasts of this nature tend to be cubic in shape). This might reveal an intention on the part of the builders to select stones of a particular size. However, there are no signs of any intentional splitting of stones; indeed, the high degree of fracturing along the veins would have meant that clasts could have been obtained with granulometry identical to those found.

The last phase of work consisted of removing the inner ring of schist slabs and excavating the underlying volume as far as the rocky substratum. This removal was oriented, first and foremost, by the collection of ecodata. In fact, the sediments compacted under these slabs seemed to offer the most reliable context of the whole monument for the sampling of pollens and carbons, given the incidence of biogenic (incarbonizations of shrub roots subsequent to the construction/use of the monument) or anthropogenic 97

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The uniqueness of this structure (for indeed no formal parallels have been found) make it difficult to speculate about its function and chronology. In this case, as in many others, it might perhaps be easier to investigate its antiquity rather than its purpose. In fact, the central receptacle is broad in relation to the size of the structure as a whole, and differs from the various types of containers usually found in small mound architectures, such as cists, pits or empty spaces inside cairns (Cruz et al. 1998; Cruz & Vilaça, 1999). The structure suggests that it was used as an open-air receptacle. The suggestion that it may have been used as a base for a funeral pyre or as a receptacle for the skinning of corpses (Schutter, 2005) is interesting, but unfortunately cannot be proved through lack of evidence.

in Europe. This fact, together with the topography, made travelling through the region difficult. The fact that the archaeological potential of the area was unknown until recently (apart from the studies undertaken by Carlos Batata - Batata, 2006) may be due to a reluctance on the part of archaeologists to explore such an isolated forestry area. The development of the wind farm project by the GENERG SA Group was therefore a determining factor for revealing new vestiges of human presence during Recent Prehistory. Despite the significant quantity of data now available concerning burial mounds and rock carvings, the frame of reference is still very incomplete. The territory has not yet been fully surveyed, and as a result, the sites of habitats correlating with the occurrences mentioned are still unknown (it should be remembered that this work has taken place primarily in upland areas). It may be hoped that the survey of the hydrographic network, particularly the River Sertã, will bring some interesting surprises.

Further discussion of this case will thus have to wait for a future paper, when the results of the palynological and anthracological tests, and C14 dating are available. The works carried out at Selada do Cavalo involved two mounds with distinct characteristics, between which a fossilized cart path was identified. The precedence relations between one of those mounds and the path have yet to be established. In Feiteiras, there are three mounds, and the removal of the surface sediment has begun on one of them (Figure 9.18), the largest, a cairn around 9m in diameter, which has to date yielded one flint microlite and a few ceramic fragments.

With the exception of the banks of the River Sertã, there has been very little human presence in the uplands of Oleiros county in recent centuries, as can be seen in the map showing the distribution of cultivated and uncultivated lands in the 19th century (Silbert, 1978). This means that there is more chance of finding older more fragile remains in these mountains, compared with the lowlands in the district of Castelo Branco, for example, such as the case of Campina da Beira (counties of Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova). In fact, as has already been mentioned (Henrique & Caninas, 2004), the county of Castelo Branco (the largest in the district and the one with the most extensive stretch of agricultural land in the 19th century, cf. Silbert, 1978), was where Tavares Proença collected the most stone axes. It is also the area with the fewest dolmens – there are much fewer here than in the county of Vila Velha de Ródão, for example. The relatively high number of (polished stone) implements found near the surface may suggest that habitats and tombs have been destroyed by farming activity, carried out since at least the Roman period. This could also partly explain the absence of small funerary structures (tumuli), which may have been destroyed over this period, unlike in Oleiros.

Fig. 9.18. Tumulus at Feiteiras

However, more recent (20th century) forestry activity has caused profound, definitive and irreversible damage in many parts of this territory. Forestation, which involves land reinforcement through terraces or contour furrows, and the construction of associated infrastructures, such as roads leading to clearings, may have destroyed mounds and rock engravings on some mountain tops, such as in the Serra do Cabeço Rainho.

9.5. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 1. The county of Oleiros is a remote mountainous area in the region of Castelo Branco, and has the dubious distinction of being the county with the worst external access system in the district. Moreover, throughout the 20th century, and until the wave of fires that devastated the region in the present millennium, it was extensively covered by forest, part of the largest stretch of pinewood

Fortunately, in the Serra Vermelha, this activity has been limited. This, together with the fact that the land has very limited agricultural potential (according to local sources), 98

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Primitiva Bueno for the region situated in the hydrographic basin of the Tagus (Bueno et al. 2006a), and by other researchers working in the Iberian Peninsula (such as Bradley et al. 1994).

has meant that these remains have been conserved. There are, however, folk memories of pasturing and the production of charcoal from briars, at these altitudes. Attempts have been made to check whether there is any similarity between the structures used for charcoal production (the so-called “carvoeiras”) and our mounds. They appear to be different. But, based upon oral information obtained at Serra do Carujo, there is evidence that milky quartz (locally known as “seixo” or flint) was often removed from mounds to be used in civil construction; this may have made other monuments unrecognisable.

However, denser and more complex clusters, such as those in Fechadura and Lajeira, in the Serra de Alvélos, and Sesmarias in Serra Vermelha, should be understood in the context of ritualization; the markings appear to have an autonomous symbolic charge, and there are recurrences which, in the first case, appear to have persisted into more recent historical periods, though with other meanings. We are referring here to the presence of a Latin inscription, pentagrams and a swastica on the rock at Fechadura (Batata, 1998).

To date, the local people have been unable to explain the purpose of these mounds. There appears to be no record of them in the oral tradition or in legend, which may indicate that they have definitively disappeared from the collective memory.

In any case, it should be pointed out that the three groups are not identical. In fact, the themes and techniques used clearly differentiate them, even as to their chronology (and the surveys of Lajeira and Fechadura have not yet been totally completed)

2. On the local, rather than regional, level, there is also very little information available that can allow us to reliably define the purpose and chronology of the structures identified. We have to await the results of the work begun at Selada do Cavalo and in Feiteiras, and the analysis of the palaeoenvironmental and archaeometric data collected from Vale de Mós 1.

The motifs at Lajeira – pecked spirals, meanders, wavy lines, points and anthromorphs (Batata, 1998) – bring this closer to the art of the Tagus, therefore possibly suggesting that it is older than the other cases. At Fechadura, the filiform and fusiform figures, created using incision techniques, and also the pecked markings – a shield shape, pentagrams, alphabetiforms, arrowheads, polygons, a swastika, points (Batata, 2006) - certainly emerged much later and persisted longer. The rocks of Sesmarias, mostly engraved with podomorphs, are more thematically homogenous and may correspond to a final moment in Recent Prehistory or even Protohistory, if we accept current theses as to their chronological location in the Late Bronze or Early Iron Age, which have been generalized on the basis of diverse evidence, such as the association of tombs or the superimposition of engravings representing weapons (Sevillano, 1991) or zoomorphs (Gomes, 2000).

However, on the basis of external morphostructural analysis and comparison with other monuments in neighbouring regions, it would appear that most are clearly related to prehistoric funeral rituals (characterized in other regions under the common concept of Megalithism) and to later non-megalithic funerary traditions, during the long span between the Middle Neolithic and Late Bronze periods. Another interesting aspect concerns the diversity of shapes and volumes of the mounds already identified, built using local materials (clasts of schist-greywacke and milky quartz), and the clustering of these monuments in groups of two or three.

The circle theme, carved using pecking techniques, should be inserted into the universe of the Tagus Valley art, a perspective which is reinforced by the neighbouring group of Lajeira, gravitating into the space outside the Tagus complex.

However, we should not overlook the possibility that some, if not most of these structures, may have had different functions. Indeed, taking into account the results of the excavation of similar shaped constructions in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Moraza et al. 2003; Moraza & Mujika, 2005), they may date from more recent periods. The subcircular mound shape of the structures may induce errors in assessment through merely formal comparison.

Podomorphs, or shod feet, seem to continue the discoveries that have multiplied in recent years to the north, in the mountains of the Central Massif (personal information from António Martinho Baptista). The Sesmarias group however, is worthy of more profound study, given the superimpositions and complexity of the associations that it contains. I am referring to the presence of an anthromorph and other hypothetically idoliform figures.

As for the rock carvings, these appear to be more easily established. In fact, it does not seem rash to attribute great antiquity to most of the representations identified (circles, horseshoes, cupmarks, fusiform shapes and podomorphs), though in a differentiated way.

As for the ubiquitous cupmarks, these have been recorded from at least the Late Neolithic (Gomes et al. 1983; González & Barroso, 2003), and are also represented in

Their dispersion may indicate that they function as territorial markers, following the argument put forward by 99

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megalithic monuments and tombs from the Bronze Age (Gomes, 2002), though they may go right through to the modern age. In the district of Castelo Branco, this motif is significantly represented, occurring on the plateau, generally on open-air rocks, sometimes in association with megalithic monuments, or near to modern temples, almost always away from the main water ways (Henriques et al. 1995a). It is rarely represented in Tagus Art (Monteiro & Gomes, 1977)

region between the Tagus, Zêzere and Ocreza. He claims: “this territory appears to have been conquered during the Late Bronze Age with the establishment of various settlements, almost always fortified” (Batata, 2006:91). And we should remember the occurrences of more remote rock carvings from the Late Palaeolithic at the Rivers Zêzere (Baptista, 2004) and Ocreza (Baptista, 2001), very near to here (though these are sporadic and thus may not signify effective occupation of the territory).

The documented motifs – circles, cupmarks, horseshoes and podomorphs – have at present monospecific occurrence, though they may appear associated/superimposed in many other sites in the west of the Iberian Peninsula (Gomes, 2002).

The remains that we have identified here suggest a stable and spatially expressive occupation of the territory of Oleiros during Recent Prehistory, although the locations of the habitat remain unknown. Moreover, the appearance of tumuli in the Oleiros mountains, at the other end of the mountain chain, has forced us to revise our notions about megalithism in the region. It was thought that this was concentrated into the lowland areas in the districts of Castelo Branco, near the River Tagus – i.e. in the southern parts of the counties of Idanha-a-Nova (Rosmaninhal) and Castelo Branco, and also in Vila Velha de Ródão and Proença-a-Nova, where several hundred dolmens have been counted (Henriques et al. 1993, 1995; 2007; Henriques et al. 1999; Cardoso et al. 2003), not to mention the left bank of the Tagus (Bueno et al., 2004a; Oliveira, 1998, 2000b; Oliveira & Oliveira, 2000) and the rock art complex associated with the river (Caninas & Henriques, 1987a). This no longer seems to be the case.

There are remarkable analogies between the topography, isolation and the themes of the rock carvings in this region and those of Las Hurdes (cf, for example Sevillano, 1991), both of which are mountainous schist regions, located on the edge of the Tagus river basin. 3. We have only just begun to explore the spatialtemporal ordering of these remains, within a regional perspective, and many more surveys and explorations of sites are required in order to glean information about the structures, rituals, artefacts, ecodata and dating that form the pillars of this knowledge. The recent addition of dozens of new sites in the Oleiros region, including mound structures and rock carvings, indicates that the previous lack of information about archaeological remains in the region was due to a deficit of research, rather than to an absence of settlements or the depopulation of inhospitable upland areas. This has been pointed out by Primitiva Bueno, Rodrigo de Balbín and other researchers in the inner Meseta (for example, Bueno & Balbín, 2003; Cerrillo & González, 2006), who have shown the antiquity of this occupation on the level of habitat, megalithism and rock carvings.

4. At first glance, the territorial distribution of these sites suggests that they are basically anchored along the Sertã river basin, near its headwaters and source streams, from the highest points (in the case of Vale de Mós, Selada do Cavalo and Feiteiras) on the mountain tops (Vermelha, Alvélos and others), extending down the lower slopes (in the case of Selada da Póvoa) to positions overlooking the river (case of Cabeço do Seixo). As has been seen in other parts of the Tagus valley (Vila Velha de Ródão and Idanha-a-Nova), these monuments are found at all altitudes, ranging from the highest peaks to the banks of streams in the alluvial plain (Henriques et al. 2007).

Consequently, we disagree with Jorge de Alarcão (Alarcão, 2001), when he claims that there was no core population in the Beira Interior when the Lusitanians arrived in the Early and Middle Bronze Age (“the area where the Lusitanians settled was almost completely deserted. We may not, however, overlook the fact that, although Early or Middle Bronze Age remains are almost entirely non-existent in the Beira Interior, there are rock carvings in the Tagus region which can be attributed to this period”, Alarcão, 2001:325; “...in the territory that we attribute to the Lusitanians, there is no evidence of any Early or Middle Bronze Age core population from whom the Lusitanians may have descended, through internal evolution”, Alarcão, 2001:343). He does not, however, discard the possibility that this lacuna may be due to lack of knowledge.

This impression, if it were to be reinforced with new findings, may indicate that these prehistoric herdingfarming-gathering communities may have settled around the banks of the River Sertã, using similar settlement strategies to those adopted by later communities. Thus, we should not be surprised to find indications of prehistoric settlements beneath the present–day town of Oleiros. However, if habitats existed at lower altitudes, conditions may not have been conducive to their conservation. There are two reasons for this: a) this topographic position would have been more susceptible to marked anthropic action (urbanization and agriculture) and related erosion processes; b) the habitat structures would have been less durable. In the region of Ródão, for example, the only remains of the Recent Prehistoric habitat that are known

That settlement would have taken place before the Late Bronze Age, contrary to what Carlos Batata argues for the 100

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are on tertiary and quaternary debris formations (Henriques et al. 2007), a geological substratum that is absent in the area of Oleiros.

in the recent thesis by Carlos Batata (Batata, 2006), a praiseworthy attempt at investigating those “minor” forms of ancient roadway, given the lack of research to date.

One aspect that has repeatedly been noted is the proximity of mounds to ancient cart tracks, revealed by furrows in the geological substratum (schist) caused by the repeated passage of wheels. This spatial convergence does not necessarily imply a causal relationship between the two phenomena. In fact, the topography of the area means that constructions of different types that require stable, flatter locations will tend to converge into the same spots, given the narrowness of the mountain ridges. The narrow strips along the tops of the mountain are more suitable both for cart tracks and for mound structures, which find there greater resistance to erosion through gravity. This means that it is not easy to demonstrate that the mounds were constructed there because of the prior existence of roads. Nevertheless, this could still be an interesting working hypothesis. The excavations presently under way at Selada do Cavalo will certainly shed some light on this matter.

However, for there to exist a direct correlation between the position of the mounds and areas of passage, the question of visibility generally associated with the use of milky quartz in those structures will have to be reassessed. In fact, for the mounds to have been visible, regular maintenance would have been necessary to burn or cut down of the vegetation that would inevitably overgrow them. Following this line of argument, certain distinctive aspects of the topography of this region are important, namely the long mountain ridges of the so-called “Ancient Massif”, south of the River Zêzere. Firstly, there is a long dorsal extension, around 60 km in length, running between the area of Cova da Beira in Fundão and the area of Vila Rei near the confluence of the Rivers Tagus and Zêzere. Going in a southerly direction, this crest consists of a single ridge (generally known as the Serra da Gardunha) which extends as far as the intersection with the Serra do Moradal (quartzite). From that interruption, three parallel alignments emerge, the Serra Vermelha to the north, the Serra de Alvélos, the highest, in central position, and the Serra das Corgas to the south. A second aspect refers to the general NE-SW alignment of these sequence of schist-greywacke uplands. Thirdly, this mountain ridge does not have any sharp variations in altitude; its undulations do not impede progression and allow easy passage, compared to alternative routes along the slopes or in the valley.

It is not easy to establish the chronology of the cart tracks, although many of these routes were in use until the 20th century. The multiplicity of parallel duplications, the width of the furrows or the channel depth, when the option would be “to avoid a detour”, are aspects to be taken into consideration when investigating the matter of chronology. Although the bibliography is scarce on this subject (W AA, 2006), the study by Broncano & Alfaro (1990) on road access to the Iberian settlement of Castellar de Meca (Valencia) gives an example of an ancient pre-Roman cart track perhaps dating from the 8th century BC, whose relevance has been recorded as follows:

This mountain system (the Gardunha-Alvélos corridor) may therefore have functioned as a land route or corridor between the middle Tagus, in the area of confluence of the Zêzere and the great depression of Cova da Beira, which, for its part, is connected to the north of the Beira Interior (Guarda region) through a natural corridor situated between the mountains of Estrela and Malcata (Vilaça et al, 1998). Although there may also have existed a main corridor running north-south across the plateau of Castelo Branco (illustrated in modern times by the seasonal cattle route), this may have provided an alternative means of communication going in the same general direction, provided that it was supported by local mountain communities.

“The importance of the results of these findings made in the excavation of tracks from the city of Meca is based upon the observation that they were only used in the pre-Roman period, and were not expanded for wheeled traffic afterwards. This fact alone is of the greatest importance for research into Iberian culture, since we find the presence of a truly fossillized work which, after use, suffered no further alteration by traffic from chronologically later periods or cultures in Iberia. This suggests a genuine, exclusive and unique model of pre-Roman road, and further research is needed in order to establish parallels or morphological relations with other similar works in order to fully identify it and inscribe it into the culture” (Broncano & Alfaro, 1990:212).

The importance of the Tagus river route has been made amply clear in the context of cultural development during the Bronze and Iron Ages, functioning even as an axis for orientalizing influences that penetrated inland from the coast (Vilaça & Arruda, 2004). But without denying the importance of the waterway, a land route would have allowed greater flexibility and freedom in that period, as in others.

This hypothesis may acquire another significance, i.e. it is possible that the mountain tops where our cart tracks have been found, and which are no longer used, may have supported regional and local traffic even before the arrival of the wheel. The antiquity of these cart tracks in the region in question, going back to the Roman period, together with local mining activity, was insistently argued

Moreover, the mountain topography in the area of the Gardunha-Alvélos corridor would have allowed subsidiary 101

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mound structures, as are most of those identified in Oleiros. If they were later non-megalithic developments, they may have a cultural affinity (i.e. inserted into the same funerary tradition) with the numerous necropolises of tumuli that have been investigated in the regions of Viseu (Cruz, 1995; Cruz et al., 1998; Cruz & Vilaça, 1999) and Aveiro (Silva, 1997). The recent discovery of a significant cluster of tumuli in the north of the county of Abrantes, at the southern tip of that corridor, supports this perspective (Batista & Gaspar, 2007).

routes to join it at different points. These would have run perpendicular to it, heading down the valleys and rivers, along the gentle slopes that radiate out from it, with mounds continuing to occur along them. In contrast with this, we can point to the absence of ancient cart tracks and mound structures on the tops of the main quartz crests of the region (Serra da Talhadas and Serra do Moradal), despite the fact that these are generally at a lower altitude than the Gardunha-Alvélos corridor. If the association between the mounds and the cart routes (or the footpaths that preceded them) is proven, the absence of such remains could signify the irrelevance of quartz mountains for regional traffic. In support of this hypothesis, three points might be made: 1) the quartz crests are much shorter in length than the GardunhaAlvélos corridor; 2) they contain sharp breaks which would make a continuous route impossible (some of these breaks are notable at other levels, as in the case of Portas de Ródão); 3) they are oriented in a NW-SE direction.

Other tumuli have also been identified at stopping points along the Central Massif, north of the Zêzere, such as in the Serra da Lousã (county of Goís, Miranda do Corvo and Figueiró dos Vinhos) and in the western part of the Serra da Malcata (site of Casinhas on the border between the counties of Penamacor and Sabugal). This shows that there is still a great deal of work to be done to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about the ancient occupation of the region. The archaeological sites that we have had occasion to describe in this paper may, as we have suggested, reveal the continuous occupation of this mountainous territory, sustained by the exploitation of local biotic resources, integrated into a network of exchange and cultural traditions of a transregional scale, with territorial ordering that may be reflected in the models suggested by our colleagues in both Spain (Bueno, et al. 2004a) and Portugal (Oliveira, 1998).

However, it has been practically confirmed that the highest points in those quartz mountains were occupied at the end of Recent Prehistory, and maybe in Protohistory (Vilaça, 1995). This is shown by the presence of walled enclosures, such as at the sites at Picoto (Serra do Moradal), Serra de São Miguel (southern part of the Serra das Talhadas), Serra da Monforte, and Cabeço de São Martinho, as well as the still unpublicized enclosures identified by AEAT in various parts of the Serra das Talhadas.

However, their character within the material culture still has to be established. We await the results of the archaeological excavations that are presently under way.

The interregional relevance of the Gardunha-Alvélos corridor may help to explain the emergence of the small

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Chapter 10 THE MEGALITHIC TOMBS OF SOUTHERN BEIRA INTERIOR, PORTUGAL: RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS João Luís CARDOSO Universidade Aberta, Lisboa Abstract: In this study, we present the main results obtained during the archaeological survey of a vast area south of Beira Interior, in the region of International river Tagus, followed by the excavation of the more representative and best preserved funerary megalithic monuments. In this way, it was possible to identify several types of monuments and to relate these with the artefact findings, and to develop a model to explain the architectonic succession of funerary megalithic monuments in the region. It was also possible to observe some constructive particularities in some of these monuments, and aspects related to the ritual deposition of remains, herein summarized. Key words: International river Tagus; megalithic tombs; chronosequence Resumo: Neste trabalho apresentam-se os principais resultados obtidos no âmbito da prospecção sistemática de uma vasta região do sul da Beira Interior, região do Tejo Internacional, seguida da escavação dos monumentos megalíticos funerários mais representativos e em melhor estado de conservação. Desta forma, foi possível identificar diversos tipos arquitectónicos, relacionando-os com os respectivos conteúdos artefactuais, que suportaram uma proposta de modelo para a sucessão arquitectónica regional do megalitismo funerário. Foi igualmente possível a observação de particularidades arquitectónicas ou estruturais em alguns destes monumentos, para além de aspectos relacionados com a deposição ritual dos espólios, os quais serão também sumariamente apresentados. Palavras chav: Tejo internacional; megálitos funerários; cronosequência

Systematic prospecting of the territory, begun in 1970 and still in progress, has amply confirmed this supposition. In the area bounded naturally by three rivers – to the south by the Tagus, to the east by the Erges and to the west by the Aravil – about 90 dolmens have so far been identified, all hitherto unpublished: about 65 in the region of Rosmaninhal and about 25 around Malpica de Tejo/Monforte da Beira. Most of them are in a good state of conservation, which must be due in part to the low population density, as well as to the utilisation of the soil: ancient holm-oak woods predominate here, and although wheat was extensively grown in the 1960s, traditional, unmechanised methods were still used.

10.1. GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH The south of Beira Interior, the region of the International river Tagus, has remained until recently almost unknown in terms of its rich megalithic archaeological heritage. Francisco Tavares de Proença Junior’s pioneering research at Urgueira (Vila Velha de Ródão), and at other megalithic monuments whose existence he merely mentioned (Proença Júnior, 1910), did not receive the attention it deserved. Félix Alves Pereira took only a brief interest in the subject: to him we owe the excavation of the Anta Grande de Medelim (Pereira, 1934). Georg and Vera Leisner, in their inventory of Portuguese dolmens (Leisner & Leisner, 1956), mentioned vaguely only three, to the west of Rosmaninhal, and another near the deserted village of Alares, and no further details were given in Vera Leisner’s more recent publication (Leisner, 1998).

Systematic archaeological cartography of the region, which is still in progress – for it is rare to venture out without discovering a new monument – needs to be followed up by excavations, planned in the medium and long term. These would define the nature of the most important tombs, and be accompanied by research into the dwellings of those who built them. The present paper will only deal with the funerary monuments, which are still the better known; we shall not touch on non-funerary megalithic remains, which include the several known menhirs and cromlechs of the region, nor the artistic component, represented by carved stone panels, often found near the megalithic monuments; all these evidently formed part of a single, indivisible reality, and will be dealt with as a whole in a monograph presently being prepared.

In the second half of the century only three further monuments were excavated, by O. da Veiga Ferreira and Fernando de Almeida, particularly the important dolmen of Granja de São Pedro (Idanha-a-Velha) (Almeida & Ferreira, 1958, 1959, 1971). However, there were probably a large number of dolmens in the region which had still not been identified, as suggested by the approximately 90 dolmens listed by the Leisners in the region of Proença-a-Nova, immediately to the west (Kalb, 1990): there seemed no reason why there should not be a similar situation here.

The archaeological prospecting and excavation have been carried out under the auspices of the Associação de 103

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Fig. 10.1. Region of the Tagus near the spanish border showing the monuments and sites: circles, megalithic tombs and tumuli; squares, remains of scattered settlements; triangles, megalithic precincts, menhirs and carved rocks. The closed lines indicate the location of the megalithic nucleus of Amieiro (I), the megalithic nucleus of Couto da Espanhola (II), Cabeço da Forca grave (III) and Poço do Bicho grave (IV)

of the decay of paleozoic reliefs, and dating from the transition of the Pliocene to the Quaternary, are characteristic of a semi-arid climate, formed by torrential downpours which occasionally affected the region in this period.

Estudos do Alto Tejo/Núcleo Regional de Investigação Arqueológica, and have received logistic and financial support from several bodies: IPPAR, IPA, IPAMB, and the Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova city councils. Special thanks is due to João Carlos Caninas and to Francisco Henriques, my closest companions in this work, without whom the results presented here would not have been possible. Thanks should also be extended to a vast team of fellow-workers and university students, some of them from the portuguese Open University, who have actively participated since 1993 in the various excavations which I have directed, in conditions which have never been easy or comfortable.

The dolmens are distributed according to two main patterns: – In some cases, they are concentrated at the top of the plateaux which form the major axes of the landscape, from which they dominate wide areas, dozens of kilometres around, and constitute real megalithic necropolises. Some of the monuments on two of these plateaux have been excavated. On the plateau of Couta da Espanhola, at an altitude of about 300 metres and generally oriented NE-SW, seven dolmens have been mapped, two of which have been excavated, while at the plateau of Amieiro, slightly higher (360-370 metres) and also oriented NE-SW, nine dolmens have been identified and six of them excavated. In some cases, the distance between the monuments is less than 200 metres, so that they are easily visible from one to the other, forming funerary nuclei within the larger necropolis. More often, however, they are between 200 and 500 metres apart, although the nearest monument can still usually be seen from each one.

10.2. GEO-ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS; SITUATION OF THE MONUMENTS The area of distribution of this remarkable set of megalithic monuments (Fig. 10.1), as it has gradually been defined, corresponds geologically to a substrate consisting of outcrops of schist and pre-Ordovician greywackes, part of the Rosmaninhal Formation, with turbidite-conglomerate characteristics. These rocks, in their turn, are covered by detrital deposits, essentially arcosic sands, coarse-grained and reddish in colour depending on the degree of oxidation, preserved on top of the plateaux formed by erosion; they date from the Eocenic or Oligocenic (Oliveira, 1992). Finally, particularly on hillsides and neighbouring low ground, there are covering deposits of quartz and quartzite; these, the result

– In other cases, they are more or less isolated in the landscape, seeming to be submerged in it. An example is the dolmen of Poço do Chibo, situated on low ground in regular, almost monotonous terrain. 104

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18 metres (Amieiro 5) and 10 metres (Poço do Chibo). The construction of any monument would have been followed gradually by another, punctuating the landscape as though it was a palimpsest.

10.3. SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS; FUNERARY RITES On the funerary component of the finds from the annual excavations conducted since 1993 until 2000 in the megalithic region of Rosmaninhal, the following summary includes data from all the monuments excavated up to now. Some observations on these have already been published (Cardoso et al. 1995, 1997a, 1997b, 2000, 2003; Cardoso, 2001, 2004). 1. The inhabited zone would have been dotted with prominent megalithic tombs. These were made even more prominent by their mounds, which were always covered by blocks of milky quartz, a characteristic which even today help us to identify them in the landscape. In most cases this was not a simple coating: the revetment of quartz blocks, fitted one into the other, went deep, making the mounds practically cairns. There was, therefore, a clear intention to make all these burials visible, rather than to hide them (Fig. 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5); even monuments on low-lying ground, like the anta of Poço do Chibo, where the presence of dolmens would not have been suspected, had a mound with this type of cladding (Fig. 10.6).

Fig. 10.3. Location of Amieiro 3 in the platform constituted by tertiary deposits. One can note the abundance of blocks of milky quartz around the megalithic structure as a result of the destruction of the tumlus

Fig. 10.2. Couto de Espanhola 6 after the scraping of the vegetation. It can be seen the sub-circular location of the orthostats, defining an closed chamber, surrounded by a tumulus made essentially of blocks of milky quartz

Fig. 10.4. Amieiro 8. One can observe the weel preserved tumulus, made of milky quartz blocks, of local origin

2. The relatively large number of dolmens on the two plateaux so far studied in detail, imply that these were genuine necropolises, used over many centuries. However, the construction of tombs would have been an exceptional occurrence in the lives of the agro-pastoral communities who settled here in the 4th and 3rd millennia a.C. If the number of tombs seems excessive to us now, this is because we underestimate the time factor, as well as the large population who probably lived here over the centuries. This is the conclusion we can draw from the differences in structure and artefacts seen in monuments sometimes only a few hundred metres apart, as at Couto de Espanhola 2 and 6, both thoroughly excavated. Furthermore, there are no dominant monuments: the diameters of the mounds, which are always small, vary between

Fig. 10.5. General overview of the excavation of Cabeço da Forca, in the middle of the tumulus made essentially of milky quartz blocks 105

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Fig. 10.7. Couto da Espanhola 2, showing the long corridor of the monument, whose small height would not allow its use as the way to the chamber, in second plane

Fig. 10.6. Tumulus of Poço do Chibo, made of milky quartz blocks, very well preserved, in spite of their small size

3. Regardless of their type, the dolmens are always built using materials from the site, or at most a few hundred metres away. The schist or grauvaque slabs are always small, rarely larger than 1 metre in length. With sizes like these it would have been impossible to build large monuments, like those in the granite regions of Beira Alta and the Alto Alentejo. This limitation explains why not only the chambers but especially the corridors are so low. In most cases, these could have had only a ritual function; crawling through these long narrow spaces – sometimes more than 8 metres long, as at Couto da Espanhola 2 (Fig. 10.7), Amieiro 2 (Fig. 10.8) or Anta do Poço do Chibo (Fig. 10.9) – whenever there was a new burial in the chamber, especially with the added difficulty of having to carry the bodies to be buried, would have been impractical. This last monument presents small dimensions, with just 3.6 m length, exceptionally including some blocks of milky quartz in their structure. In spite of its small dimensions, the presence of a sub-circular chamber, preceded by a long corridor and a vestibule, setting the entrance, corresponds to an evolved architecture. Such as in Amieiro 2, it is a replicate at a small scale of a larger monument from the granitic regions, which indicates that the geological resources limited the size but not the architectonic characteristics of the monuments.

Fig. 10.8. Overview of Amieiro 2 whose corridor, long and narrow, vouches against the hypothesis of a functional use

Direct access to the burial chambers, by partially removing the covering, was therefore necessary whenever a new burial was to be made. This operation was made much easier since no large covering slabs had been used in the construction, due to the lack of such material in the region. The chambers would therefore have been covered with timber and branches, on which were set the blocks of the mound, which were easy to remove. This is not to deny, however, that in some cases the corridor was functional. In Amieiro 3, one of the largest monuments of the region, there are two large overlapping slabs (Fig. 10.10) which seal it off, separating it from the exterior of the monument, where there is a small vestibule, laterally defined by orthostats of decreasing size.

Fig. 10.9. Plant of Poço do Chibo, a monument of small dimensions in spite of including vestibule, chamber and corridor similarly to larger monuments. Some of the orthostats are made of milky quartz blocks unparalleled in other monuments 106

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Fig. 10.11. Overview of the chamber of Couto da Espanhola 2, showing an horizontal schist slab over which a tumulation presumably occurred

Fig. 10.10. Overview of the vestibule of Amieiro 3, with the corridor sealed by two transversal slabs 4. The orientation of the five passage graves so far excavated (Couto da Espanhola 2, Amieiro 2, Amieiro 3, Poço do Chibo and Cabeço da Forca) varies between 100o and 110o; the exception is anta 2 at Couto da Espanhola, oriented south-east (135o). Considering the monuments were devoid of corridor, the orientation was 90º in Amieiro 8 and 110º in Amieiro 5. This pattern coincides perfectly with that observed by the Leisners in the dolmens of Reguengos de Monsaraz. The results were listed by V. GONÇALVES (1992: 40): of the 69 dolmens recorded, 35 had the same orientation, followed by those oriented south-east (10 examples). The predominant orientation of the corridors to this quadrant relates to the azimuths of the sunrise, the source of Light and Life, daily renewed. To quote Gonçalves (1992: 51), “Death and birth, shadow and light. Did the orientation of the tombs of Reguengos de Monsaraz, like hundred of others, deal with these oppositions? A hope of return, or simply turning one’s back on light/life in the inevitable journey to death and shadow?” We believe that the choice should be the former, since the presence of offerings suggests that in the late 4th/ early 3rd millennium, these agropastoral peoples had a belief in an after-life.

Fig. 10.12. Vertical view of the fire structure existing in the chamber of Amieiro 3 in the musty interior of a collective tomb by burning aromatic plants, a necessary purification whenever there was a new body to be buried. This hearth might also be related to partial cremation rituals, as seen for example at megalithic monuments at the Serra de São Mamede, Portalegre (Oliveira, 1997a) and in other megalithic regions of the Alto Alentejo, as in Anta de Estremoz, once excavated by Manuel Heleno and recently published in its results (Rocha, 2005).

5. Two schist slabs, one in the chamber of Couto da Espanhola 2 (Fig. 10.11), the other in the corridor of Amieiro 3, were used for placing bodies, probably lying on one side with arms and legs bent. This possibility, which has parallels in other similar monuments in the region, is reinforced at Couto da Espanhola by the large number of offerings and personal effects found on the slab.

7. The small monument of Amieiro 8, horse-shoe shaped, presented in the centre of the chamber a stella oriented towards the entrance (Fig. 10.13) whose height is smaller that the orthostates that define the chamber of the monument. This orientation is similar to the closed chamber with ellipsoid development of Madroñal, Caceres (Bueno, 2000). The implantation of this monolith in the centre of the chamber has divided it in two almost equal parts able to receive no more than one corps.

6. Traces of rituals involving fire are seen at Amieiro 3. There is a small elliptical fire structure at the far end of the chamber of the monument, which served as the base of a hearth (Fig. 10.12). Santos Rocha, in his study of dolmens near Figueira da Foz, noted signs of fire inside, and there are many other examples. Fire served a dual purpose: in addition to its symbolic role of purifying and regenerating the souls of the departed, it would have served the practical purpose of clearing the unhealthy air

8. Two monuments, Amieiro 2 and Cabeço da Forca, presented ritual deposits of polished artefacts. In Amieiro 2, two axes were found deposited in the left side of the 107

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corridor, in one small precinct made by one of the orthostates and a small slab placed opposite (Fig. 10.14); in Cabeço da Forca, the deposit was made of about a dozen polished stone artefacts, varying in typology, also found on the corridor. 9. In some monuments it was possible to recognize some reutilizations, either from the late Calcolithic period as from Bronze Age. This was the case of a fragment of archer’s brassard collected in Couto da Espanhola 2, which also yielded fragments of carinated recipients from the Bronze Age, and Amieiro 2, with materials belonging to the same diachrony, with emphasis on a plate basis with an omphalus and a copper dagger (Fig. 10.15).

Fig. 10.15. Dagger of copper and fragment of a dish with basal omphalus related to reutilization of the chamber of Amieiro 2 in the end of the Calcolithic and Bronze Age Fig. 10.13. Plant (above) and general overview (below) of Amieiro 8, showing the stella placed vertically in his interior and oriented towards the entrance of the monument

10. Despite the good state of preservation and the architectonic complexity of Amieiro 3 – constituted by the vestibule, corridor and ellipsoidal chamber (Fig. 10.16) there are no artefacts or other finds from its builders or users: os únicos artefactos recolhidos dentro do monumento correspondem a fragmento de taça em calote e a uma ponta Palmela, de tipologia evoluída, reportável a uma reutilização do monumento, tal como os casos já atrás mencionados. No exterior, apenas se recolheu fragmento de artefacto de pedra polida (Fig. 10.17) que pode, contudo, indicar uma violação antiga do mesmo. A situação descrita: the only artefacts collected inside the monument were a fragment of a small bowl and a Palmela point with an evolved typology, that can be reported to a reutilization of the monument in the Late Chalcolithic, such as occurred in previously reported cases. On the outside, only a fragment of an artefact of polished stone was collected (Fig. 10.17). The described scenario cannot be the result of robbery, for there is no sign of this; maybe the materials deposited inside were all perishable – wood, leather, straw, raw materials evidently important at the time, as proved by the rare, and therefore celebrated, cases where they have been preserved.

Fig. 10.14. Two axes oriented in opposite senses and placed ritually on the left side of the corridor in Anta 2 of Amieiro, closed to one orthostatic in a small niche defined by a transversal rocky layer 108

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core point of trans-regional articulation between both northern and southern, as littoral and interior areas.

Fig. 10.16. Plant of Amieiro 3 with vestibule, corridor and asymmetric chamber

Fig. 10.18. Large schist plaque of Alentejan type collected in the small megalith with a horse-shoe shape of Amieiro 5 a Fig. 10.17. Materials collected in Amieiro 3 12. The reutilization of some monuments was accompanied in just one case by the construction of a new structure in the vicinity. This was the case of Amieiro 5 a, an horse-shoe shaped small-sized chamber, from which, 5 meters away, a sub-rectangular cyst (Fig.10.19) was built, in the periphery of the tumulus. Such cyst (Amieiro 5b) yielded a fragment of a schist plate of which only the posterior smooth face was preserved and a fragment of a bell-beaker vessel with a pseudo-excise decoration.

11. The prime resource used almost or nearly always in the manufacture of the chipped artefacts was flint. This rock was unknown in the region and it is probable that it was acquired through trans-regional commercial circuits established with the Estremadura, through the important circulation route made by the river Tejo and its tributaries. However, the lack of petrographic studies prevents us to test this hypothesis. On the other hand, the presence of a large plate of carved schist collected in Amieiro 5 a indicates a clear origin from Alentejo (Fig. 10.18), from where the anfibolitic rocks that constituted the polished stone were probably originated (metabasites of green xhists) though the northern part of Beira Interior could also have contributed as supply source. As a matter of fact, the Castro de Santiago, Fornos de Algodres, has yielded true amphibolite ingots destined to local transformation and or exportation (VALERA, 1997). Therefore, the study area could have been functioning as a

13. Archaeological materials were also found in the exterior of some of the megalithic precincts in the surrounding tumuli. Such occurrences can be explained in some cases by recent violations of the tombs; but in other cases they may be related to the presence of ritual depositions related to outdoor ceremonies. One such later case was found in Amieiro 8 because no violation of the tomb chamber occurred but the area outside the tomb structure supplied various materials (Fig. 10.20, nº 4, 5, 6 and 8). 109

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adze and several vases, which did not occur previously (Fig. 10.21). To this group of monuments one can associate Amieiro 1, with a polygonal chamber without a corridor (Fig. 10.22); however, the collection of just three uncharacteristic ceramic fragments does not allow further analysis.

Fig. 10.19. In the first plane, Amieiro 5a in the centre of the tumulus made essentially of large quartz blocks; in the second plane, the Beaker cyst of Amieiro 5b

Fig. 10.21. Archaeological remains from the second phase (above) and third phase (below) of occupation of Couto da Espanhola 6

Fig. 10.20. Amieiro 8: remains collected at the chamber and in the tumulus including an arrow point of flint with fracture due to fire, a lamella of milky quartz, geometrics of flint, a bead of cornaline, a fragment of an axe with a sub-rectangular section and various ceramics

10.4. TOWARDS A CHRONOSEQUENCE OF THE STUDIED MEGALITHIC TOMBS From the analysis of the architectural typologies and archaeological remains, the following sequence for the construction of the studied megalithic tombs can be proposed: 1. Close chambers, of small size from the middle of the V/first half of the IV millenium a.C. (Middle Neolithic). This initial phase is represented in Couto da Espanhola 6: the oldest moment of the use of this monument is not documented in the archaeological record; the intermediate phase has yielded a lamella and a rough blade, a segment and a trapeze with a straight basis, accompanied by a subrectangular axe, and the late phase supplied another axe, a

Fig. 10.22. Amieiro 1. General overview of the monument, constituted by a polygonal chamber without corridor. The chamber perimeter is partially defined by the location of the foundations of the disappeared orthostatic elements 110

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2. Small-sized single chambers with a horseshoe plant, with remains from the late IV/early III millenium BC (Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic); this was the case of Amieiro 5a, that contained plates of xhist, arrow tips and blades of large dimensions (Fig. 10.18, Fig. 10.23) and Amieiro 8, with a similar plant, where materials from late Neolithic or maybe already Calcolithic were found in the interior of the chamber, represented by a concave-shaped arrow tip fissured by an heat source (Fig. 10.20 nº 1), an additional proof of rituals using fire in some of these monuments. 3. Dolmens with well defined chambers and corridors, contemporary of the previous small chambers (Amieiro 2 e Poço do Chibo), sometimes with large dimensions, having polygonal chambers and long corridors, sometimes with an abundant industry of flint and polished stone (Couto da Espanhola 2), characterized by a remarkable variety of arrow points, blades, geometrics and nuclei (Fig. 10.24, Fig. 10.25). 4. Dolmens with round chambers built by eight or more orthostats with probably a false vault and long corridors, from the first half of the III millenium a.C. (Chalcolithic); it is the case of Amieiro 3 and Cabeço da Forca (Fig. 10.26) whose findings seem scarce almost inexistent in the later, whilst in the former there is a large amount of polished stone artefacts (Fig. 10.27), contrasting with the scarcity of flint stone materials (Fig. 10.28). 5. Small cists, from the second half of the III millenium BC (Late Chalcolithic, Beaker), represented only by Amieiro 5b, constructed in the vicinity of the already existing tomb, Amieiro 5a (Fig. 10.19). It is about the only monument that yielded a fragment of Beaker ceramics decorated with the pseudo-excise technique.

Fig. 10.23. Archaeological remains from Amieiro 5 a (above) and Amieiro 5 b (below)

6. Small tumuli, from the II millennium BC (Middle and Late Bronze Age), represented only by Amieiro 9, without remains (Fig. 10.29).

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Fig. 10.24. Lithic industry of flint and quartz, collected in the chamber and the corridor of Couto da Espanhola 2

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Fig. 10.25. Lithic industry of schist, quartz and amphibolite, collecetd in the chamber and corridor of Couto da Espanhola 2

Fig. 10.26. Plant of Cabeço da Forca, having a sub-circular to polygonal chamber and a long corridor 113

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Fig. 10.27. Polished artefacts collected in Cabeço da Forca: 1- incomplete gouge, collected during the scraping of the first layer in the area of the corridor; 2- adze collected during the scraping in the area north of the chamber; 3- adze collected close to the external border of the tumulus at the basis of the surface layer; 4- adze collected between two slabs of the corridor and perpendicular to another one, of smaller size; 5- adze collected in the corridor

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Fig.10.28. Artefacts collected in Cabeço da Forca: 1 to 3- fragments of blades collected respectively inside the chamber (1) and in the northeastern part of it (2 and 3); 4- fragment of blade retouched collected during the scraping of the superficial layer; 5- sickle element with marks of the cereal cutting, collected during the scraping of the superficial layer (Bronze Age); 6- quartz core collected in the area of the chamber; 7- core in rock crystal collected in the chamber; 8- geometric collected at the surface before the beginning of the excavation; 9- ship of milky quartz from the chamber; 10- bead of polished stone collected in the surface layer in the corridor area

Fig. 10.29. General overview of Amieiro 9, a precint with sub-ellipsoidal shape defined by small slabs placed vertically, covered by a well preserved tumulus predominantly of quartz blocks

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Chapter 11 THE TOMBS OF THE NEOLITHIC ARTIST-SHEPHERDS OF THE TAGUS VALLEY AND THE MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS OF THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER SEVER Jorge de OLIVEIRA CIDEHUS – University of Évora Abstract: This brief synthesis presents the conclusions of the archaeological studies carried out in the megalithic tombs located on the banks of the Sever River, close to the rock art of the Tagus Valley. Most of these are small orthostatic tombs made of slate that define chambers with passage and which possess mounds that originally where covered with white quartz. Judging by the dimensions of the mounds, the assemblages of votive artefacts and the setting of the tombs within the landscape, the builders of these small dolmens appear to have developed an economy based on herding. In this article we argue that they were these Neolithic artistshepherds, those who erected the small tombs, who are responsible for most of the rock art known in the Tagus Valley, which they engraved whilst watching over their herds during the summer seasons. Key words: Megaliths; Neolithic; Rock art; Herding Resumo: Nesta breve síntese apresentam-se as conclusões dos estudos arqueológicos desenvolvidos nos sepulcros megalíticos situados nas duas margens da foz do Rio Sever, nas imediações da arte rupestre do Vale do Tejo. Maioritariamente, são pequenas sepulturas, obtidas por esteios de xisto, definindo câmara e corredor, com mamoas que, originalmente, seriam revestidas por blocos de quartzo leitoso. Pelas dimensões dos túmulos, conjuntos artefactuais votivos e enquadramento paisagístico os construtores destes pequenos dólmenes parece terem desenvolvido uma economia maioritariamente suportada na pastorícia. Neste artigo deduz-se, assim, que terão sido, essencialmente, estes pastores-artistas neolíticos, que erigiram os pequenos sepulcros, os responsáveis pela maior parte da arte rupestre conhecida no Vale do Tejo, gravada enquanto vigiavam os seus rebanhos, durante a época estival. Palavras chave: Megalitos; Neolitico; Arte Rupestre; Pastoreo

is even odder in view of the fact that Georg and Vera Leisner (Leisner & Leisner, 1956) had published in German in the 1950s the locations of more than fifty megalithic burial sites in the area surrounding the mouth of the River Sever, a tributary of the Tagus, its mouth located just a few hundred metres from the principal rock-carving sites.

This paper is the result of more than twelve years of the archaeological study of the megalithic monuments of the District of Cedillo. When prospective fieldwork started in 1994, there were no known references to any megalithic remains in the district. The only available information about the east bank of the Rio Sever were references to the megalithic monuments of the District of Valencia de Alcántara dating from at least the 19th century in Spanish archaeological works (Bueno, 1988). The importance of most of the megalithic burial sites found in the district diverted attention from smaller sites, as is the case in other places: almost all researchers concentrated their attention on the large granite monuments which are highly visible in the landscape and above all they focussed on the wealth and diversity of the grave goods usually found in these tombs. This explains the widespread ignorance about a different dimension of megalithic remains: monuments which were less visible but much greater in number, located half a dozen kilometres north of Valencia de Alcántara. Although the discreet nature of the architecture of the Cedillo and Herrera de Alcántara monuments led to their being ignored over the course of millennia, it is nevertheless strange that following the identification in the mid1970s, which was very late in the day, of the extremely important Tagus Valley rock carvings and the recognition that they were mainly post-Palaeolithic phenomena, archaeologists did not attempt to understand the context in which they were produced by carrying out prospecting work on the hillsides flanking the river. This

Although the artistic manifestations of the Tagus Valley are practically all submerged by the reservoir and there-

Fig. 11.1. Location of River Sever 117

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Fig. 11.2. Megalithic tomb of River Sever

solitude during long hours of patient herding of their flocks seems to strengthen the link between the Tagus artists and the builders of the tombs of MontalvãoCedillo. Over the millennia, these pastimes have been an ever-present feature of pastoral life, and could have originated the art of the Tagus Valley. This link seems to make even more sense in view of the fact that no carvings have been found on monuments at the mouth of the Sever; meanwhile, about 20 kilometres up the Tagus valley stream, in the region of Santiago de Alcántara, we would expect to see rock carvings on river boulders but there are none, although there are a very few on dolmen stones. Of course, it should be noted that the soils of Santiago de Alcántara are well-suited to farming, which is reflected in the large size of tombs and the diversity and wealth of the grave goods they contain. In this region, the Neolithic economy would have been mainly based on farming, and pastoralism would have been less important, which is reflected in the small number of artistic manifestations that have been discovered in the region.

fore cannot be re-examined, it seems clear that the artists who created them are buried in the hundreds of megalithic tumuli which flank them on both banks of the Tagus. It seems equally clear that with the development of archaeological knowledge, both about the chronology of artistic styles and the long-term functional use of dolmens, we are now fairly certain of the contemporaneousness of the rock carvings of the Tagus Valley and the megalithic tumuli of the mouth of River Sever. It should be noted that for at least twelve years we have made claims regarding the basis of the economy of the people buried in the small schist tumuli on the hillsides overlooking River Sever: the quality of the soils, the small size of funereal monuments, the poor quality of the collections of grave goods found in them, their specific features, and the characteristics of the few habitats which have hitherto been identified, have led us to the conclusion that the economy of the Neolithic communities which lived here was very likely based mainly on pastoralism and hunting. This seems be echoed in the recurrent theme of the art carved in the schists of the Tagus, in which scenes of hunting and pastoralism predominate. The natural tendency for shepherds to carve away at pieces of wood, decorate their crooks, and carve in rock their memories of

All this means that it is very likely that the remains of the artist-shepherds who produced the exuberant art of the Tagus Valley are to be found buried in the small megalithic tombs at the mouth of the River Sever. 118

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perennial water-courses seems to be reflected in the concentration of tombs on the ridges nearest the two rivers and a corresponding decrease in the number of sites as we move away from them. Nowadays, from late May, the highest parts of Cedillo distict already show signs of insufficient grass cover to provide for flocks, and shepherds move them down to the banks of the rivers where greenery still flourishes. Similarly, the Neolithic shepherds of the Montalvão and Cedillo area would have herded their flocks along the river banks during summers, and with the rivers were at their lowest point, in their long hours of solitude, they carved away at the schist boulders found in the semi-dry courses of the Tagus and the Sever, thus giving vent to their creative energies.

11.1. THE LANDSCAPE AND THE BUILDING OF BURIAL SITES The area through which the final stretch of the River Sever runs up to the point where it feeds into the Tagus is marked by steep slopes and enclosed valleys. Other valleys which are not so deep were carved out on the schistose soils which shape the landscape by streams which now mostly run dry in the summer. Thus, on both banks of the Sever, there is an undulating orography defined by several ridges which run mainly parallel with the Sever and perpendicular to the Tagus. It was the principal and secondary eminences of these ridges that the communities of Neolithic shepherds selected for the building of their tombs, and there are only extremely rare exceptions to this rule. The best example of such an exception is the Charca Grande de la Regañada Dolmen, which though not sited on the crest of a ridge, is visible in the landscape from all directions because it is built in one of the few level zones in the district. One point of interest regarding this monument, probably the largest of its type hitherto identified, is its centrality in relation to ten other smaller tombs which surround it. It is also interesting to note that this dolmen was built in one of the few places with fertile soil enabling some farming to take place. The rest of the landscape, with the exception of the very small valleys, has very thin soils with almost zero farming potential. The vegetation is characterised by dense patches of spotted rockrose (Cistus ladanifer) with a scattering of short holm-oaks and a very few cork-oaks. Though it is recognised that nowadays the soils do not present exactly the same characteristics as those of the Neolithic period, there has been very little change. Today, the rockrose is kept at bay by cutting and the land is only suitable for grazing for goats and sheep, on which the economy of the people of Cedillo depends. Mechanical cutters are used to control the naturally-occurring rockrose, but not long ago forest fires performed this task, some of them occurring naturally and others set by Man; evidence of such fires can easily be traced in the ashes and carbon that are found beneath the superficial soils deposited by the wind, detected in the areas surrounding the burial sites. They also contributed to the sparse tree cover that is a feature of most of the Cedillo landscape, associated with the damage caused to most young trees by the animals, especially goats.

11.2. TOMB ARCHITECTURE It has long been recognized that the megalithic tomb architecture is characterised by a range of forms reflecting a model which was largely based on myth, or a mythological complex, rather than a real architectural solution. All the tombs which have been excavated in the area of the mouth of the River Sever present three structural elements: the chamber, the passage and the tumulus; however, there are others which have still not been excavated and are thought to be cist-shaped, without no passage and a single uniform tumulus. Nevertheless, this theory will probably be discarded when these sites are eventually excavated. When excavation work started at the very small Cedillo site known as Era dos Guardas, we thought we would find a small chamber with no passage as all the surface features pointed to this; however, what we discovered was a highly regular chamber to which a symbolic passage was attached. The whole monument was enveloped in a tumulus constructed with schist boulders originally lined with a kerb made of milky quartz slabs (Oliveira, 1993). Thus, out of the seven monuments that we have hitherto studied on both banks of the Sever: Padre Santo, Fonte da Pipa, and Lomba da Barca on the Portuguese side; and Joaninha, Cuatro Lindones, Era dos Guardas and Charca Grande de la Regañada on the Spanish side (to which we can add Sevillana, at Cedillo, on which we only carried out consolidation work to two upright stones), two main architectural variants have been identified. The first of these, taking in Padre Santo, Fonte da Pipa, Lomba da Barca, Era dos Guardas and Charca Grande de la Regañada, is characterised by a clearly differentiated chamber and passage. The chamber is built in the form of a regular polygon which is almost circular, and a passage is attached which is substantially narrower than the diameter of the chamber. The greater or lesser regularity of the chamber seems due to the size of the uprights that form it, especially the width of the capstone, rather than any planning on the part of the builders. The second type takes in all the other monuments hitherto excavated. The head-stone is regular in shape and the interior space narrows towards the passage, so it is difficult to say where

The burial mounds of the small megalithic tombs were lined with kerbs made of milky quartz boulders to make them stand out in the landscape but these are obscured by patches of spotted rockrose that naturally envelop them. This plant cover grows up unchecked obscuring the monuments, but in the Neolithic era they would have been visible as the grazing of animals which kept the vegetation down formed the basis of the economy of the communities of the region. The lack of water in the soils, in which springs are rare (the few that exist normally dry up during the summer and autumn), would have forced Neolithic communities and their flocks to remain near the Sever and the Tagus Rivers. Their dependence on these 119

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Fig. 11.3. Plans of monuments of the Sever

what could be termed a passage. All the monuments with an elongated shape would probably have been covered with such slabs. However, with more spacious chambers, this type of covering, although possible, was much more difficult to fashion in view of the fact it is not easy to obtain such large schist slabs as can be had in granite. At the same time, no chamber covering has ever been found in situ (one would expect to find such features having either fallen into the chamber or lying broken within it or nearby). We know that the temptation for communities settling in the region at a later date to use such slabs for other purposes would have been great, thus it is somewhat surprising that no evidence of any such slabs has survived. So how would the spacious chambers of these schist monuments have been covered? Besides the obvious assumption that they were appropriated by local people, there are several theories. Hypothetically, the chambers could have been covered with not just a single slab, as with granite monuments, but several slabs placed on the tops of the uprights thus covering the interior space. However, excavation work has never brought any evidence to light in the interior of chambers that can confirm this theory. It would be very strange, to say the least, that no evidence had survived after so many thousands of years from a pattern of reuse of stones which could be identified in other contexts. In view of this fact, and in view of the fact that one can very often find what seems to be man-made grooves at the tops of uprights, we have reached the conclusion that the tumuli were covered with vegetable matter. The possibility of several pieces of

this begins. This is true both for the horizontal and vertical plane. From the head-stone the height of the uprights gradually diminishes so that they are almost indistinguishable from the natural topography of the land. With the first type of design, the chamber and the passage are well-defined, mainly by the use of individualized uprights; with the second type, there are multiple slabs of schist or graywacke, which overlap and delimit the funeral space. This feature is particularly well-defined at the Joaninha site. With both types, the level of the interior floor is generally below that of the surrounding topography. Thus, the builders of these tombs lowered and flattened their floors and made cavities in the underlying rock for the erection of uprights. This feature is visible at the Charca Grande de la Regañada site, with a difference in height between the centre of the chamber and the surrounding land which exceeds fifty centimetres. Similarly, at most sites, as one penetrates the monument through the passage to the chamber there is a slight downward inclination, demonstrating a clear intention on the part of the builders to situate the main tumulus space below the level of the surrounding land. There are several questions as to the way in which the interior space is covered. Hitherto, a single type of in situ covering has been recognized. At the Sevillana site, a capstone formed with a schist slab covers the uprights of 120

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that different ritual practices would have taken place in this space, in spite of it being damaged by recent earth movements by Man and the roots of an old cork-oak. Various fragments of flint blades, cut-stone remains, beads and a flint arrowhead were found among the schist boulders (a few of them lying overturned while others stand upright), and a large number of blocks of quartz. In view of the construction materials used and the artefacts found in this space, it is thought likely that the site provided the stage for a number of ritual practices and, at the same time, the deposit of grave goods. Also, during excavation work at this site, around the tumulus, at the extremity opposite the passage, a structure was identified made up of schist slabs, laid out horizontally in an almost circular shape with an irregular outline and a diameter of around two metres. The slabs that form this structure are set in a layer of clay on the underlying rock. Half of this structure having been dismantled, nothing was found under the slabs. In the small space between the tumulus and this strange structure we found at a depth of about thirty-five centimetres three dung-beetle balls, which had been cut open, fired in a kiln and made into small ceramic containers. Though we have no idea of the function of these enigmatic items, they are no doubt linked to the tomb. We know that most burials were preceded by the preparation of the corpse, involving the reduction of its volume by means of cremation, excarnation and dismemberment; this structure may have been designed for this purpose. Nevertheless, there is no sign of fire and no other evidence was detected on the surfaces of the slabs that form it, nor in the area immediately surrounding the monument.

wood being supported on these carved grooves in a crosspattern above the funereal chamber, themselves supporting small schist slabs, seems to us the best explanation of how larger chambers were covered. Naturally, this kind of covering would not last long; meanwhile, we are certain that these funereal spaces were continuously used and re-visited over the course of hundreds of years, perhaps for more than a thousand years. Taking into account average passage height it is clear that most passages are symbolic constructions which do not provide access for people. So the only way of penetrating the interior of the chambers would be going in over the top, which means that the covering would have to be removed. If a chamber was covered by a large slab, its frequent removal would not only be extremely laborious but it also might jeopardise the stability of the entire structure. The proposition that chambers were covered with vegetable matter seems reasonable, as such coverings would be easily removable and maintained. This explanation would also account for the peculiarity of the presence of passages with a height which can be as little as twenty centimetres; these small passages seem to have a merely symbolic function, mimicking larger monuments whose passages are entirely functional. In order to construct the tumuli it is clear that the builders first removed the earth from the space chosen as the tomb site and laid overlapping slabs of schist on the rock foundation cushioned with a layer of fine compacted clay. The removal of the earth lent a degree of stability to the whole burial mound that would enclose the funereal space. The large number of blocks of milky quartz found scattered around these tombs, which very occasionally occur as construction features of the burial mound, leads us to consider the theory that following the building of a monument it was lined with a kerb of quartz blocks that would endow it with visibility in the landscape. This effect would be even more marked when the quartz was covered with dew or when it was wet and the sun shone on it, creating the effect of a shiny veneer. It is therefore recognised that the builders of these monuments wanted to mark them out in the landscape, both through their choice of sites and the way in which they constructed the tumuli in the burial mounds. The use of quartz for kerbs which made burial mounds stand out in the landscape seems to have been the way in which the Neolithic communities of the region compensated for the small size of these monuments as compared with granite tombs located in the south of the country. These funereal sites would have been visible from afar not only thanks to their shiny veneer but also due to the likely configuration of perishable materials, which today usually adorn the tumuli of isolated communities in Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.

As regards variations in terms of construction features employed in the building of the monuments of the mouth of the Sever, the stones of the Joaninha site are notable. The floor of this megalithic tomb is completely covered with fine schist slabs, carefully shaped to cover the whole of the interior, and this is especially evident in the chamber. Though this type of floor was also present in the passage, the slabs have been partially destroyed at the south end where the damage caused by farming is most in evidence. The passage of this monument seems to have been extended in length; this observation derives from the identification in the interior of the monument, near the entrance, of two schist blocks placed transversally, eighty centimetres apart, creating a sort of extension to the passage. The space delimited by these blocks is enclosed by the passage uprights, although these are smaller and provide less stability. Thus, this seems to be an extension to the tomb built at a stage later than the original construction. It was found that the direction of the passages of the monuments excavated (those referred to in this paper, because only those figures are accurate) range from 95º to 120º, as follows: Joaninha – 95º, Charca Grande da Regañada – 100º, Era dos Guardas – 115º, Cuatro Lindones – 115º, Padre Santo – 95º, Fonte da Pipa – 120º, and Lomba da Barca – 115º.

Besides the basic structure of these tombs, a complex forecourt constructed in front of the façade has been identified, hitherto only at the great Charca Grande de la Regañada monument. As a natural extension to the façade it spreads out and delimits the tumulus. It is recognised 121

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roasted acorns gathered from beneath the overturned chamber uprights, also where smooth ceramic receptacles were found. There are also chronological parallels with Sample 1 taken from the Castelhanas Dolmen, a granite monument with a regular polygonal chamber and a short passage, while there is a degree of difference between them, although this not very significant, especially when the margins of error are taken into account. This sample (OXA-5432), which was dated 3220+65 years BP, was taken from burnt human bones found along with undecorated semi-spherical containers, flint arrowheads with a convex base and fragments of schist plaque.

11.3. DATINGS The contemporaneousness of schist and granite megalithic monuments is suggested by the following factors: geographical proximity, great similarity in terms of architecture (despite the difference in scale), and a degree of similarity between the collections of grave goods found (although each type displays its own specificities). Before the excavation of the Joaninha Dolmen in the district of Cedillo, the only dated samples originating from schist monuments in the mouth of the Sever area had been obtained from carbon taken from the Lomba da Barca Dolmen in the district of Nisa. This carbon was dated 950+80 years BP, which, even if translated into calendar years, certainly represents a very late stage for the desecration of the monument. Because other tombs excavated on the Portuguese bank were greatly damaged by the plantation of eucalyptuses, no datable materials could be obtained. Thus, before taking organic matter from the Joaninha site, we were in a position in which there were no absolute chronometric values available. The radiocarbon dating of the two samples taken from the Joaninha monument provided the following figures: 3840+170 and 5400+210 years BP, respectively. These samples involved the collection of carbon at two different levels and for separate structures. The first of these, Sac1381: 3840+170 years BP, is the dating provided for a number of carbon fragments collected from the base of the monument in the transition zone between the chamber and the passage, which is covered with a great deal of compacted earth, which displays no sign of desecration, and this is where most of the artefacts were gathered. The carbon is derived from ashes and was taken from earth that covered the slabs that formed the floor of the funeral space. Under these slabs, between the fine layer of earth that separated it from the underlying rock, another collection of carbonized wood fragments was taken, associated with small ash stains, and the following dating was obtained: Sac - 1380: 5400+210 years BP (Oliveira, 1997).

The second sample from the Joaninha dolmen (Sac 1380: 5400+210 years BP) (Oliveira, 1997) was taken from beneath the slabs of the base of the monument, where no artefacts were uncovered, and seems to fall within the set of dates which are commonly considered as being extremely ancient, now applied to the granite monuments of the area under analysis. These samples, taken from monuments in the district of Marvão, such as the Castelhanas Dolmen (ICEN-1264: 6360+110 years BP), the Cabeçuda Dolmen (ICEN-978: 7660+60 years BP) and the Figueira Branca Dolmen (ICEN-823: 6210+50 years BP), involved carbon collected from the sandy soils at the base of the chamber, where no artefacts were found, probably resulting from the digging of cavities for the erection of uprights or, as is the case of the Figueira Branca Dolmen, carbon from an unstructured hearth identified at the base of the tumulus. In this last example, the carbon sample was taken from a site at which a broken millstone and smooth pottery fragments were found. The datings obtained at the Joaninha site seem to bear out the theory of the contemporaneousness of the use of the two types of megalithic sites situated in the Sever basin. On the basis of the data collected, this temporal parallelism seems to be more significant for granite monuments with a short passage than those with an extended passage. The only dated sample hitherto available for this region associated with monuments with an extended passage was obtained at the site of the Coureleiros IV Dolmen in the district of Castelo de Vide, dated 4240+150 years BP (ICEN-976).

Though we have only two datings, they are extremely important, as they are the only ones hitherto available for the sites in the mouth of the Sever area and, in some measure, they were taken from site which do not seem to have been desecrated and also they clearly provide parallels with the dates already available for larger monuments constructed in granite and situated in the Sever basin.

At the same time, it is interesting to note how the age of the carbon (Utc-4452: 6022+40 years BP) gathered from the cavity in which the menhir of Meada, in the district of Castelo de Vide, was erected, is approximate to the dates of the megalithic monuments presented here, which are regarded as being extremely ancient (Oliveira, 1997a).

The first dating obtained for the Joaninha Dolmen, Sac 1381: 3840+170 years BP, in terms of temporal context, coincides with those of Samples 1 and 3 taken from Cabeçuda Dolmen in the district of Marvão, a monument with a regular polygonal chamber and a short passage, with the following datings: 3650+110 years BP and 3720+45 years BP, respectively. The first sample derives from carbon taken from inside a small silo in the chamber-floor where open ceramic receptacles with smooth surfaces were found. The second was taken from

The older dating provided for the Joaninha monument confirms that the first stage in the construction of these tombs occurred in the early Neolithic era and that they were used up until the beginning of the Chalcolithic period. It is associated with a series of datings with a degree of significance for this small hydrological basin; in previous papers a more detailed analysis of this has been 122

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rarely occur. Large axes predominate, generally only their cutting edges polished and quadrangular or rectangular in cross-section. At the sites in areas with good farming potential, fewer polished stone implements are found: equal numbers of adzes/hoes and axes occur, while some monuments, especially those with an extended passage, provide a larger number of adzes/hoes. Though most of the polished stone implements are closely related to the existence of farming, it is naturally adzes/hoes that were used on a daily basis by those whose principal economic activity involved tillage of the land. Comparing the axes found at the two types of sites, they differ in terms of weight, cross-section and above all, the width of the cutting edge in relation to the total length of the tool. The axes found in areas most suited to farming are small, tooled to a higher standard, with a generally rectangular or elliptical cross-section, and have long cutting edges and a narrow bevel, and were suitable for cutting wood. However, most of the axes gathered at the monuments at the mouth of the River Sever are not suitable for this purpose; their features indicate that the purpose of the cutting edge is not so much achieving a perfect cut but rather inflicting injury, and they therefore served mainly as weapons. The shepherd was much more exposed to danger than the farmer and usually carried weapons for self-defence. This also points to the existence of an economy mainly based on pastoralism characterizing the communities of the mouth of the River Sever. They had little excess capacity in terms of produce to trade with on a regular basis in order to obtain raw materials like flint, which did not exist in the region. This lack of trading capability seems to be confirmed by the small number of flint arrowheads and blades found at these burial sites, especially when compared with megalithic remains found in soils better suited to farming.

provided. The difference between the two carbon-datings for the Joaninha monument show that these tombs had an extended functional life, just like other tombs outside the area examined in this paper. 11.4. ARTEFACTS AS A REFLECTION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY The type of economy practiced by the Neolithic communities is reflected in the range of artefacts unearthed in the tombs. Among the large number of funereal items identified at the large sites on soils suited to farming, there is a large number of ceramic items. These were essential features of life in settled farmingbased societies and would not have been used much by communities which were always on the move, such as those whose economy was based on pastoralism. The latter mainly used receptacles and containers made of animal or vegetable matter which are subject to decay and have therefore not survived. At the sites of the mouth of the Sever ceramic artefacts are either absent or present in small numbers. Thus, the almost complete absence of ceramic items at these sites points to the existence of predominantly pastoral communities. The corpses buried in the tomb may have been accompanied by some containers that once served as utensils but because these were made from organic materials they did not survive: such artefacts, made of skin, wood, or horn, would have formed part of the equipment of shepherds herding flocks. These were placed in their graves with their corpses, rather than ceramic receptacles which would have indicated the existence of more settled communities. Millstones are other artefacts which are found in large numbers in the monuments situated on soils better suited to farming. Scattered in burial mounds, sometimes used as wedges for large boulders, or even as grave goods, lots of over fifty such items can be found at a single site, for example, at the Cabeçuda Dolmen in the district of Marvão. However, this rarely occurs with the small tombs of the mouth the Sever. Of the various sites studied in the region, only the Joaninha site, that of Era dos Guardas, at Cedillo, and that of Lomba da Barca, near Montalvão, have supplied a millstone. However, a close link between the millstone found at the Lomba da Barca site and the funereal monument was not established: it was found on the surface, ten metres from the dolmen, leaning against an old holm-oak tree. It had long served and continued to serve as a seat for the shepherd who watched his flocks sheep and goats.

Another megalithic artefact par excellence which is worthy of mention because it is absence in the collections of tomb goods found at sites at the mouth of Sever is the decorated schist plaque. Hitherto, no decorated schist plaques have been identified at these sites, but two pieces which have been identified as variants of common schist plaques have been uncovered at the Fonte da Pipa site, north of Montalvão. These two polished sandstone items, one of them intact, are nearly parallelepiped in shape, undecorated and not carved, and slightly concave on both sides. Possibly representing the schematic forms of sandstone and grès plaques, which normally feature anthropomorphic decoration, they are similar to the unusual collection of grave goods found at the Horta da Coudelaria de Alter Dolmen. There are a range of possible explanations for the absence of schist plaques at the sites located at the mouth of the River Sever. One of those which best fits the interpretations presented above is associated with the same likely reason for the very small number of flint artefacts found. We now know that there existed centres for producing artefacts and networks for the distribution of schist plaques and that obtaining these luxury funereal

Out of all artefacts, the millstone is certainly that which bears the closest relationship to farming practices, and its absence from the megalithic remains of the mouth of the Sever is significant. Among the collections of grave goods taken from the tombs in the schist zone, of note are the large number of robust polished stone tools found; however, adzes/hoes 123

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artefacts would necessitate trade; assuming the economy of the communities of the mouth of the Sever was poor, little excess produce would have been available for commercial exchange, so these artefacts would have represented an unaffordable luxury to these communities, and the same thing is true of flint artefacts. The presence of two sandstone plaques at the Fonte da Pipa monument, one of the schist burial sites situated furthest from the mouth of the Sever, where better resources were available and where the soils were more suitable for farming, could provide evidence of a more prosperous economy with regard to the community that built it and, consequently, sufficient excess produce in order that luxury funereal artefacts could be obtained. Although only highly fragmentary evidence is available and only a small number of funereal monuments have been studied, everything seems to point to the fact that the economy of the Neolithic communities that built the tombs in the mouth of the River Sever area was poor and based mainly on pastoralism, which was naturally reflected in the quality and number of grave goods and the very small size of most of the tombs. These aspects also portray a society which was less complex, less organized and less pyramidal than those based on farming and consequently more settled. It was these shepherds of the mouth of the Sever area who produced the large number of carvings on the schist boulders which are now largely submerged by the waters of the Fratel Reservoir. This they did especially in summer-time, while herding their flocks along the banks of the Tagus in search of pasture.

of the area established few contacts with the traders that could have supplied with them luxury items, such as flint and schist blocks. The absence of this type of artefact or its presence in small numbers as well as the virtual absence of ceramic recipients and millstones at burial sites indicate that the Neolithic people of the area survived almost entirely thanks to pastoralism. Practising transhumance during the summer and autumn, they herded their flocks along the banks of the Tagus and the Sever in search of the pasture which was unavailable in the dry uplands at that time of year. While the animals moved slowly along the banks and spacious river-bed of the Tagus, the shepherds would patiently turn the flat polished schists they encountered into memorials of their sojourn. In a cycle of artistic activity, the ancient men of the mouth of the Sever carved and re-carved the schist slabs with images of their experiences of nature or and hopes; still today, shepherds carve with their penknives decorations on crooks or the horn containers in which they carry their provisions, with one eye on their flocks.

11.5. CONCLUSION Though the scant evidence of settlements of the builders of the megalithic burial sites of the mouth of the River Sever has never previously been studied, as a result of the information gathered from excavations it is now possible to reconstitute some aspects of the society, economy and rituals of the communities that lived in this region during the Neolithic era. On the extremely thin soils of the area, the economy of these communities was mainly pastorallybased, while in the better-drained valleys they were able to grow some crops, complemented by hunting and fishing. Pastoralism, however, forms the basis of the economy, as is still the case nowadays in the region. Herding their flocks in constant nomadic movement, the Neolithic people of the mouth of the Sever did not live in an organized fashion in cohesive structured communities that would have provided them with the manpower needed for the construction of large collective tumuli. Their small-scale burial sites built with schist blocks, which two or three people could easily transport and raise, were organized in necropolises along hillcrests which stood out in the landscape. Burial mounds were lined with kerbs made blocks of white quartz which contrasted with the green and brown hues of the vegetation. The poor economy meant very little excess produce and the people

Fig. 11.4. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view from the west: the tumulus following excavation

Fig. 11.5. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view from the north: the chamber and passage 124

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Fig. 11.9. Charca Grande de la Regañada – Three dung-beetle balls made into ceramic containers found in the monument tumulus Fig. 11.6. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view of the structure identified west of the tumulus

Fig. 11.10. Fonte da Pipa – View of the monument before the start of excavations

Fig. 11.7. Charca Grande de la Regañada – View of the structure after partial dismantling

Fig. 11.11. Fonte da Pipa – Idol-plaque in situ near the head-stone

Fig. 11.8. Charca Grande de la Regañada – General view of the monument with the structured forecourt in the foreground 125

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Fig. 11.15. Lomba da Barca – View of the excavation of the monument

Fig. 11.12. Fonte da Pipa – View of the excavation of the monument

Fig. 11.13. Fonte da Pipa – General view of the dolmen after excavation

Fig. 11.16. Lomba da Barca – View of the excavation of the tumulus

Fig. 11.14. Lomba da Barca – Monument viewed from the North Fig. 11.17. Lomba da Barca – General view of the monument after excavation

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Fig. 11.18. Padre Santo – General view of the monument from the south

Fig. 11.19. Padre Santo – General view of the monument from the north

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Chapter 12 DOCUMENTACION ARQUEOLOGICA OBTENIDA DURANTE LOS TRABAJOS DE CONSOLIDACION DE LOS DOLMENES DE VALENCIA DE ALCANTARA Juan Javier ENRÍQUEZ NAVASCUÉS, María Jesús CARRASCO MARTÍN Universidad de Extremadura Resumen: Las actuaciones de limpieza y consolidación efectuadas en 27 dólmenes de granito de Valencia de Alcántara han proporcionado nuevos datos arqueológicos sobre el conjunto, de modo especial en cuanto a la tipología y estructura de algunos de ellos. Los casos más sobresalientes son los de El Palancar, La Miera, Datas 1, Cajirón 2, Zafra 2, Huerta Nueva y Tapada del Anta, así como la incorporación de un nuevo dolmen, Salón de los Canchales. También se han recuperado elementos de ajuares de interés, aunque descontextualizados casi siempre salvo casos muy puntuales como los pulimentados de La Miera. Palabras clave: Megalitos; Consolidación; Ajuares Abstract: The performances of cleaning and consolidation carried out in 27 dolmens of granite in Valencia de Alcántara have provided new archeological data about de site, in a special way as for the typology and structure of some of them. The most excellent cases are those of El Palancar, La Miera, Datas 1, Cajiron 2, Zafra 2, Huerta Nueva y Tapada del Anta, as well as the incorporation of a new dolmen, Salón de los Canchales. Some elements of trousseaus of interest have also been recovered, even though they are almost never contextualized except for very specific cases like the polishing ones of La Miera. Key words: Megaliths; Consolidation; Grave goods

e desenvolvimiento social” celebrado en Idanha a Nova en 1998. A él nos vamos a referir brevemente por ser el marco de referencia y explicación, pero vamos a prestar mayor atención aquí a la documentación arqueológica que se obtuvo, que pese a las limitaciones inherentes a que ya nos hemos referido más arriba no carece de interés.

12.1. EL MARCO DE INTERVENCIÓN El marco en el que se desarrolló, hace ahora diez años, el proyecto de consolidación de los dólmenes de Valencia de Alcántara fue el programa Interreg I de Patrimonio Cultural, planteado y desarrollado por la entonces Consejería de Cultura y Patrimonio (hoy Consejería de Cultura) de la Junta de Extremadura. Dentro de los parámetros contemplados por dicho programa, la intervención en los dólmenes debía ajustarse a la consolidación arquitectónica y no orientarse a la solución de problemas y cuestiones de índole estrictamente arqueológica, de tal manera que se trataba de acompañar, dentro de un equipo multidisciplinar, los diagnósticos previos sobre el estado de conservación, las medidas concretas para la consolidación de cada sepulcro y el desarrollo de los trabajos de campo1. En su conjunto, la intervención partió así con unos presupuestos de partida diferentes a los contemplados en otros proyectos de recuperación dolménica como los llevados a cabo en los sepulcros del término municipal de Alcántara (Bueno et al. 1998a y b) o en Cedillo (Oliveira, 2000).

12.2. EL PROYECTO Y SU DESARROLLO El proyecto de consolidación tuvo su punto de partida en la documentación previa existente, fundamentalmente en los trabajos de Diéguez (1976) y sobre todo en el estudio realizado por P. Bueno sobre los dólmenes del término (Bueno, 1988). De este modo su fase inicial consistió en la puesta al dia de dicha documentación con la visita directa y el análisis de los dólmenes publicados por parte de un equipo multidisciplinar formado por arquitectos (C. Borrallo, S. Martín Corrales y J. López Alvarez), geólogo (J. Jonquera), arqueólogos (M.J. Carrasco & J.J. Enríquez) e ingeniero técnico agrícola (F. Carrasco López), con ayuda eventual de topógrafo y arquitecto técnico. El resultado de ese análisis se plasmó en 5 volúmenes de diagnóstico, donde para cada dolmen se contempló una base de datos que contenía: situación, cartografía, datos administrativos, accesos reales y posibles, intervenciones precedentes, clasificación arquitectónica, actualización de las descripciones de los ortostatos, planimetrías, fotografías, patologías detectadas, estado de conservación y propuestas de intervención reversibles para su conservación y rehabilitación. Al final, en función de las disponibilidades presupuestarias, se seleccionaron 28 dólmenes, todos ellos de granito, de los que se actuó en 27 (no se acabó la intervención en Cajirón 1) entre los

El planteamiento general y el desarrollo de las primeras actuaciones del proyecto ya fueron dados a conocer en una visión de conjunto en el nº 7 de la revista Ibn Maruan (Carrasco & Enríquez, 1997) y de ellos se habló también en las “I Jornadas de Patrimonio Histórico Transfronterizo” celebrado en Badajoz y en el coloquio “Arqueología 1 Por esta razón, la Consejería consideró en ese momento que el acompañamiento arqueológico debía efectuarlo un técnico de la Administración y no la investigadora que había dirigido años atrás las excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas en los dólmenes de V. de Alcántara, la Dra. P. Bueno.

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estaban siempre constatados con claridad, bien debido a las remociones, desplazamientos, excavaciones antiguas, deterioro producido por agentes naturales o antrópicos, o como consecuencia de intervenciones no controladas. Consistió así en la reintegración de elementos, consolidación de los existentes, limpieza interior y exterior y tratamiento del entorno inmediato. Con estos trabajos, la imagen de los dólmenes en que se actuó se transformó de manera acusada, puesto que se trató ya de intervenciones individualizadas, con proyecto especial para cada dolmen, según su estado, patologías y posibilidades de recuperación. Zafra 2, El Palancar, La Miera, Datas 1, Cajirón 2, Fragoso, Huerta Nueva y Tapada del Anta son los dólmenes de este tercer grupo.

que se incluía uno hasta entonces inédito: el Salón de los Canchales, así como dos ortostatos de otro más en la finca Huerta del Látigo, que no debe confundirse con el así denominado por Diéguez (1976: 38) y Bueno (1988: 125). La ejecución se efectuó en tres niveles de actuación. En el primero de ellos se contempló la limpieza interior y exterior de estructuras, sellado de fisuras, eliminación de humedades y manchas, corrección de desplomes sin desplazamientos, relleno de cámara y corredor cuando lo había, así como la protección de los restos de túmulo con tierra compactada de la zona (sabio) sobre capa geotextil. En este nivel de intervención se incluyeron un total de diez dólmenes: Zafra 1, Changarrilla, Anta de la Marquesa (Los Mellizos), La Morera, Salón de los Canchales, S. Antón, Valbón 2, Huerta del Látigo, Tapias 1 y Tapias 2.

12.3. LA DOCUMENTACIÓN ARQUEOLÓGICA OBTENIDA

Con estas actuaciones se pretendió fundamentalmente frenar el deterioro y evitar que se perdieran las referencias de algunos de ellos, como Zafra 1, Tapias 2, Huerta del Látigo, Chagarrilla, o La Morera, que estaban a punto de desaparecer, mientras que en otros casos se trataba de evitar el avance del acusado proceso de deterioro en que se encontraban, como ocurría en Tapias 1, Lanchas 2, Valbón 2, S. Antón y Salón de los Canchales. Especial fue el caso del popular Anta de la Marquesa, también denominado Los Mellizos, en donde para poder efectuar la limpieza y más tarde facilitar la visita fue preciso que el Ayuntamiento de Valencia de Alcántara adquiriera el terreno circundante y procediera a su vallado.

La documentación arqueológica más interesante es obviamente la obtenida en los dólmenes del tercer nivel de intervención, parte de la cual ya ha sido dada a conocer (Carrasco & Enríquez, 1997; Enríquez & Carrasco, 2000), pero también de los dólmenes de los otros dos niveles se obtuvieron a veces nuevos datos que conviene dar a conocer. Así, a efectos documentales y dentro del primero de los niveles de intervención referida, el que aporta mayor novedad es el Salón de los Canchales que, como se ha dicho, estaba inédito. Su situación sobre la hoja 727 1/50.000 del IGM es de 7º 10´ 45,6´´ de longitud y 39º 19´ 47,5´´ de latitud, con una altitud de 487 m. Se emplaza a media ladera de la vertiente oriental de una colina de pizarras muy próxima a roquedos graníticos, dentro de un olivar con amplio campo visual abierto únicamente al E. Se encontraba lleno de maleza y con las piedras removidas, de modo que con la limpieza efectuada solo es posible apuntar datos relativos a la cámara (Fig. 12.1). Esta es de tendencia circular, abierta al E., con un diámetro de 3,10 m. en el eje N-S y 3 m. en el E-W, formada por siete ortostatos conservados de granito que alcanzan una altura máxima de 2,90 m. En el ortostato 4 se observaba como los ortostatos estaban insertados en zanjas de cimentación y reforzados con calzos. Por úlitmo, en la entrada asomaban dos piedras más bajas hincadas verticalmente a manera de jambas. No se apreciaban restos de corredor en superficie y la estructura tumular se hallaba completamente desmontada, aunque se observaban algunos restos tras el ortostato 6.

El segundo nivel no se circunscribió solo a limpieza, sellado de fisuras, capa de protección en el suelo etc., sino que incluyó la reubicación en las fosas de cimentación de los ortostatos movidos o desplazados cuya estabilidad era precaria, el cosido de fragmentos rotos y la restitución de fragmentos partidos, caídos o desplazados una vez comprobados mediante plantilla los encajes. El Corchero, La Barca, Lanchas 1 y 2, Huerta de las Monjas, Zafra 3, Zafra 4, Valbón 1 y Datas 2 son los lugares donde se actuó con este segundo nivel. En Lanchas 1 por ejemplo, la cámara estaba completamente vaciada, había restos de múltiples fuegos, desplomes y fisuras en los ortostatos, desplazamientos de éstos y agujeros por todas partes. Se procedió a la recolocación, sellado, cosido y recalzo de las piezas, además de la limpieza, capa de protección y drenaje. También con muy mala estabilidad se encontraban los ortostatos de la cámara y la cubierta de la Huerta de las Monjas, donde se sellaron, cosieron y recolocaron varias piedras además de habilitar un entorno de “sabio” con salida para las escorrentías. En Lanchas 2 hubo que desescombrar y limpiar el rebaje de la cámara, sellar las fisuras de los ortostatos, desbrozar el espacio del corredor y habilitar el drenaje y protección del entorno.

Hay que reseñar también el dolmen casi desaparecido de la finca conocida como Huerta del Látigo, que recordamos como no es el publicado con este nombre, sino otro inédito que solo conservaba dos ortostatos, uno de ellos caído y apenas visible en superficie y otro roto que afloraba 50 cms. Durante la limpieza superficial del terreno se descubrió todo el ortostato caído, que tenía unas medidas de 3 x 1,55 m., y la caja de cimentación excavada en el suelo en la que había ido insertado, junto

El tercer nivel, más complejo, contempló la consolidación y documentación de elementos estructurales que no 130

DOCUMENTACIÓN ARQUEOLOGICA OBTENIDA DURANTE LOS TRABAJOS DE CONSOLIDACIÓN DE LOS DOLMENES DE VALENCIA DE ALCÁNTARA

Fig. 12.1. Planta de Salón de los Canchales, materiales de Los Mellizos y planta y materiales de Lanchas 2

recta, y una azuela pulimentada completa de sección rectangular (Fig. 12.1).

con las entibaciones. Con estos elementos se repuso este ortostato en su lugar y se protegió un área de 5 m. de diámetro con tierra compactada del terreno. Su situación sobre la hoja 701 del IGM es de 7º 12´ 1,8´´ de longitud y 39º 23´ 20´´ de latitud, a una cota de 478 m. de altitud.

De entre los del segundo nivel, hay que reseñar el caso de Lanchas 2, que ya habia sido objeto de excavaciones, el cual se encontraba totalmente arruinado. Los expolios habian llegado a alcanzar cotas que incluso estaban por debajo del nivel de cimentación de la cámara. Los trabajos de limpieza y drenaje al exterior pudieron verificar la estructura de la cámara y parte de la del corredor y atrio, aunque el lado N. del corredor estaba destruido y del S. solo se conservaban tres ortostatos movidos. En aquel revoltijo aparecieron sin embargo

Materiales arqueológicos solo se encontraron en la limpieza de Los Mellizos o Anta de La Marquesa. Son cinco piezas en total que estaban algo separadas del dolmen, junto a la tapia de piedra de la linde derecha: dos fragmentos de ídolos placa, dos puntas de flecha, una con aletas y base pedunculada y la otra triangular de base 131

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Fig. 12.2. Plantas de La Miera, Zafra 2, Cajirón 2 y El Palancar

algunos materiales de interés como son los cuatro fragmentos de ídolos antropomorfos y los treinta y cuatro de vasijas cerámicas, con platos bajos que en algunos casos tenían el borde reforzado, cuencos semiesféricos y en forma de casquete esférico y un fragmento de cuchara (Fig. 12.1).

corredor corto de La Miera, Datas 1 y Cajirón 2 (Enríquez & Carrasco, 2000). Inédita se encontraban la actuación y consiguiente nueva documentación de los dólmenes de El Fragoso, Huerta Nueva (el recogido como Huerta del Látigo en la bibliografía precedente) y Tapada del Anta, que enseguida se expondrán.

Para los del tercer nivel, hay que aludir a las intervenciones y resultados en Zafra 2 y El Palancar (Carrasco & Enríquez, 1997) y a las de los sepulcros de

Pero los casos más singulares y hasta espectaculares fueron los de los dólmenes de Zafra 2 y El Palancar (Fig. 12.2). Este último se encontraba totalmente en ruinas, 132

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fragmentos de cuchillos de sílex, retocados y sin retoque, uno al menos completo (9,5 x 2 x 0,7 cms.) aunque de menor tamaño que otros fragmentados. Además una punta de flecha de base convexa sin retocar, una laminita de cristal de roca, algunas lascas internas de sílex y cuarcita y dos objetos pulimentados, uno incompleto y una azuela de sección oval. Pero hay que destacar el hallazgo de tres fragmentos de ídolos placa de pizarra con decoración geométrica y otros tres, más otro probable, correspondientes a ídolos antropomorfos sobre placas. El más claro es una cabeza (Fig. 12.3) cuya morfología, factura y trazos con que se marcan las cejas, nariz, ojos y tatuaje facial resultan casi idénticos a los que ofrece una placa antropomorfa de Lanchas 1 (Bueno, 1988: 56; 1990:105), muy similar también pero algo menos a otra de Indanha-a-Nova (Bueno, 1992:586).

convertido en un auténtico pedregal, no solo expoliado, sino que además había sido objeto de voladuras. Su desescombro y limpieza permitieron reconocer la traza de la planta, de grandes dimensiones (4,70 x 4,30 m. de diámetros y 2,9 m. de altura) y parte del corredor en 2,6 m. Pudo definirse así como de corredor corto, pero dentro de este tipo resultó ser el de mayores dimensiones del conjunto de Valencia de Alcántara. El caso de Zafra 2 es un tanto curioso pues había sido excavado en los años 60 y luego completamente desmontado para aprovechar las losas, que incluso se habían usado en un puente cercano (y de allí las hubo que recuperar). Tras las labores de limpieza se localizaron las huellas de las cimentaciones de los ortostatos de la cámara, los cuales se habían conservado cuando se arrancaron de cuajo las losas. Este hecho, unido a la documentación previa existente (descripciones, fotos y planos) y a que las losas estaban muy enteras, permitieron que se recuperase la memoria de este sufrido dolmen con cámara poligonal y corredor largo, pero de estructura sencilla.

Cajirón 2 es un pequeño dolmen con corredor corto, cuya cámara mide 2,72 m. en el eje E-W y 2,93 m. en el N-S. Con una altura máxima de1,92 m., conservaba una jamba en el lateral S. El corredor, desviado respecto al eje y con 2,54 m. de longitud por 1,27/1,18 m. de anchura, contenía una pieza de pizarra junto a la entrada en el lateral S. A él se accedía por un pequeño atrio cuyas trazas se conservan en el lateral N. Del túmulo pudo comprobarse como estaba formado por hiladas horizon-tales de piedras en un diámetro conservado de 12 m., con una disposición perimetral de grandes piedras que sobresalían y bien pudieron conformar un anillo de refuerzo (Fig. 12.2).

Los sepulcros con corredor corto de La Miera, Datas 1 y Cajirón 2 también ofrecieron datos de interés que añadir a la documentación ya conocida de los dólmenes de Valencia de Alcántara (Bueno, 1988) y de la cuenca del Sever (Oliveira, 1997a). El de La Miera, no exento de una cierta complejidad estructural y simbólica que ya comentamos (Enríquez & Carrasco, 2000: 282), constaba de una cámara de tendencia circular que medía 4x3,9 m. de diámetros y una altura que alcanzaba 3,85 m. donde las disposición de los ortostatos 2 y 6, que fueron los últimos en colocarse, supone una particularidad constructiva. Dos jambas la diferenciaban del corredor, trapezoidal, donde se encontraron 4 pequeños menhires con calzo, tres en el lateral sur y uno en el norte, y un verdadero depósito de objetos pulimentados, conservado solo parcialmente, con 21 piezas en el lado sur y 10 en el norte. En la parte exterior se reconoció la presencia de un atrio de 1,5 x 0,9 x 0,5 m. (Fig. 12.2).

Por otra parte, como antes se apuntó, inédita permanecía hasta ahora la documentación obtenida en los dólmenes de El Fragoso, Huerta Nueva y Tapada del Anta, que pasamos a exponer. 12.3.1. El Fragoso Inventariado por Diéguez con el nº 30 (Diéguez, 1976: 30), quien presentó un croquis con dos ortostatos y apuntó la existencia de construcciones con falsa cúpula en las inmediaciones, fue recogido por Bueno como sepulcro de tipología indeterminada dado el estado en que se encontraba (Bueno, 1988: 22 y 33). En la visita de reconocimiento solo pudo identificarse un montón arruinado de piedras oculto entre cochiqueras abandonadas que habían aprovechado su estructura (¿las construcciones de falsa cúpula que refirió Diéguez?). Tras la primera limpieza superficial se identificaron 5 ortostatos, dos completos y tres fracturados. Más tarde, el desmonte de las construcciones parásitas y la retirada de piedras sueltas permitieron reconocer las trazas de una cámara y el inicio de un corredor. En una segunda limpieza y pese al carácter ruinoso en que estaba la estructura se pudo determinar como se trataba de una cámara poligonal de tendencia circular, que con orientación E-O estaba compuesta por 7 ortostatos de sección rectangular u oval, con un diámetro máximo de 3,72 m. en el eje N-S y de 3,10 m. en el E-O. El vano de acceso contaba con 0,90 m. de ancho en la base y el interior estaba completamente alterado (Fig. 12.4).

En el de Datas 1 se comprobó la existencia de un ortostato que cerraba la cámara, como en el Anta de la Marquesa o Mellizos, de manera que estaba delimitada por 8 ortostatos con unas dimensiones de 3,88 m. de diámetro en el eje E-O y 3,64 m. en el N-S y una altura máxima de 3,45 m. que corresponde a la losa central. Por el exterior, un refuerzo de bloques de granito sirvió como entibación, mientras sendas jambas separan ésta de un corredor trapezoidal de 3 m. de longitud con una anchura entre 1,50 y 1,03 m. Las acciones de expolios y de maquinaria agrícola impidieron confirmar la existencia de atrio exterior aunque no faltan indicios de su presencia (Fig. 12.3). Una serie de materiales revueltos fueron recogidos tanto en el espacio de la cámara como del corredor y sobre todo al exterior, en el espacio que pudo corresponder al atrio (Fig. 12.3). Se trata de fragmentos cerámicos pertenecientes sobre todo a cuencos, aunque también a pequeños vasitos de carena baja, alguno mayor hondo con paredes entrantes y a un plato ó fuente de paredes cortas y carena baja. De buena factura son los 133

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Fig. 12.3. Datas 1. Planta y materiales

Es interesante apuntar como se pudo comprobar la existencia una jamba segura junto a esa entrada y la fosa de inserción de la opuesta. El ortostato 1º del lado sur apareció roto y caído pero la localización de la fosa de cimentación y de los calzos permitió su recolocación. Justo al lado del mismo por el interior apareció una pieza de pizarra de 0,99 x 0,28 m. que pudo haber sido la jamba de ese lado, ya que en el lado N. sí que se conservó otra pieza similar algo desplazada pero con el arranque “in situ”. Del corredor pudieron descubrirse dos grandes

ortostatos colocados horizontalmente, uno a cada lado, y en el lateral N. también las huellas de una cimentación abierta en la roca con unas dimensiones algo menores (0,80 x 0,16 m.). A partir de esta huella ya no se detectó traza alguna. En cuanto a materiales arqueológicos, la mayor parte de los encontrados fueron fragmentos de cerámicas a torno, pero no faltaron los de cerámica a mano y algunos objetos de piedra trabajada, así como un buen número de piedras 134

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Fig. 12.4. El Fragoso. Planta y materiales

medianas y pequeñas de cuarzo sin trabajar. Del revuelto de la cámara se pueden reconocer formas de cuencos semiesféricos y de paredes entrantes, aunque destaca un vaso de marcada carena baja y perfil en S que estaba prácticamente entero. Entre los líticos, una punta de flecha de sílex pedunculada, un trapecio microlítico, un núcleo prismático de cristal de roca, un cincel o gubia pulimentada y un hacha pulida rota longitudinalmente, ambas piezas de sección trapezoidal (Fig. 12.4).

12.3.2. Huerta Nueva Inventariado por Diéguez con el nº 34 bajo la denominación de Huerta del Látigo (Diéguez, 1976: 38), así fue recogido por Bueno quien ya aludió al expolio que había sufrido (Bueno, 1988: 125). Esta nueva denominación que apuntamos se debe al hecho de que en los correspondientes registros de fincas ésta en la que se ubica este dolmen es reconocida como Huerta Nueva, mientras que 135

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se abre un pequeño atrio de 1 m. de longitud por 2,70 m. de anchura máxima. El lateral N. tiene una longitud de 2,56 m. desde la entrada de la cámara a la intersección del atrio, con una altura de 1 m. desde los elementos de entibación. De los tres ortostatos que lo delimitan, el mayor está colocado horizontalmente en el centro, los otros dos verticales. El lateral S. proporcionó 2,90 m. de longitud y un desarrollo formado por cuatro ortostatos cuya altura oscila entre 0,80 y 1,20 m. Como particularidad ofrece una pieza de tamaño medio situada entre el ortostato de entrada, que está colocado horizontalmente, y los otros tres que se dispusieron verticales. Es una pieza de menor altura que, al igual que la jamba conservada, está encajada en una fosa abierta en el terreno natural sin llegar a la roca y sin entibación. Su presencia no tiene relación con los aspectos constructivos (Fig. 12.5), de modo que su presencia parece obedecer mas bien a razones conceptuales, como señalización o compartimentación simbólica del espacio del corredor.

Huerta del Látigo es el nombre que recibe otra colindante al S.O., que es en la que se hallaron los dos ortostatos del perdido sepulcro que así hemos llamado. El estado en que se encontraba era de grave deterioro, con la cámara completamente rebajada. Había seis ortostatos hincados en el suelo y uno caido al interior parcialmente visible bajo una gran losa trapezoidal que parecía haber correspondido a la cubierta. De esos siete ortostatos, cinco estaban completos con una altura por el exterior desde el suelo actual de 2,20 m. pero con 3 m. por el interior. El corredor por su parte estaba destrozado pero eran reconocibles tres ortostatos en el lateral sur y cuatro en el norte. Conservaba también restos del túmulo, aunque desfigurado por la maleza y por las terreras dejadas tras su expolio. Las patologías eran por tanto graves, destacando el hecho de que en la cámara se había excavado por debajo del nivel de cimentación de los ortostatos con el consiguiente peligro para su estabilidad, de igual modo acusadas eran las grandes fisuras de los ortostatos 1 y 7, el desplazamiento exterior N.O. del 3, la fractura del 6, caído al interior, y el desplome y fractura de la cubierta. Las intervenciones se centraron preferentemente en el sellado y grapado de fisuras de los ortostatos 1 y 3, corrección del desplazamiento de este último; pegado y recolocación del 6; relleno de la cámara y nueva entibación de todos los ortostatos; limpieza del corredor y eliminación de las terreras allí generadas y por último limpieza superficial y protección de los restos del túmulo.

Se documentó pues al final un desarrollo de 7,50 m., con altura descendente desde la cámara, que estaba integrado en una estructura tumular muy deteriorada cuyas trazas fueron reconocibles en un diámetro máximo de 12,60 m. en el eje mayor (E-O) y una potencia máxima de 1,50 m. desde la roca tras el ortostato 6. Aquí se conservaban cuatro hiladas de piedras graníticas de mediano y pequeño tamaño, colocadas horizontalmente y trabadas con tierra arenosa sin compactar, que alternaban con capas de tierra dispuestas regularmente también en sentido horizontal.

Concluidos estos trabajos, se pudieron individualizar (Fig. 12.5) la cámara, corredor, un pequeño atrio y restos de una colina tumular de planta oval delimitada por un anillo perimetral de bloques de granito, conservados sobre todo en el sector N.E. La cámara, con siete ortostatos, delimita un espacio poligonal de tendencia circular que alcanza 3,60 m. de diámetro en el eje E-O y 3,40 en el N-S, con una altura de 2,80/2,70 m. desde los elementos de entibación interiores, si bien la altura real de los ortostatos supera los 4 m. ya que tenían enterrados un tercio de de su longitud real. Completamente expoliada y rebajada de su cota como se ha dicho, conserva las fosas de cimentación abiertas en la roca y algunos bloques de mediano tamaño que sirvieron como refuerzos interiores. Al exterior no se documentaron elementos de entibación, de manera que fue la propia estructura del túmulo la que sirvió para contener la presión exterior y la disposición de niveles de tierra y piedras del mismo la que hizo las veces de entibaciones. Frente a la losa central, que en este caso no es la de mayores dimensiones, se sitúa la entrada con una anchura de 0,86 m., a partir de la cual se desarrolla el corredor cuya intersección venía marcada por dos jambas de granito de las que solo se conserva la del lateral N.

Los materiales arqueológicos encontrados estaban completamente revueltos y procedian de las rebuscas y rebajes efectuados, concentrándose sobre todo en la confluencia entre cámara y corredor (Fig. 12.5). Había algunas cerámicas a torno y 70 fragmentos a mano, 51 amorfos no clasificables y 19 clasificables, además de seis objetos líticos. Las formas cerámicas reconocibles corresponden a cuencos semiesféricos, de paredes entrantes y en casquete, a un vaso globular de paredes cerradas y a un asa de mamelón. Los líticos son un prisma de cuarzo hialino traslúcido, dos núcleos prismáticos de cuarzo, dos fragmentos de ídolos placa de pizarra y una cuenta de collar pétrea bicónica. 12.3.3. Tapada del Anta Corresponde al dolmen recogido por Diéguez con el nº 11 (Diéguez, 1976: 36) y al Tapada del Anta I de Bueno (1988:55). Se sitúa sobre una pequeña meseta de 448 m. del altitud ubicada en el la ladera O. de un suave cerro, el entorno presenta afloramientos graníticos y una vegetación de monte bajo que llegaba a semiocultar el sepulcro. Su estado de conservación era totalmente ruinoso, con la cámara rebajada incluso en la roca madre, las bases de los ortostatos desenterradas y éstos totalmente vencidos al interior, mientras por fuera había sido desmontada la estructura tumular y aprovechadas las piedras para majanos. Del corredor solo se apreciaban índicos a la altura de su intersección con la cámara.

El corredor ofreció una planta trapezoidal determinada por la asimetría de sus flancos, con 2,90 m. de largo y una anchura de 1,64 m., con siete ortostatos encajados en fosas abiertas en la roca y refuerzos por el interior, cuatro en el S. y tres en el N., uno de los cuales actúa como jamba cuando la pared empieza a divergir. A partir de ahí 136

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Fig. 12.5. Huerta Nueva. Planta y materiales

Las patologías más importantes afectaban al desplome acusado de los ortostatos 2, 4, 5, y 6, con fisuras graves los 2 y 6, el descalce sobre todo de los 5 y 6, la excavación interior de la cámara, los restos de fuego tanto interiores como exteriores y la fractura de la losa de cubierta caída al interior. Por el exterior, también los desmontes.

grapado de los dos trozos que presentaba el 1 y corrección de los desplomes. Se rellenó el interior de la cámara con tierra apisonada y se graparon los trozos de la losa de cubierta, que fue repuesta. Por su parte se limpió y delimitó la trayectoria del corredor, que también estaba arruinado, donde de igual manera se echó una capa de tierra apisonada como en el entorno, aquí con un diámetro de 12 m.

Tras el desbroce de la maleza y la retirada de las piedras sueltas, se abrió una zanja perimetral para la recolocación de los ortostatos con sellado de las fisuras del 2 y 5,

Los trabajos de desbroce, limpieza y consolidación de los elementos permitieron documentar la planta, restituir 137

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Fig. 12.6. Tapada del Anta

parte del alzado y recuperar la fisonomía general del dolmen. Desde el punto de vista morfológico, puede encuadrarse dentro del grupo de dólmenes con cámara poligonal de tendencia circular, corredor largo con dos tramos y atrio (Fig. 12.6). La cámara con siete ortostatos de grandes dimensiones inclinados al interior y apoyados unos en otros, delimita un espacio oval de 4,28 m. en el eje mayor, que es el N-S, y 3,90 m. en el menor, en el EO. La altura media desde el nivel de entibación se situaba

entre 3,80 y 3,54 m. Frente al ortostato de cabecera pero algo desviada respecto a su eje se encuentra la entrada, de 1,5 m. de anchura, a partir de la cual se desarrolla el corredor. Como elemento de intersección se encontró en el lateral N. una pieza vertical de granito rectangular de menor altura que los ortostatos, inserta en una fosa poco profunda del terreno y sin entibación. En el lado S. no se conservaba ni la jamba ni las marcas de inserción al estar esta parte totalmente rebajada. 138

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otro lado, dos son claros fragmentos de ídolos placa de pizarra y tres los posibles al tratarse de placas pulidas y bien cortadas aunque lisas. Entre los pulimentados dos hachas de sección rectangular solo pulidas en el filo y un cincel igualmente de sección rectangular/trapezoidal con pulimento solo en el extremo distal. Por último una piedra moledera sobre canto de cuarcita con las superficies patinadas y un rebaje central repiqueteado. Mide 8 x 7,8 x 4 cms.

El corredor mide 5,70 m. de longitud y está organizado en dos tramos de plantas trapezoidales separados por un estrangulamiento de las paredes, conseguido mediante la disposición de los ortostatos finales del primer tramo en sentido perpendicular al eje del dolmen. El primer tramo está integrado por ortostatos mayores que los del segundo, con bloques de refuerzos posteriores en el lateral N., que delimitan un espacio de 3,60 m. de longitud por 1,28 m. de anchura a la altura de su intersección con la cámara. La altura va decreciendo desde el interior hacia el exterior, mientras las paredes tienden a converger produciendo el estrechamiento de 0,70 m. con el que se marca el inicio del segundo tramo. El número de ortostatos es de tres en el lateral S. y cuatro en el N., con el mismo esquema compositivo en el que las piezas de mayores dimensiones se sitúan en la zona central colocadas longitudinalmente y flanqueadas por otras menores colocadas en sentido vertical. Dentro de este tramo apareció in situ junto al lateral S. una pieza de granito de tamaño medio (0,80 m. de alto por 0,50 m. de ancho por 0,14 m. de grosor) colocada perpendicularmente a la pared con su fosa de encaje abierta en el suelo y que a penas penetraba en la roca (Fig. 12.6). El segundo de los tramos posee ortostatos menores, de los que se conservan cuatro en cada lado insertados verticalmente en fosas poco profundas con elementos de entibación. Su longitud es de 2,10 m., la anchura de 0,86 m. y la altura máxima de 0,80 m. desde la base de los ortostatos. En algunos puntos de este corredor había restos de un suelo formado por tierra amarilla apelmazada, cuyas alteraciones a veces parecen obedecer a agujeros de expolios y rebuscas. Al exterior se abre un pequeño atrio de 1,50 m. de longitud por 2,20 m. de anchura máxima, conformado por bloques graníticos de tamaño mediano (0,60 m. de alto y 0,20 m. de ancho), que por el sur se aprecia como enlaza con el perímetro del túmulo. Respecto a este túmulo, la zanja perimetral abierta tras la cámara para la recolocación de los ortostatos permitió distinguir la composición, que en ese punto era a base de piedras de tamaño mediano sin alineación aparente, trabadas con tierra.

12.4. ALGUNAS CONSIDERACIONES El primer aspecto que estas intervenciones han puesto de manifiesto es como todos los dólmenes en que se actuó habían sido objeto de repetidos expolios, a veces con brutales rebajes del terreno y la propia roca (Tapias 1, Huerta Nueva, Tapada del Anta, Lanchas 2), en otras con desmantelamientos (Zafra 2, Corchero, Fragoso etc), voladuras incluso (Palancar) y por supuesto reutilizaciones de diversas maneras como es el conocido caso del uso como chozas (Barca) y cochiqueras (Fragoso, Tapada del Anta), canteras de piedra (Tapias 2, Zafra 2) etc. Como consecuencia de todo ello, salvo en el caso del espacio del depósito de pulimentados de La Miera –solo parcial- y los trozos del suelo conservado del corredor de Tapada del Anta, tanto al interior como al exterior inmediato de estos dólmenes todo estaba revuelto. En ningún lugar se hallaron restos óseos y los elementos de ajuares encontrados estaban fuera de contexto y casi siempre fragmentados, con las excepciones apuntadas. Pese a ello, estos trabajos, junto al objetivo primordial de los mismos que ya se expuso, han permitido una mejor definición tipológica de algunos de los dólmenes del conjunto, como que los casos de La Miera, El Palancar, Datas 2 o el Cajirón 2 son CCC, mientras Zafra 2 y Tapada del Anta son grandes CCL. Pero más allá de estas cuestiones, desde el punto de vista arquitectónico cabe incidir en la complejidad estructural que en varios casos encierra una aparente simplicidad constructiva. Las propias diferencias no solo de tamaño, sino también de elementos estructurales y simbólicos, es evidente entre dólmenes de tipología básica común como ocurre tanto con los CCC como con los CCL. Ello incide de igual modo en la complejidad de los aspectos simbólicos y también de los territoriales, que ya han puesto de relieve distintas investigaciones, dentro de un marco de integración más amplio que también ha sido objeto de recientes actualizaciones (Bueno, 2000).

Algunos materiales arqueológicos revueltos aparecieron, sobre todo en la zona exterior correspondiente al atrio (Fig. 12.7). Entre los fragmentos cerámicos, dominan nuevamente los correspondientes a cuencos semiesféricos, pequeños y medianos, en ocasiones con las paredes entrantes, también hay algunos fragmentos que perteneces a vasos hondos de paredes cerradas y a dos cuencos bajos de paredes cortas. Los objetos de piedra presenta mayor variedad pese a su corto número, en concreto geométricos, puntas de flecha, fragmentos de lascas y láminas, de ídolos placa y de pulimentados más una moledera. Los geométricos corresponden a microlitos trapezoidales de sílex, las puntas de flecha son dos, una de sílex con la base convexa y retoque bifacial que solo cubre una cara y la otra en esquisto, de silueta alargada con base convexa y aletas incipientes y un retoque simple bifacial. Miden 2,8 x 1,5 x 0,4 cms la primera y 3,5 x 1,6 x 0,4 cms. la segunda. Los fragmentos de láminas y lascas son de sílex así como un núcleo pequeño agotado. Por

Cabe citar en relación a esos aspectos el habitual uso de pizarras como jambas (Fragoso, Cajirón 2 o Lanchas 2) así como la presencia de lajas de ese material en las estructuras tumulares (Huerta Nueva, el mismo Cajirón 2 etc.). También la existencia de molinos de mano partidos en entibaciones sobre todo en las traseras de la cámara (Datas 2, Huerta Nueva, la Miera), la presencia de piedras de cuarzo que ya resaltara Oliveira para todo el Sever (Oliveira, 1997a) o la constatación cada vez más clara de 139

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Fig. 12.7. Tapada del Anta. Materiales

la existencia de atrios exteriores tanto en grandes como en pequeños sepulcros, con corredores largos o cortos, simples o estructurados (Cajirón 2, Huerta Nueva, la Miera, Tapada del Anta etc.). De igual modo ese octavo ortostato de cierre, como el del Anta de la Marquesa y el de Datas 1, que debió ser más habitual (Oliveira, 1997a: 305). También dentro de los aspectos constructivos hay que resaltar ciertas particularidades, como son los potentes refuerzos exteriores de Datas 1 y sobre todo la colocación en último lugar de los ortostatos 2 y 6 de La Miera. Interés tiene además la existencia en la zona de algunas plataformas donde hay huellas de extracciones de grandes bloques, de idénticos granitos a los usados en los dólmenes, como son la que dista 50 m. en dirección SO del Cajirón 2 y la que se encuentra junto a Zafra 2, ambas plataformas en declive con negativos y líneas de fractura aprovechando las diaclasas, pero no siempre. Más dudoso

140

es otro punto cercano a Las Datas, con un frente de extracción vertical, de huellas aparentemente más modernas. Por último, en cuanto a los materiales arqueológicos poco puede precisarse sobre su posición. Salvo los pulimentados de La Miera todo se encontró revuelto aunque a veces con una cierta concentración en la zona exterior al corredor (Datas 1 y Tapada del Anta por ejemplo). En cualquier caso, no contradicen en absoluto ciertas propuestas realizadas al respecto (Bueno, 2000: 63). Por su parte las tipologías de los mismos no aportan grandes novedades en si ni en sus asociaciones, aunque sí que parece que hay que entenderlos, como recuerda Bueno, en relación con espacios ritualizados, dentro de los cuales esas tipologías apoyan una continuidad ideológica espacio-temporal que incluye al Calcolítico y parece que llega incluso a la E. del Bronce (Bueno et al. 2004).

Chapter 13 THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS Primitiva BUENO RAMIREZ, Rosa BARROSO BERMEJO, Antonio VÁZQUEZ CUESTA Universidad de Alcalá Abstract: One of the parameters established in the analysis of social inequalities is the presence and role of prestige elements within the funerary sphere. And among these, Bell Beaker materials have gained important connotations, alongside their interpretation within the context of individual funerary rituals that may have highlighted the position of distinguished persons. This interpretative version currently has many nuances, in particular the debate over the representativity of the Beaker materials within collective burials and, moreover, regarding the reflections upon the megalithic development and the construction of tombs by people with Beaker material culture. The area with which we are concerned finds itself in a singular position with regards to the distribution of Iberian Beaker finds. On one side the spectacular finds of the Lisbon area, and on the other, in the interior of the basin, the Ciempozuelos group. Between them, a void, understood as populational and, by extension, as social in which destructured groups of transhumant herders were thought to have played no role in the cultural dynamics of the 3rd millennium cal. BC. In addition, the area was associated with an important absence of population throughout the Later Prehistoric periods. This was the interpretation which dominated the analysis of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic groups of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula through great part of the 20th century. But recent work has confirmed the continued populational occupation that in turn impinges on the funerary occupation of the area. The work that we area presenting compiles all of the evidence that assesses the presence of Beaker materials in the dolmens of the International Tagus, as well as the radiocarbon dates, which, although few, support a long constructive discourse that includes the use and reuse with collective intentionality by the Beaker people. To these we add data that also assesses the reuse of previously built tombs in order to highlight that in the International Tagus, as in other important European megalithic regions, there are megalithic necropoli that were used and built between the 5th and the 2nd millennia cal. BC. The central dates in the 3rd millennium cal. BC constitute one of the moments of greatest ritual and symbolic implementation. This places the Beaker people as one of the most distinguished groups in the use and construction of the megalithic tombs, as part of necropoli with marked visible differences between the tombs. The coexistence between the use of these symbolic resources and individual burials offers a sample of the variety of different containers displayed by Beaker groups in the rest of Europe. Key words: Megaliths; Incised Bell Beaker; Metal; Gold; C14 Resumen: Uno de los parámetros de análisis de la desigualdad social se ha venido estableciendo en la presencia y papel de los elementos de prestigio en el ámbito funerario. Y entre éstos, el campaniforme ha ido adquiriendo connotaciones muy notorias, a la par que su interpretación en el marco de rituales funerarios de carácter individual, que exaltarían la posición de personajes destacados. Esta versión interpretativa tiene en la actualidad muchos matices, sin ser el menor la representatividad de los ajuares campaniformes en enterramientos colectivos, y sobre todo, de cara a las reflexiones que se pueden establecer sobre el recorrido del ritual megalítico, la construcción de sepulturas colectivas por parte de gentes con campaniforme. La zona que nos ocupa quedaba en la distribución del campaniforme ibérico en una curiosa coyuntura. A un lado los espectaculares hallazgos de la zona de Lisboa, al otro, en el interior de la cuenca, el grupo Ciempozuelos y en medio, un vacío entendido como poblacional y, desde luego, como social en el que desestructurados grupos de pastores trashumantes habían desempeñado escaso o nulo papel en las dinámicas culturales del III milenio cal. BC. Todo ello en paralelo a una importante ausencia de población a lo largo de toda la Prehistoria Reciente. Esta fue la línea de interpretación que presidió el análisis de los grupos neolíticos y calcolíticos del interior peninsular durante buena parte de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Pero recientes trabajos confirman un continuado poblamiento que tiene incidencia en la ocupación funeraria. El trabajo que presentamos reúne todas las evidencias que valoran la presencia de elementos del paquete campaniforme en los dólmenes del Tajo Internacional, además de las cronologías C14 que, aún escasas, permiten sostener un largo decurso constructivo que incluyó el uso y realización de sepulcros con intencionalidad colectiva por parte de gentes con campaniforme. A ellos sumamos los datos que valoran también reutilizaciones de los sepulcros construidos con anterioridad para señalar que el Tajo Internacional, al igual que las grandes regiones megalíticas europeas, dispone de necrópolis megalíticas usadas y construidas desde el V hasta el II milenio cal. BC., constituyendo la zona central del III milenio cal. BC uno de los momentos de mayor implementación ritual y simbólica. Ello sitúa a las gentes con campaniforme como uno de los grupos más destacados en el uso y construcción de sepulcros megalíticos, en necrópolis con diferencias visibles entre sepulcros más y menos destacados. La coexistencia del uso de estos recursos simbólicos con enterramientos individuales, ofrece una medida de la variedad de contenedores que muestra el campaniforme en toda Europa. Palabras clave: Megalitos; Campaniforme Inciso; Metal; Oro; C14

Among these elements of prestige, Beaker pottery has acquired great importance, alongside its interpretation within the context of individual funerary rituals that would have exalted the position of distinguished figures.

13.1. INTRODUCTION The presence and role of prestige goods within the funerary sphere have established themselves as central parameters for the analysis of social inequality. 141

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Fig. 13.1. Schematic distribution of Maritime and main Regional Beaker styles in the Iberian Peninsula (after Rodríguez Casal (2001); Harrison (1977); Harrison, Mederos (2001); Garrido-Pena (2000); Clop (2005); Cabanilles (2005)

period. This was the interpretative line that governed over the analysis of Neolithic and Chalcolithic groups in the interior peninsula during most of the second half of the 20th century. In the 1980’s (Piñón & Bueno, 1988; Bueno, 1986, 1987, 1988; González Cordero et al. 1991), the evidence of occupation during Late Prehistory began to be recognised and during the 1990’s it gained considerable empirical strength (Bueno 1991; Bueno et al. 1999a) throughout the entire Interior Tagus Basin. Recent studies have confirmed this occupation and have provided sequences of continuous Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlement (Bueno et al. 2000; 2000c; 2005; Cerrillo, 2005).

This interpretation is currently subject to many nuances, among which the recurrent presence of Beaker grave goods in collective burials is not the least (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005b; Salanova, 2005). Another aspect of the problem that seems even more interesting with regards to the thoughts surrounding the development of the megalithic ritual is the construction of collective tombs by people with Beaker pottery (Bueno et al. 1998b; 2000c; 2004 and 2005b). The study area of concern to us here finds itself in an interesting situation with regards to the distribution of the Iberian Beaker phenomenon. To the one hand, lie the spectacular finds from the area of Lisbon and to the other, in the interior of the basin, lies the Ciempozuelos group. The area between them was considered as an occupational void and, moreover, a social void within which unstructured groups of transhumant herders played little or no role in the cultural dynamics of the third millennium BC. And this was further exacerbated by the supposed absence of populations during the entire Late Prehistoric

The panorama that we are presenting for the central area of the International Tagus must not be separated from its insertion within a wider development of research that has insisted on the absence of population as the most important factor in the assessment of the prehistoric cultures of the area. This was the situation in the second half of the 20th century but at the same time as the studies 142

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cited above provided further detail of the evidence that permitted the ruling out of this view, the absences became fixed in the areas with the poorest documentation of the sequence. This explains to a great extent why the occupational voids are now placed by some researchers in the third millennium BC. The chronologies and evidence of the Early Neolithic became more solid, as is the case of those belonging to the Middle and Late Neolithic during which the megalith builders played a central role. Only in the Beaker phase did the documentation remain scarce within a context in which fortified settlements have established themselves as a key characteristic (Bueno et al. 2000c; Vilaça & Cristovao, 1995). Thus in this generalised panorama of what was known, the Beaker phenomenon did not exist: the Beaker phase and its role in habitational and funerary developments had been considered as completely inexistent.

dolmens (Bueno et al. 1999a; 2000; 2000c; 2004) and in settlements (Bueno et al. 2000d; Gonzalez et al. 1991), thus making it necessary to revise the mainstream underestimating perspectives (Hurtado, 2005:322). The continued work of our Portuguese colleagues has documented the presence of this pottery and its chronology within the territorial scope of our study area, the vast region of the Alentejo (Cardoso & Norton, 2004) and further to the North (Vilaça in this volume), thus consolidating the idea that we have defended that there does not exist any marked absence in the cultural development of the International Tagus. The situation would rather be the result of a lack of data that has been taken as an irrefutable hypothesis and that has enormously hindered research in a region with such great possibilities of analysis as is our study area.

Not so long ago, the presence of Beaker pottery in Cáceres was denied (Hurtado, 1999) and was considered extremely rare on the Portuguese side of the border (Boaventura, 2000: 296). In the latter region, and notwithstanding the fact that little research had been carried out in this area, some authors remarked upon the importance of Beaker pottery in the settlements of Monte do Trigo and Charneca do Fratel (Vilaça & Cristovâo, 1995).

The intention of these pages is to offer an ordered presentation of the materials known to the date from megalithic necropoli that, on one side and another of the border, allow us to reflect upon the real association between megaliths and Beaker materials within the scope of the advanced megalithic phenomenon. The data, although not very voluminous, constitutes an interesting repertory that will eventually help reveal the strength of the evidence of an elaborate ritual, deeply rooted in the traditional rituals that have been exhaustively documented at the Neolithic megalithic architectures of the region (Bueno, 1988, 2000).

Some authors insisted on the opacity of the Beaker record within the megaliths and, particularly, on its null relationship to the constructive panorama for which a long sequence had been accepted beyond doubts that would include even the Bronze Age (Senna-Martinez, 2004: 40). The Neolithic and Chalcolithic people, as well as their Bronze Age followers, used and built megalithic monuments while the Beaker-folk would only have taken advantage of them. Megalithic architectures built by peoples with Beaker pottery or contemporary to them would therefore not have existed.

The rare references to funerary Beaker pottery in the area of Cáceres do not correspond to any individual burial of the same kind as those documented further into the Tagus Basin or in coastal areas (Senna-Martínez, 2004: 38), thus reinforcing the lack of protagonism of the Beaker phenomenon in our study area. However, there is evidence associated with natural caves which, as are the caves of Conéjar (Cerrillo, 1999: 125; Gonzalez, 1995: 698) or Romangordo (Cerrillo, pers. com.), are a revelation of the importance of metal in these contexts, despite the absence of significant pottery.

Explicitly or not, a strange void has been defined that specifically leaves the inhabitants of the second half of the third millennium BC at the margin of the megalithic ritual. This hypothesis can be deduced from the studies that emphasise the Bronze Age reoccupations throughout the Middle Tagus (Mataloto, 2005; Teresa, 2004) or from the study of the tombs closest to our necropoli (Cardoso et al. 2003) that do not consider any alternative interpretative possibilities such as that defended by our research team: that megalithic tombs were built throughout the long megalithic sequence and also during the second half of the third millennium BC. Moreover, precisely in the third millennium BC (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2004; in press), we have observed some of the strongest evidence of organised necropoli with diverse architectures in which the inhabitants of the time built tombs as well as reutilising others that were already operative.

The scarcity of similar data in the Portuguese area further distinguishes the repertory that we are presenting since, to the date, there is no further evidence of Beaker rituality in the area apart from the evidence related to the megalith builders. The evidence furthermore displays a considerable presence of pieces related to the sphere of the incised group of Ciempozuelos type that is related to the Meseta (Bueno et al. 2000d: 230; Cardoso & Norton, 2004: 135). Our approach helps define more clearly these relationships with the Meseta. This contribution adds itself to others elaborated along similar lines for nearby areas (Gomes & Carvalho, 1993; Senna-Martinez, 1982; 1994), thus constituting a useful corpus on the role of Beaker materials in the megalithic tombs of western Iberia.

Recent work in the Interior Tagus Basin announced the far from negligible presence of Beaker pottery both in 143

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & A. VÁZQUEZ CUESTA

metal objects. The latter could be subject to more detailed reflections, especially since we know of their presence in earlier moments. However, based on what we currently know for the area, its strongest connection is with the Beaker pottery (Bueno et al. 2000d: 230). Alongside this evidence we include radiocarbon dates that confirm the use of the monuments in contemporary times to these deposits.

13.2. METHODOLOGY The geographical scope of our work includes part of the Portuguese regions of Alto Alentejo and Beira Baja and the Spanish municipalities to the west of Cáceres. We are well aware that we are dealing with only a part of an extensive territory in which megalithic occupations constituted a distinguished episode.

2. A level concerned with the materials that fit with the phenomenon of economic intensification of the third millennium BC and that in monuments of other regions are associated with Beaker materials, thus allowing us to deduce that they may have been deposited during similar chronologies in our study area. Within this framework, the presence of some raw materials used for ornaments, especially variscite and amber, is of particular interest. The former is more commonly observed in western grave goods but plays a particularly distinguished role in the recent sequences of the Portuguese coast (Soares, 2003) and in the interior (Bueno et al. 2005). Its presence in the stratigraphic sequence of Zambujal (Sangmeister & Jimenez, 1995) supports the hypothesis of its exponential increase during the Beaker period. Amber has been recovered from dated contexts in the Interior Tagus Basin (Bueno et al. 2005) and is also documented in the classical references to the caves of the Portuguese coast (Soares, 2003).

Our working hypothesis assumes a broad definition of the Beaker ritual that includes not only the decorated pottery but also the “package” that usually accompanies it. The pottery would therefore be but one of the items of prestige that were associated with the economic intensification and that stand out among the grave goods of the second half of the third millennium BC. The association of some plain pottery with alcoholic beverages (Bueno et al. 2005b) supports the proposal that we are putting forward according to which the burials carried out in contemporary times to the Beaker phenomenon reiterate identical ritual formulae in monuments with or without the famous decorated pottery. This decorated pottery is understood as but another evidence of the intensification that took place in the second half of the third millennium BC across all of Southern Europe. In view to assess the weight of this pottery, and most of all, the nature of the ritual with which it was associated in the context of the International Tagus, we have organised the available information on two levels.

Although not a foreign material, serpentine, a phylosilicate that forms in metamorphic environments such as our study area, was used for impressive ornamental pieces, some of which emulate the grave goods of the corbel vaulted monuments and the decorated caves of the Portuguese coast.

1. A level concerned with clear Beaker materials: the decorated pottery itself, some undecorated forms and the

Table 13.1. Megalithic monuments connected with the levels described of Beaker remains Chr.

Chamber

Tumulus

Ø

Ø

CCL

± 1,5m

16m

CCC

max. ± 2,3m

14m

± 1,2m

18m

Monument

mat.

*Amieiro, Anta 2

Schist

*Amieiro, Anta 3

Schist

*Amieiro, Anta 5b

Schist

Cist

*C. Espanhola 2

Granite

CCL

3m

15m

*Lagunita III

Schist

CCL

± 3m

±13,5m

*Juan Ron I

Schist

CCL

*Trincones I

Schist

CCL

*Garrovillas

Type

Bell Beaker Art

Und.

Wr.

Dec.

Metal Items Gold Dgr.

●

Ornaments

Pt. Oth. Gr. Ar. Jet

Date S.

● ● ● ●

●

●

2,5m

●

●

3,5x3

●

● ●

FC

● ●

● ●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

*Tapada de Matos

Granite

CCL

4,9x5m

*Datas II

Granite

CCC

4x3,8

13,6x12m

●

max.2,5m

10m

●

*Pombais

Sch/Gra

CCL

* Bola da Cera

Granite

CCC

●

*Figueira Branca

Granite

CCC

●

*Joaninha

Schist

CCL

2x1m

*Anta da Cabeçuda Granite

CCC

3,2x3,6m

● 3600±60BP ●

● ●

●

● 4360±50 BP 6210±50 BP 3840±170 BP 5400±210 BP 3650±110 BP 3720±45 BP 7660±60 BP

Key * = excavated sites.

Chr. Mat = chamber material

Dgr. = dagger

CCL = long passage grave.

Und. = undecorated

Pt. = point

CCC = short passage grave.

Dec. = decorated

Gr. = greenstone

FC = corbel- vaulted megalithic tomb.

Wr. = wristguard

Ar. = amber

144

S. = serpentine

THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

Although these necropoli have gained growing consistency through the data retrieved in both Portugal and Spain that supports the continuity of megalithic rituals that we have defended (Bueno et al. 2005b), it is also noteworthy that the older Neolithic chambers display reutilisations, as is the case of the megalithism of the entire Iberian Peninsula.

The table that we present thus include all of the objects connected with the levels described above given that we believe that it is by means of this global appreciation that we may assess the importance of the role of the Beaker phenomenon in this region. One of the parameters used in our analysis necessarily had to focus on the location of these finds. The historiography displays a systematic difference between the marginal locations (with regards to the habitual use): the tumulus or the external areas, and the locations connected with the normal use of the tombs: the chamber and passage, thus providing interesting information for the overall assessment that we have set out.

If we were to attempt to attribute any architectural types specifically to the Beaker phase, we would have to insist on the fact that this pottery finds itself associated with the great variety of funerary containers that is a constant of the megalithic ritual throughout all of Europe and, in our case, includes –without any doubt- natural and artificial caves.

To this we have added all of the available radiocarbon dates which, although few, certify the long time span that we have already referred to and complete the analysis that we have carried out.

The data collected in the table 13.1 illustrates both situations: the reiteration of the use of previously built tombs and the association of Beaker materials with newly built constructions that emulate the monuments of the past. And this is the case of the examples included both under our level 1, that of monuments with Beaker pottery and metal, and our level 2, concerned with ornamental objects that can be framed within the economic intensification of the second half of the third millennium BC.

13.3. ARCHITECTURE Not so long ago, the area of the International Tagus was defined as void of megaliths. As has been reiterated by the authors of this volume, the present state of knowledge places the territorial context of the engravings of the Tagus as one of the richest megalithic areas of the peninsular Southwest. Within this new perspective of an abundant megalithism that occupied all of the ecological niches of the region, we have integrated the long development that we defend (Bueno, 2000; Bueno et al. 2004; in press), a manifestation of which is the architectural variability and, especially, its specialisation. Indeed, if the diversity of the architectures and their uses, explained in mainstream interpretation by their different chronologies, is evident, it equally seems patent that some necropoli may enter in what we may call a second or recent megalithism (Bueno et al. 2000c, 2004; in press and in this volume).

In the first case, that of monuments with Beaker pottery and metal or metal alone, we can include the passage tombs of Trincones 1, Juan Rón 1 and Tapada do Matos. The latter is built out of granite (Oliveira, 1999/2000) whilst the first two are built out of schist. Trincones 1 stands out due to its little height (Bueno et al. 1998b; 1999). Variscite appears in monuments with Beaker pottery and/or metal, such as in the passage tombs of Juan Rón 1 or Trincones 1, and in the corbel vaulted tomb of Garrovillas (Bueno, 1994). The contemporary nature of constructions with and without Beaker materials and the variability of the monuments within the recent necropoli, including true cists (Bueno et al. 2004), defines the complexity of a funerary sphere in which the famous definition of the “Ferradeira Horizon” (Schubart, 1971) vanishes away in favour of more general approaches that enable these necropoli to be placed within the chronological framework of the third and second millennia BC. The presence in our dolmens of pottery typical of the cists of the Southwest supports the persistence of grave goods that in the third millennium BC included metal, distinguished ornamental objects and ceramic vessels associated in groups of two or three. Similar rituals were thus conducted in fully contemporary times to the Beaker development in the West and interior, and to the development of the Argar culture in the Southeast, with which these rituals have many elements in common (Bueno et al. 2005b).

These cemeteries repeat the well-documented architectures of the Southeast that indicate the organisation of vast necropoli with distinguished tombs that share the space with smaller structures that were used from the late fourth millennium practically through to the second millennium BC. It is within this context of a second megalithism that we can include the evidence of megalithic-style constructions that contain grave good assemblages that are fully identifiable with the classical patterns of individual Beaker ritual. Chambers with long passages of little height and chambers without passage, also of little volumetric entity, and some true cists coexist alongside chambers with distinguished passages and corbel vaulted tombs which together form the necropoli in question, which are also associated with occasionally fortified Chalcolithic settlements (Bueno et al. 2000d; 2004: 100-104). 145

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & A. VÁZQUEZ CUESTA

Fig. 13.2. Undecorated Bell-Beakers in funerary context along the Tagus Valley and surrounding area: -1. Juan Ron I -2. Lagunita III -3. El Guadalperal -4. Valle de las Higueras -5. Tierra Gorda ¿funerary? -6. Majazala ¿vessel? ¿funerary? -7. La Aldehuela ¿funerary? -8. Arenero de Soto -9. La Salmedina -10. Algete ¿funerary? -11. Gruta do Porto Covo -12. São Pedro do Estoril -13. Gruta da Ponte do Laje -14. Tholos de Charriño -15. Tholos de Barro -16. Gruta da Redondas -17. Gruta de Eira Pedrinha -18. Dolmen de Pedra Blanca -19. Tholos de Monte das Pereiras -20. Tholos de Monte de Outeiro -21. Anta I do Casas do Canal -22. Dolmen de la Ermita -23. La Veguilla -24. El Prado de la Nava -25. Los Pasos -26. Pajares de Adaja -27. Valdeprados -28. Tholos de La Sima. -29. Verdelha dos Ruivos. -30. Alapraia IV

The connection of the plain pottery with the Ciempozuelos style has been established in the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of the finds from the ditch of Los Pasos that Delibes (1977: 100-101) assessed on the basis of their association with materials of the Beaker package. The information currently available confirms the vast distribution of undecorated assemblages that would have behaved in a similar way to the international variants.

13.4. POTTERY The incised or impressed decoration typical of the Beaker pottery is what enables the clear identification of specimens that have constituted authentic guide fossils in the research into the third millennium BC in Europe. However, these vessels also existed in undecorated variants that reproduced the characteristic forms and, of course, shared protagonism with other undecorated forms as has been largely documented in Europe (Bessé, 1996) and in the Iberian Peninsula as has been confirmed by the work carried out in the Interior Basin (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005).

The very lack of decoration complicates the global interpretation that considers the decorated vessels as the target of the wishes of a socially distinguished class. It cannot be demonstrated that undecorated Beakers were associated with other poorer materials. In fact, many are accompanied by gold ornaments. Nor can they be related to less striking funerary containers, since they have been recorded in simple pits, large scale collective constructions, corbel vaulted tombs and artificial caves.

Despite the fact that the notion that Beaker pottery may include undecorated versions vaguely penetrated traditionnal analyses, not many authors have specified its location and associations. Harrison himself (1977) failed to dedicate a section to undecorated Beakers in his study of the Iberian Peninsula and even the most recent European syntheses are clearly deficient on this topic (Van der Linden, 2006: 164-166).

The presence, distribution and association of these undecorated Beaker assemblages should be considered as a reminder of the emphasis on the idea that decorated 146

THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

Fig. 13.3. Selection of undecorated Bell Beakers from previous figure

vessels (Gomez & Sanz, 1994). In other contexts, the plain vessels are combined with decorated pots as is the case in the assemblage from the dolmen of Casas do Canal near Evora (Leisner, 1955; Cardoso and Norton, 2004) or, further inside the basin, at cave 5 of the necropolis of Valle de las Higueras, in the area of Toledo (Bueno et al. 2000c: 68). These diverse situations should alert us of the need to analyse with greater detail some of the undecorated sherds from our monuments, especially when these are found alongside other indicators of the Beaker package: metal, gold or exotic objects.

pottery constitutes a sine qua non condition in the discussion of social hierarchisation and individualism during the third millennium BC. And if we were to add this argument to the observation that other undecorated vessels were used in the same way as Beaker vessels, as is illustrated in the International Tagus by the vessel found with a wrist guard at Trincones 1, the value of the decorated pottery would become noticeably restricted. Perhaps one of the problems in the study of the Beaker phenomenon is that it has been approached from the same methodology as the guide fossils, as happened at the time with Cardial ware. The main objective has centred so much on the role of decorated pottery that other constants, such as the presence of undecorated vessels, have been left aside although they must have played an important role in the Beaker funerary deposits.

The dolmen of Juan Rón I displays a combination of beaker and bowl that is well known in the area of the Meseta. As we shall see below, its similarities with the materials of the pit of Los Pasos in the area of Zamora or those from Valdeprados, Ávila, are based not only on the presence of plain Beaker vessels but also on the presence of metal, that is gold in Juan Ron I and Valdeprados. Its location within the first section of the passage, that is the section closest to the chamber, echoes the situation documented in the Anta da Herdade of Casas do Canal, a large Late Neolithic chamber with long passage (Cardoso and Norton, 2004: 130). Making use of the closing slab

The ever growing documentation of the classical Beaker assemblages points to another question. Many of them, apart from being undecorated, are combined in a range of ways. At Valdeprados, a set made up of an undecorated beaker and bowl was accompanied by three Palmela points, a dagger and gold. The fill of the pit also contained several fragments of decorated and undecorated 147

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & A. VÁZQUEZ CUESTA

tombs under scrutiny here must be valued as part of the rare evidence in the entire Iberian Peninsula that allows us to analyse such associations.

and the section system of the long passages at both Casas do Canal and Juan Rón I, the Beaker deposits were individualised thus suggesting that they were introduced at some point after the chamber had fallen out of use. Unfortunately, the chamber of Juan Rón I was quite affected by recent disturbance. However, the materials recovered fit with the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic, thus providing a continuous sequence for the use of the monument in which the interior spaces were compartmented in order to obtain individual spaces, as occurs in monuments throughout the European Atlantic facade during the third millennium BC (Leclerc & Masset, 2006).

The Palmela point in Amieiro 3, the dagger and dish with omphalos in Amieiro 2 (Cardoso et al. 2003), and the gold found alongside the beaker and bowl in Juan Rón I, constitute unquestionable evidence of the relationship of the Beaker deposits with metal and, as we have mentioned, confirm specific combinations that have barely been observed within the general panorama of the Iberian Peninsula. We cannot omit mentioning, in case it has not been clearly stated in the other contributions to this volume, that the metal to which we are referring is all the more significant given that its volume depends directly of the few necropoli that have been excavated until the date. In reality, the metal elements in our study area are limited to those of Alcántara and Rosmaninhal, although it is to be hoped that the continuation of studies of this recent megalithism will provide additional evidence supporting the relative wealth suggested by the data currently available.

The location of the undecorated vessel and wrist guard of Trincones I in the external area of the monument repeats a pattern that is known in some tombs of the Interior Basin. This is the case of the plain vessel from the dolmen of Azután found in association with an adult skull (Bueno et al. 2005: 123). But this position does not imply marginality with regards to the habitual use of these monuments since in Azután upon the earliest levels of the chamber there were fragments of a corded and impressed vessel and in Trincones I an incised sherd was found on the floor of the chamber, dated by radiocarbon to the second half of the third millennium BC (Bueno et al. 2004: 95). The presence of Beaker materials in the oldest tombs sometimes respects the dynamic of use set out in the traditional spaces. And in the more recent tombs, these materials occasionally constitute the first occupational level and enable some megalithic constructions to be attributed to the Beaker times (Bueno, 2000; Bueno et al. 2000; 2000c; 2004; 2005b).

The global assessment underlines the relative frequency of the presence of objects that can be considered as weapons, in contrast to the evidence of more simple objects such as awls that occupy a very important place in some of the necropoli of the Interior Tagus Basin (Barroso et al. 2003:95; Bueno et al. 2005b: 84). Regarding such weapons, the Palmela points of Amieiro 3 (Cardoso et al. 2003) or, slightly further inside, those of Garrovillas and the dagger of Amieiro 2 are worth a special commentary. The design of this last piece, with rivets and a very triangular almost nerved blade, is clearly somewhat different to the classical Beaker products, but we cannot leave out two questions: its association with a dish with omphalos and the most recent chronologies for the Beaker phenomenon in the Tagus region, one of which is provided by Trincones I (Bueno et al. 2004). On the other hand, some metallic products from the Cáceres area are closer to the Beaker typology and can be included, without any great difficulty, in the second half of the third millennium BC (Bueno et al. 2000d: 213). In particular, we are referring to one of the objects from the settlement of Las Mesillas, from which a pointed object was also recovered, that correspond to the same style as the Palmela point documented in the tomb of Amieiro 3.

The plain sherds included in our table belong exclusively to beaker shapes for obvious reasons: since there are no clear associations with other materials of the Beaker package, it would be impossible to determine whether the bowls belong or not to the plain Beaker assemblage. In other cases such as Valdeprados mentioned above clear associations enable the identification of some plain sherds as Beaker sherds and we have also identified in this way plain Beaker sherds in Amieiro 2, Lagunita III and Juan Rón 1. 13.5. METAL Focus on the presence of metal elements in the record under analysis shows the novelty of their recent documentation in our study area (Barroso et al. 2003) as well as their undeniable association with the Beaker package in the context of funerary assemblages.

These Palmela points are very elongated in shape and display another interesting counterpart in tomb 12 of the necropolis of El Canchal, in the area of La Vera. This tomb is a corbel vaulted sepulchre located within an organised necropolis associated to a large Chalcolithic settlement, also located in the Tagus Basin. Its relationship with other metallic objects, one of which is a flat axe (Bueno et al. 2000d), emphasises the idea that we are putting across regarding the unusual presence and

One of the challenges posed by the documentation examined, as is the case in other megalithic spheres, is the possibility of analysing closed assemblages or specific associations that are very difficult to establish in contexts with clear probabilities of postdepositional disturbance. In this sense, the associations suggested by some of the 148

THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

formal richness of the metal objects of the third millennium BC in the Tagus Basin.

2005: 332) and in pieces of distinguished metallic and symbolic presence (Hurtado & Hunt, 1999).

Other less diagnostic pieces have been identified. This is the case of a copper washer from the passage of the dolmen of Trincones I, at Alcántara, that has a parallel in a similar object from cave 1 of the necropolis of Valle de las Higueras, in the area of Toledo (Barroso et al. 2003: 98).

The gold of Juan Rón I finds a counterpart in that documented in the settlement of Porto de Torrâo in the Alto Alentejo and is part of an ever growing gold wealth that spreads throughout the entire Western area of the Tagus on one hand and the Guadiana on the other hand, thus defining a rich area with extractive possibilities that explain the remarkable indicators of social intensification of which the Beaker package is part. The idea of a lack of gold that during some time was attributed to the Western area of the Tagus in order to explain the greater impact of the gold working of Ireland and Central Europe (Harrison, 1974) must therefore be revised given the evidence of the protagonism of simple hammered objects in both funerary and habitational contexts.

However, without any doubt, the metal par excellence of the Beaker assemblages and an authentic indicator of prestige is gold. And particularly in an area in which the use of alluvial gold has been widely documented as is illustrated by the gold piece from Juan Rón I (Barroso et al. 2003: 92; Bueno et al. 2000: 149). Moreover, we suggest that it is precisely the ease of extraction of alluvial gold that gave the International Tagus such an outstanding role in the economic and symbolic intensification and that explains the high population of the area as well as the wealth of its recent megalithism (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno et al. 2004a; in press).

Away from the Western basin, the presence of gold in the Tagus becomes rare until the upper part of the river. However, gold objects have been discovered at the dolmen of Entretérminos (Losada, 1976) in the region of Madrid, at La Paloma (Muñoz, 2002) and Cerro del Bú in the area of Toledo (Fernández, 2003) and in the pit of La Salmedina also in the Madrid area (Berzosa & Flores,. 2005: 483). It is nonetheless essential to emphasise that these objects correspond to fortuitous finds, far from the necessary research programs that are virtually inexistent for this area. It can therefore only be hoped that further finds will corroborate the level of artefactual, metallic and social richness already indicated by some materials (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005b; Barroso et al. 2003).

In both the western area of the Tagus and our study area, gold displays a remarkable presence, comparable only with the area of the Douro. The beads and spiral from cave 1 of Quinta do Anjo, or the three small plaques from cave 3 of the necropolis of Palmela itself (Soares et al. 2004) that have been interpreted as part of a bracelet (Soares, 2003: 138), illustrate the importance of the gold working that is supported by further evidence from the Lisbon area. Only as examples we could mention the famous earrings of Ermegeira (Veiga Ferreira, 1966: 64) recovered from an artificial cave or the helicoidal rings of Sâo Pedro de Estoril (Leisner et al. 1964) that reiterate the same association with necropoli of artificial caves within the context of the second megalithism.

The combination of gold and Beaker pottery in the grave goods of the dolmen of Entretérminos is very clear and can be framed, thanks to the description of their find locations (Loriana, 1942: 163-165), within the possible reutilisations of a megalithic tomb whose similarities with Azután (Bueno et al. 2005) suggest an old construction date.

The piece from Juan Rón I can be added to the funerary deposits of the Tagus that support the importance of this alluvial gold in association with other prestige items among which the Beaker vessels played a distinguished role. Apart from the funerary record, the habitational sphere also offers interesting evidence (Soares et al. 2004): towards the coast, the beads of Zambujal (Garrido, 2000: 187; Hernando, 1989) or, towards the interior and closer to our study area, the case of a gold sheet recovered from the settlement of Ferreira do Alentejo excavated by Arnaud (1993) to mention but two examples. It is worth recalling that this settlement displays an abundant representation of almond rimmed plates and low carinated dishes similar to those that accompany the recent megalithic tombs whose relationship with the Beaker phase we are defending.

The case of the deposit of La Paloma is quite different. Since its first publication (Harrison, 1974), this deposit has stood as a unique example of such hoards in the Southern Meseta. The identification of the necropolis of Valle de las Higueras (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005) and the identification of burial pits such as that of Yuncler (Barroso et al. 2003), suggest a new perspective for the finds of La Paloma. Indeed, a recent study (Muñoz, 2002: 80) mentions that the fieldsurveys carried out by J. M. Rojas identified a number of burial pits. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that the deposit of La Paloma is in fact a rich funerary Beaker assemblage that consists of an undecorated dish (Carrobles et al. 1994) and a potsherd decorated with triangles filled with dots (Harrison, 1974). The deposit would therefore not be a hoard but a funerary assemblage to add to others with metal objects of elaborate typology, as we have indicated in the case of the halberd of Villamiel, also in the province of Toledo (Bueno et al. 2000c). In the same area, the metal goods of

The distribution of gold throughout the Guadiana, in both settlements such as Tres Moinhos in the area of Beja and in tombs as is the case of the gold strip and cover sheet of Alcalar 4, has counterparts in the Spanish area, very specifically in the settlement of La Pijotilla (Hurtado 149

P. BUENO RAMIREZ, R. BARROSO BERMEJO & A. VÁZQUEZ CUESTA

Ávila (Gomez & Sanz, 1994), are most similar to Juan Rón I. All of them repeat a simple pottery assemblage associated with metal, although in the two tombs of the Meseta the metal objects also take the form of weapons: a Palmela point was found at Los Pasos and a dagger and three Palmela points were documented at Valdeprados.

the Cerro del Bú (Fernández, 2003), despite the difficulties encountered in the contextualisation of the settlement, present a variety of copper awls alongside a dagger classified as Argaric and, of interest to us here, two pieces of gold. One, now lost, was described as a helicoidal ornament and a gold strip (Fernandez, 2003: 17) that recalls that described in the deposit of La Paloma dealt with above. The radiocarbon dates of 3970+100 BP and 3830+100 BP (Alvaro & Pereira, 1990: 25) from the Cerro del Bú fit well with a series of radiocarbon dates obtained from the nearby necropolis de Valle de las Higueras, at Huecas (Bueno et al. 2004a).

The megaliths of Galisancho (Delibes & Santonja, 1987) and La Veguilla (Benet et al. 1997) in the Salamanca area reiterate the presence of gold in the form of small sheets similar to that found at Juan Rón I that can be interpreted as parts of complex necklaces or the cover of small objects. At both these sites, it is interesting to note the presence of undecorated Beaker pottery.

The artificial caves of Huecas provide data that enables us to relate these grave goods with hypogeum type tombs, as are those of the necropolis mentioned above, that of Yuncos that also contained Beaker pottery (Bueno et al. 2000: 72) or those identified at Yuncler. As we have argued, a great development of funerary structures of hypogeum type can be observed throughout the third millennium BC and the sedimentary basins of the peninsular interior that are of a similar style to those documented in the Portuguese Algarve and Andalusia (Bueno et al. 2000c, 2006; in press b).

Assemblages of plain pottery and gold were therefore deposited in both individual containers as is the case at Valdeprados and in collective tombs as is illustrated by Galisancho, La Veguilla and Juan Rón I. Gold is also found in other collective burials with decorated Beaker pottery as is shown by Peña de la Abuela (Rojo et al. 2005: 49). In the same way as the association of plain pottery with other elements of the Beaker package such as wrist guards (Bueno et al. 2000: 149) or the ritual use of these ceramics in alcoholic rituals (Bueno et al. 2005b) justify our hypothesis regarding the relative importance of decorated Beaker pottery in dolmens, the association of gold, the most distinguished prestige material of the third millennium BC with plain pottery suggests a new view of the Beaker phenomenon, in which the rituals that made use of these vessels can be related back to a wide range of offerings that belonged to a broad chronological span. The decorated vessels are but another of these offerings, and are not necessarily the only diagnostic element of these rituals that are well documented within the context of the European Beaker phenomenon.

As well as the artificial caves of Toledo, we could mention the necropoli of the area of Madrid, whose identification as such we have suggested on the basis of our excavations at Huecas: Ciempozuelos (Riaño et al. 1894), Juan Francisco Sanchez (Blasco et al. 1994), Camino de las Yeseras (Blasco et al. 2005) and La Salmedina (Berzosa & Flores, 2005). All of these sites are structured as cemeteries that include monuments of diverse typologies, single or double chambered caves, with lateral or zenital entrances. La Salmedina is particularly interesting in terms of the relationship of these tombs with gold. Both excavated hypogeum structures display chamber and antechamber, including entrance steps (Berzosa & Flores, 2005: 484). On the eastern side of what is named Pit 2, the annex chamber of Pit 1 or antechamber that also possessed a defined niche, abundant decorated Beaker pottery was found along with a small gold sheet (Berzosa & Flores, 2005: 483).

13.6. ORNAMENTS There exists another group of materials that, as we have mentioned, are associated with Beaker materials within habitational and funerary contexts in the third millennium BC throughout the entire South-western sphere. Among these materials, ornaments can be given particular importance given that they constitute the clearest evidence of prestige goods yielded until the moment alongside metal, especially gold, and the decorated pottery itself. Moreover, these objects indicate more noticeable interactions than those displayed by the decorated pottery, which when analysed (Bueno et al. 2005b) usually corresponds to local fabrics.

The best references for the gold of Juan Rón I, given its association with undecorated pottery, can be found in the Spanish Meseta, for example Valdeprados. The association of gold with dolmens can equally be observed in cases such as that already mentioned of Entretérminos and some monuments of the Salamanca area. Moreover, it is necessary to insist on the interesting peculiarity of our interior peninsular area in which it is in the dolmens that there are most prestige metal goods, also associated with Beaker deposits. It is also noteworthy that, as has been widely documented (Delibes, 1977; Garrido, 2000), there are other containers of interior Beaker materials.

As a specialised object, probably at the margin of the ornaments, we must include some comments on wrist guards. These objects have been considered as a characteristic part of the individual Beaker burials and are represented in our area by three cases: the fragment from

Among the individual burials, those of the simple pit of Los Pasos, in the province of Zamora (Delibes, 1977; Maluquer, 1960), and Valdeprados in the province of 150

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interior of the basin (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005b) supports its role in recent megalithic contexts of the Southwest, as is also supported by other materials from the sites mentioned in this analysis.

Couto da Espanhola 2, at Rosmaninhal (Portugal) and the objects from Trincones 1 and Garrovillas, in the province of Cáceres. The Portuguese fragment was recovered from the mound of the monument, according to the site excavators from a Beaker burial (Cardoso et al. 1997a: 25). Its association with an undecorated beaker documented in the upper fill of the chamber would not however be out of question.

Variscite finds of unidentified source thus include those of the dolmen of Trincones 1, in which there were also a copper washer, decorated and plain pottery and a wrist guard. Green beads have also been recovered from Garrovillas (Bueno, 1987b: 334) and the Anta 2 of Couto da Espanhola, at Rosmaninhal (Cardoso et al. 1997a). At both monuments, wrist guards were also found. A green bead was documented in the reutilization of the chamber of Bola da Cera (Oliveira, 1997a: 448), thus recalling the find of another green bead in the monument of Figueira Branca that also corresponds to a reutilisation of the chamber (Oliveira, 1997a: 458). The Anta de Pombais (Oliviera, 600) yielded a green bead as well as a triangular pendent of the same colour that can be related to the assemblage of serpentine ornaments recovered from Garrovillas. Its presence at Couto da Espanhola and Juan Rón I rounds off this list of known finds in this study area.

The wrist guard of Trincones 1 was located in the open access area of the monument, against the Northern lateral uprights and next to a plain bag-shaped vessel. The vessel-wrist guard association is repeated in the classical Beaker assemblages with an interesting condition: that the vessel does not belong to the forms traditionally attributed to this typology. According to what we know, the association between plain and decorated vessels is clear within funerary containers and possesses dated evidence in the Iberian Peninsula in the necropolis of Valle de las Higueras (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005b). The proximity between the bag-shaped vessel of cave 5 that accompanied the spectacular Ciempozuelos assemblage and the vessel from Trincones 1, is obvious, although the example from Cáceres is of smaller dimensions. This similitude is reinforced by the contents identified as a barley preparation although the sample does not allow the confirmation of this content as beer (Bueno et al. in press).

Amber possesses a distinguished place among the prestige grave goods of the hypogeum and tombs of the West, and which we have been able to confirm in the interior study area (Bueno et al. 2000c; 2005). As is the case of the variscite, it has not been possible to identify its place of origin although there is no doubt that it must be foreign. There are three tubular beads from the corbel vaulted tomb of Garrovillas that are possibly made of amber (Leisner, 1959, Taf. 54) and another is cited at the Anta de Pombais (Vilaça et al, 2002).

The piece from Garrovillas belongs to the materials deposited in the museum of Cáceres belonging to the Sande-Paredes collection (Bueno, 1994). It displays a single perforation. Another small rectangular plaque with a perforation at each extremity made out of serpentine comes from the same area. The flint halberd drawn by G. and V. Leisner (Leisner, 1959: Taf. 54), a copper awl and a fragment of a copper Palmela point (Bueno, 1987b: 335) confirm the use of Beaker materials at this tomb. The association of a larger wrist guard with a single perforation with smaller pieces, such as that made of serpentine mentioned above, is also found in the assemblage of La Cardeñosa (Naranjo, 1984), associated in this case with a Palmela point, several awls and a prismatic button.

The fact that some of the grave assemblages mentioned also display other non-local raw materials such as jet underlines the capacity of interaction that we are emphasising. This is the case of a bead from the dolmen of Juan Rón 1 and of the Anta de Pombais mentioned above. The relationship of this material with the North of the peninsula seems clear (Bueno, 1988). The possibility of exchange would have led to the awareness and distribution of polished objects such as the perforated axe from La Vera (Sayans, 1957) that is made out of serpentine, as are the ornaments of Garrovillas, and would have constituted a level of exchange that is supported by the spectacular grave goods with elaborate perforated pieces such as those of the mound with Beaker pottery of Dehesa del Río Fortes (Estremera & Fabián, 2002), in the plains of the Douro, in which variscite also played an important role.

The representativity of raw materials from areas foreign to the construction area of the tombs under study is an indicator of the considerable economic intensification that is associated with Beaker contexts in the area of the mouth of the Tagus. And although, obviously, we cannot confirm their relationship with this pottery, their insertion within the spheres under study seems plausible. The debate surrounding the origin of the green stones of some of the necklace beads of the area finds no support in precise data. Following our excavations at Alcátara, some such beads were identified by M. Edo who confirmed that the material was variscite but could not pinpoint their place of origin. As mentioned in previous pages, its abundant documentation in the recent levels of Zambujal (Sangmeister & Jimenez, 1995) and assemblages in the

It is noteworthy that the different exogenous raw materials used for ornaments coincide within the same monuments. Thus, Pombais has a green bead, a serpentine pendent and a jet bead, Garrovillas displays green beads, serpentine pendants and possible amber beads as well as metal, Juan Rón 1 yielded a green bead, jet, an assemblage of undecorated pottery and gold, while Trincones 1 151

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Fig. 13.4. Metal and ornaments in funerary context of the International Tagus

This theme exceeds the scope of the present paper. However, the specific lithic typologies that are found within the sphere of the Beaker use of the megalithic tombs constitute undeniable evidence.

displayed green beads, decorated and plain pottery and a wrist guard. It is these associations that corroborate the value of the evidence of the Beaker use of the tombs under study to which we have related these types of material.

As well as the presence of foreign raw materials, the effort invested in the reproduction of objects of particular significance made out of serpentine is remarkable. This is the case of the exceptional assemblage of Garrovillas that is held by the museum of Cáceres or the zoomorphic piece from the dolmen of Tapada dos Matos (Oliveira, 1999/2000) that is identical to another object recovered from the dolmen of Cruz del Pobre, in La Vera (Bueno, 2000: 52), and that also has a bone version found at a cave burial also in the La Vera area: Vega del Roble, at Valverde de la Vera (Cerrillo & Gonzalez, in press). All of these small figures represent rabbits.

In the context of the non-local raw materials, the presence in our region of good quality flint must be mentioned. There is no reason to attribute its use exclusively to Beaker times, although the profusion of stone tools such as long blades and elongated tanged arrow heads that we know are associated with Beaker materials in nearby contexts and in some fortified settlements of the Portuguese coast is remarkable and confirms their relationship with products of the third millennium BC. A clearer association in this sense is provided by the tanged small bodied arrow heads of the style denominated “mitriforms” by M. Almagro (1959: 300) that have clear associations in the dolmen of Lácara with metal objects such as Palmela points and with decorated Beaker pottery. Similarly, the long blades must be considered as an element of this material culture.

At the first of these sites, the presence of axe-pendants similar to those documented in some late tombs of the South of France must be noted. These pendants can be added to the green beads and the unusual oval piece with two perforations that constitutes a pectoral that repeats the shape and dimensions of the limestone pectoral of the tholos of Paimogo (Ferreira & Leitâo, s.a.: 148). The flint halberd illustrated by G. and V. Leisner from the monument of Garrovillas (Leisner, 1959; Taf. 54) confirms the

Given that flint is usually associated with limestone outcrops, it is attractive to connect it with the exploitation of the interior sedimentary basin of which the site of Huecas is a good example (Bueno et al. 2005b). 152

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plain forms that in this sector can be attributed without any difficulty to undecorated Beaker vessels as were identified in the passage of Juan Rón 1.

presence of the classical ornaments of the Chalcolithic apogee of the Lisbon area in our study area. The green stone zoomorph from Tapada dos Matos (Oliveira, 1999/2000: 259), a chamber with a long granite passage, is another argument along the same line. The interesting green stone object was recovered out of its original context along with a copper point, a green stone bead and a triangular pendant of the same colour.

The dates of the Anta de Cabeçuda (Oliveira, 1997), whose chronology is fully contemporary to the Beaker phenomenon and could correspond to the construction date of this tomb, confirm the long sequences of not only use but also of construction of the megaliths of the Iberian Southwest, as is also the case in other areas of the European Atlantic facade. The dates provided by Bola da Cera (Oliveira, 1997: 233) corroborate this situation.

The view of an intensification of the circulation of prestige materials during the second half of the third millennium BC takes shape as one of the contexts in which to integrate the Beaker materials of these monuments.

Although regional scale studies provide very valuable insights, we must not leave aside the general context of the Tagus Basin in which research in the interior areas has revealed sequences of radiocarbon dates in collective tombs that are fully contemporary to the Beaker phenomenon. This is the case at the necropolis of Valle de las Higueras, in the province of Toledo (Bueno et al., 2000c; 2005b). The caves that have been excavated until the moment indicate an earlier chronology within the third millennium BC for incised and plain Beaker pottery as well as its persistence through to dates similar to those of Trincones I. Within the funerary framework of collective burials, the Beaker deposits share space and protagonism with plain pottery that is used for the same alcoholic ritual (Bueno et al. 2005b: 80) and with ornaments and other objects such as metal that are connected to the Beaker package although disassociated from the famous decorated vessels.

13.7. CHRONOLOGY The task of establishing precise temporal references for the use of the Beaker materials in the megaliths under study is not straightforward. Equally, it is difficult even to fix the dates of construction of these monuments given the scarcity of radiocarbon based chronologies. However, studies over the past years have done something to bridge this gap. In these pages, we have defended the relationship between part of the dolmenic deposits of the study area and the Beaker phenomenon, as well as assessing the hypothesis of the construction of monuments at this time. These two situations have been supported through the assessment of the material evidence on two levels: first, a level concerned with the monuments whose goods correspond without doubt to Beaker materials and second, a level that considered the monuments that have yielded objects related to the Beaker phenomenon that enable at least to suspect the contemporaneity of these deposits with the Beaker phase.

13.8. MEGALITHIC CONSTRUCTIONS AND THE BEAKER PHENOMENON: THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS The panorama that we have set out in this paper visualises a situation of the Beaker phenomenon in the megaliths of the Tagus that is similar to that already suggested in other areas of strong megalithic implantation. The Beaker pottery is a fact in the different phases of use of the earliest tombs and is part of the megalithic constructions built in the third millennium BC.

After this analysis and the study of the radiocarbon dates available for the area, the chamber with long passage of Trincones 1, at Alcántara, a monument of little height, stands as the clearest Beaker construction among all of the evidence under study. It presents characteristics that belong to our level 1, as well as some that fall into level 2. The radiocarbon date of the floor of the chamber, where a fragment of incised Beaker pottery was also found, and the presence of a plain vessel with residues of a barley preparation and a wrist guard from outside the tomb, confirm the continuous use of the monument by Beaker groups.

If there is something that the International Tagus region can clearly contribute to the global Beaker panorama and its relationship to the megalithic structures, it is precisely the proliferation of complex necropoli that include tombs of small size. Chambers with passages and corbel vaulted tombs of considerable entity are associated with small tombs of little height and monumentality and even with cists (Bueno, 1994; Bueno et al. 2004), thus illustrating the important continuity in the use and construction of megalithic monuments that is also supported by the radiocarbon dates of Joaninha (Oliveira, 1997) and Trincones 1 (Bueno et al. 2004).

An almost identical date was provided by the archaeological floor of Joaninha, in the nearby locality of Cedillo (Oliveira, 1997: 235), thus confirming the chronology of these constructions of little height and pointing towards the situation underlined in this paper. Beaker pottery is but one of the prestige items that are included in these assemblages. The identification of Beaker pottery has also been diluted in often inexplicit material repertories as is illustrated by the quantity of

The level of knowledge of these late megalithic necropoli is still not high. Those that have been excavated: Amieiro, 153

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Fig. 13.5. Location of Beaker remains in the megalithic monuments of the International Tagus 154

THE BEAKER PHENOMENON AND THE FUNERARY CONTEXTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TAGUS

The representativity of gold can be related to the exploitation of the alluvial deposits, interpreted as the raw material used for the objects found further South (Hurtado, 2005: 332). It is precisely this extractive possibility of gold associated with evidence of copper (Barroso et al. 2003; Bueno et al. 2004a) that justifies the economic intensification that the necropoli of small monuments of the International Tagus begin to display.

Couto da Espanhola, Alcántara, Cedillo and Santiago de Alcántara have provided considerable evidence, most of which can be placed within our level 1 of identification of the Beaker phenomenon. This situation constitutes an open door for the more exhaustive studies that are under way and that will eventually connect this type of cemetery to the open or fortified settlements of the regional Chalcolithic as is suggested by the work of Vilaça in this volume and as we have put forward in a recent paper (Bueno et al. 2004: 104).

The association of this economic intensification with a considerable symbolic intensification is evidenced most clearly in the Tagus-Douro platform where the so-called centro-western stele and statues (Bueno et al. 2005) can be found.

The location of the Beaker pottery within the megalithic monuments is generally surrounded by the problem of the scarcity of closed contexts that guarantee the nature of the deposits. In the few excavated monuments of the International Tagus, there are very explicit associations that place these monuments among the few examples of closed dolmenic assemblages with Beaker pottery in the Iberian Peninsula. The protagonism of the undecorated pottery is symptomatic of a reality which may be occulted in the inventories of many monuments of the region. That is why the meticulous assessment of the other components of the Beaker “package” is of great use in a more realistic analysis of the social complexity of the megalithic monuments. Within this context, the presence of wrist guards is very revealing since these objects usually form part of the warrior goods displayed by individual burials.

Some time ago (Bueno, 1991, 1995; Bueno & Gonzalez, 1995), we argued their relationship with the late fourth and third millennia BC and their integration within small megalithic tombs such as those of Madroñal, at Las Hurdes, Amieiro 8, at Rosmaninhal or the Anta de Lucas, in the Alentejo, that confirm the association of these necropoli with a considerable impulse of social hierarchisation, played out by armed anthropomorphic images. The specificity of these figures within the territorial framework under study justifies the close connection between the anthropomorphic productions of the Alto Alentejo and those of Beira Baja, that created circuits of distribution similar to those of the portable plaques (Bueno, 1992). The contemporaneity of the centrowestern stele and statues with those created in different styles in other peninsular regions supports the closeness of the interactions between the platforms of the Douro and Tagus and indicates the level of complexity of the symbolic and cultual productions of the peninsular third millennium BC. Our study area developed its own idiosyncrasy that can be perceived in the earliest megalithic productions (Bueno et al. 2005; 2006) and is supported by the great graphical richness displayed by the megaliths, the engravings and the paintings of the region (Bueno & Balbín, 2000b; Bueno et al. 2004). The Beaker ritual finds itself embedded within this ideological, economic and cultural development. More than just a more or less spectacular guide fossil, it is evidence of the level of normativism applied to the ritual of the ancestors within the setting of the economic intensification of the third millennium BC.

Within the same interpretative framework of the scarce evidence that we understand as an indicator of a considerable presence, it is noteworthy that metal appears in all of the necropoli cited, thus indicating the considerable wealth of an area which had previously been denied any great protagonism during this period. The objects, weapons and ornaments, fit with the sphere of interaction with the West and the interior that is what we believe explains the abundant occupation of this region as one of the key areas for the relationships with the platform of the Douro to the North, the interior of the peninsula to the East and, of course, all of the South. The International Tagus thus reproduced the level of economic and symbolic intensification that has been widely documented in the necropoli of the Southeast, including its chronological development and the integration of structures of smaller size that are authentic emulations of the traditional architectures but are associated with metal and Beaker pottery. As in the Southeast, this pottery is not the exclusive evidence of a ritual that was widely spread and that can be identified through the deposits of metal, green beads, amber and other prestige materials.

The perspective of bringing together these materials in the Beaker ritual on the basis of their associations, be decorated pottery present or not, offers a wide range of arguments for the interpretation of the necropoli of recent megalithism as long sequences of use that extend up until a fully formed Bronze Age.

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Chapter 14 THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS Raquel VILAÇA Instituto de Arqueologia. Universidade de Coimbra Abstract: This paper compiles the data regarding the Chalcolithic occupation of the Beira Interior known and published to date. We analyse the contexts, the models of spatial implantation, the most significant materials and the available radiocarbon dates. The absence of research projects specifically concerned with the study of the problematic of this period in this region is responsible for the weakness of much of the available information. With the exception of the megalithism of the South of the region, which has been studied over the past years, the Neolithic background is insufficiently known. For this reason, the chronological and cultural limits between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic remain cloudy. Within the current state of the question, the Chalcolithic pottery of the region constitutes an important cultural indicator that reflects different influences from southern Beira or from the Meseta. We also analyse the situation of the Bell Beaker phenomenon, apparently little expressive in this region. The first metal productions, copper axes and weapons (some impure and others with arsenic), are also discussed. Key words: Neolithic-Chalcolithic; Settlement patterns; Pottery; Lithics; Copper metallurgy Resumo: A autora reúne neste texto os dados relativos às ocupações calcolíticas da Beira Interior actualmente conhecidas e publicadas. Analisam-se os respectivos contextos, os modelos de implantação no espaço, os materiais mais significativos e as datas de radiocarbono existentes. Porém, a ausência de projectos de investigação especificamente dirigidos para o estudo das problemáticas daquele período nesta região traduz-se na fragilidade de boa parte da informação disponível. Com excepção do Megalitismo do sul da região, que tem sido alvo de estudo nos últimos anos, os antecedentes neolíticos estão também ainda insuficientemente caracterizados. Por isso, as fronteiras crono-culturais entre o Neolítico e o Calcolítico são ainda nebulosas. No actual estado da investigação, as cerâmicas calcolíticas da região constituem um importante indicador cultural, traduzindo influências várias, quer do Calcolítico do Sul, quer da Beira mais setentrional e Meseta. A autora analisa ainda o ponto da situação relativo ao fenómeno campaniforme, (só?) aparentemente pouco expressivo nesta região. As primeiras produções metálicas — machados e armas de cobre (uns com impurezas, outros arsenicais) —, são igualmente comentadas. Palabras chave: Neolítico-Calcolítico; padrões de povoamento; cerâmicas; liticos; metalurgia de cobre

ces, which can be systematized in four topics: casual findings, old and recent; field surveys; information resulting from preventive and rescue archaeology surveys; data from scientific studies, usually in the extent of other projects, some prematurely suspended and the remaining concerning the Late Bronze Age.

14.1. INTRODUCTION Unlike some neighbouring regions, as, for instance, the Mondego’s upper basin or the Cáceres region, where some research projects specifically aiming the study of Neolithic and Chalcolithic have been developed, the studies on the Beira Interior region (Center and South) are still very incomplete (Fig. 14.1). An exception is the project focused on the Megalithic study1 of the south, in this region, promoted by the “Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo”.

These circumstances and finding conditions help understanding the reason why our own contribute is necessarily partial and modest. It is partial because, in this analysis, the problems concerning Megalithic studies will not be addressed, since they are better known by the archaeologists of the “Associação de Estudos do Alto Tejo” who have been studying them. Therefore, although not limited to it, this presentation will focus on the data proceeding from habitats (Fig. 14.2).

Despite the lack of attention given to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic in the Beira Interior, which it would deserve differently, there are already some available data that must be evaluated as a whole. These data can became a departure point to a more daring project, because they unlock a series of clues only possible to investigate through an ambitious project of field survey and dig. In fact, the case of the Art from the Tejo’s valley stands out, reminding us that this region had a crucial role during the 4th, 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.

It is modest since, without a research project on the Chalcolithic, there was no definition of previous questions to analyse. It is also modest because of the uncertainty of the stratigraphy and contexts, of the insufficiency of chronological data and of paleo-economical studies. Consequently, one can only draw some generic outlines, which can merely offer a pale, and eventually deformed, idea of the Chalcolithic communities and its roots in the Beira inland.

The research deficit results from the fact that the available information is mainly provided by occasional circumstan1

See article by João Luís Cardoso in this volume.

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Fig. 14.1. The Beira Interior (central-south) region 158

THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS

Fig. 14.2. Sites considered in the text

the sanctuary2, well expressed in its “Phase II”, where human images appear as part of hunting scenes, in relation with solar depictions. Such progression is materialized in several dwelling remains, unfortunately all partial and insufficiently known, but indicating the existence of a population set contradicting the idea that the region had a late occupation.

14.2. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD 14.2.1. The Neolithic antecedents At such early stage of knowledge, particularly in what concerns the establishment of a chronological table with well defined boundaries, it makes sense to start by analyzing the Neolithic antecedents, although they present fluid outlines.

Recurring to a different type of record, one should highlight the very high number – we don’t know exactly how many – of polished stone artefacts, most of them without known contexts. If it is certain that many of them are isolated finds and destruction remains of many megalithic monuments along the time, others can reflect realities still poorly known, linked to ritual depositions and to sacrifical landscape.

We ignore when and how the first Neolithic communities emerged in this region. Nevertheless, there are some signs that allow perceiving the existence of an anciently rooted important Neolithic background. In addition to some impressed pottery, one should not forget that the several engravings of the Tejo’s valley sanctuary have been attributed to this period. Although these engravings do not directly express a stable population, they show, nevertheless, that the region was frequented by groups that, certainly, settled there and started building the first funerary monuments.

It seems possible to fit at least two known cases in this last situation, since they are true deposits in line with practices of goods deposition and hiding, which will be particularly significant in the Bronze Age. One of them concerns the assemblage of Mourelo (Castelo Branco), as it can be deduced from the information

The progression of population stability in the region happens at the same time than the growing importance of

2

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R. VILAÇA

provided by Tavares Proença when referring the turning up of seven polished stone axes at a rock fracture (Proença, 1910: 11; Vilaça, 2003: 47). The other is based on information recorded with regard to the finding of a “lightning stones” deposit at Barroca do Castinçal (Fundão) (Motta, 1933: 10; Vilaça, 2003: 47). The type of localization and topographic implantation of the habitats is varied. One of the questions arisen, which would be important to research one day, is if such diversity already reflects some kind of occupational strategy, of organization and space exploitation complexity, or if, on the contrary, the diversity only reflects the chronologic variability through a long period of time. We will now review, in particular, the cases that provide more consistent information.

Fig. 14.3. The hilltop of Monte do Frade

One is Cabeço da Velha (Vila Velha de Ródão), located on a plateau, where some structures were identified displaying dwelling characteristics, such as post holes, stone pavements and fireplaces. The pottery, mainly plain, is composed of globular shapes, hemispherical cups and carinated shapes. The lithic assemblage is varied, including microliths, blades, flakes, scrapers, piercing tools, arrow points with convex and triangular bases, etc. (Cardoso et al. 1998). Not far from the former sits the important settlement of Charneca de Fratel. It had a long occupational period with three phases, one from the Late Neolithic, other from the Chalcolithic and another still undetermined. The earliest phase showed a scattered occupational pattern, which can be ascribed to the same model than Cabeço da Velha. Further north, near Penamacor, there is the settlement of Monte do Frade, excavated in the extent of a project on the Late Bronze Age (Vilaça, 1993; 1995). One of the oldest Neolithic occupations of the region was identified there and, in that sense, it is a contribute not to be forgotten when, one day, it will be possible to tell the story of the “Neolithic from the inland” at this region.

Fig. 14.4. Neolithic structures at Monte do Frade

Barruecos (Malpartida de Cáceres), 6060± 50 BP, in a context with somewhat similar pottery (Cerrillo Cuenca, 2002:103). As in Monte do Frade, the site provided only one single data. Therefore, both results should be looked at prudently.

The site is located on a hill composed of two round summits (Fig. 14.3). The top of the northern hill was occupied during the Late Bronze Age; however, one of the platforms of the northern slope was occupied during the Neolithic.

In view of the occupied area, of the scattered density and low diversity of the artefacts, either made of stone either of ceramic, it can be said that we possibly face an episodic occupation, eventually seasonal, part of an occupation model in which the sedentary habits would not be completely developed yet.

A dumping ditch and two stone pavements were excavated there (Fig. 14.4), providing some pottery (Fig. 14.5) in association and decorated with small incisions, with applied “tablets” on the rim, with simple and dragged punctured marks type “boquique” (Vilaça, 1993: 509).

By its turn, the excavations made at Monte do Ramalhão (Penamacor) revealed an occupation from the Late Neolithic/beginning of Chalcolithic (Vilaça, 1989). In one of the sectors an occupation level was identified, corresponding to a dumping ditch, associated to fired ceramic pieces and in situ stone artefacts (an axe and grinding pieces). The pottery comprises some decorated shapes, with incisions, punctures and lugs. The high

This context was C14 dated (ICEN-968). The data obtained was 4780± 60 BP, therefore corresponding to the Middle Neolithic. Thus, this data is far more recent than the data obtained from the Neolithic level from Los 160

THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS

Fig. 14.5. Neolithic ceramics from Monte do Frade

It is exactly in that large valley that is placed a megalithic necropolis. Unfortunately, it is badly known, and about to loose the possibility of being studied, since, besides the tourist fruition (dam, camping site), the area also houses a rock n’roll festival, which makes of it an area passing through accelerated archaeological destruction.

formal variability is noticeable, amongst which there is a small spoon (Fig. 14.6). Everything indicates that a sedentary human group, knowing agriculture, was installed in Ramalhão. And that, nowadays, it should be analyzed in conjunction either with Monte do Frade, referred before, located at little more than 2 Km SE, either with Castelo de Penamacor, located at about 1 Km NW, which will be commented ahead.

During field survey it was possible to locate some monuments already mentioned on reference lists and identify new ones, at the time unpublished. The area’s six megalithic monuments – of simple chamber, ellipsoidal chamber, and with chamber and corridor – are in a state of calamitous ruin and complete lack of protection. Some are at the dam’s flooded plain (Fig. 14.9) and, therefore, cyclically subject to the fluctuations in the dam quote, which sometimes emerges, and sometimes submerges them, generating completely uncharacterized monuments.

Another site, Cachouça (Idanha-a-Nova), owes its main importance to its Late Bronze Age/Initial Iron Age occupation, expressed in the construction of a stone and earth wall. The excavated area showed some remains of an earlier occupation, maybe from the end of the Neolithic, as shown by the plain pottery and the stone artefacts (Fig. 14.7): some retouched flakes, a piercing tool, blades, arrow points with straight, triangular and concave bases, a sickle piece with “cereal polishing”.

These monuments’ chronology, whose remains are unknown, is still also unknown. However, together they constitute a sacred and funerary ground, having an internal organization in straight connection either with the rock outcrops carved with “fossettes” (small shallow holes) existing in the valley, either with the habitats located in the surrounding hill summits, such as Cachouça, or Monte do Trigo, which will be commented latter (Santos, 2000; Vilaça, 2000; 2005).

As a whole, these earlier evidences point towards a residual and episodic occupation. It is possible that there were other occupational centres, scattered in the area where the site is located (Fig. 14.8). It is implanted on a plateau ending at a spur over the rivers Torto and Ponsul, near the space today occupied by the Marechal Carmona’s Dam. 161

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Fig. 14.6. Neo-calcolithics ceramics from Ramalhão 162

THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS

Fig. 14.7. Lithics from Cachouça

Fig. 14.8. The plateau of Cachouça 163

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Fig. 14.9. Megalithic monuments at the dam’s flooded plain

14.2.2. The Chalcolithic occupation In the most recent years – always without any project specifically designed for it – there have been some findings that predict or inform on occupations which can be classified as belonging to the Chalcolithic, namely in the councils of Sabugal, Fundão, Penamacor and Idanhaa-Nova. In comparison with the previous period, these occupations reveal a bigger diversity in aspects like: population strategy, structures and artefacts. All unmistakably signs of progressive stability and of a more systematic spatial occupation.

Fig. 14.10. Calcolithic ceramics (“penteadas”) from Sabugal (after Osório)

Near Sabugal, the site of Carvalheiras revealed several fired clay pieces associated with dumping ditches, post holes and burning structures (Robalo & Osório, 2006). The pottery assemblage is composed of plain vessels and vessels with applied decoration; the lithic assemblage comprises some flakes, flint blades and axes. Alone, these evidences do not provide a precise chronology. Such information derives only from the C14 date (4030 ±50 BP), whose calibration indicates that the site was occupied in the first half of the 3rd millennia b C.

The field surveys made on the hill summit of Santa Bárbara, over the stream of Aldeia da Ponte (Sabugal), also provided combed pottery, indicating that the site is another Chalcolithic settlement (Perestrelo & Osório, 2005: 212-213). The mount of Castelo de Penamacor is in a similar situation, although, in here the faint remains resulted from an archaeological dig. The assemblage comprises some lithic artefacts and a hemispherical vessel with applied decoration and waving incisions made with a comb (Silvério et al. 2004: 491 and 494).

The data resulting from the preventive trenches excavated in the Historic Centre of Sabugal is far more expressive. The punctured and comb decorated pottery stands out, testifying an unequivocal Chalcolithic occupation (Fig. 14.10). In presence of these data, there is a plain copper axe attributed to Sabugal (Vilaça, 1995: 397 and Est. CCLVIII-3) that was evaluated and directly related to such pottery (Perestrelo & Osório, 2005). Nevertheless, although that is admissible, it does not mean it holds true, since the reference to the axe can also be understood as “from the region of Sabugal”.

The elements related to Cabeço da Malhoeira (Penamacor) provided rather more consistent information. The site is placed in a short plateau with soft slopes facing the Meimoa stream. A dig made in the top revealed several dwelling structures, functionally different, such as hut bases, flagged 164

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Fig. 14.11. Calcolithic materials from Cabeço da Malhoeira (after Oliveira 1998)

unresolved. Despite the fact that, in the settlement of Charneca do Fratel, it was possible to verify that the Late Neolithic occupation is followed sequentially, without breaches, by a Chalcolithic one. The area effectively occupied becomes more restricted and relates with the construction of a 2 m large wall, whose entrance was defended by a semi-circular bastion (Soares, 1988: 5). In this way the inhabited area gains visual expression, denouncing a closer relationship between the community and the space with which it would feel identified.

floors, fireplaces, and storage structures, alongside with surface covering clay (Oliveira, 1998). It is a completely sedentary occupation, showing some inner space organization complexity. As to the assemblage, the plain shapes are predominant, such as cups, bowls and spherical forms (Fig. 14.11), some showing combed decoration, fingernail impressions, incisions, pinched “tablets”, etc. A special mentioning should be given to the parallelepiped plaques with four small holes used as loom’s weights. The lithic artefacts are equally varied, presenting arrow points with concave and sub rectilinear bases, piercing tools, etc.

Although displaying very different physical characterristics the Monte do Trigo (Idanha-a-Nova) is part of the same model of space concentration. The site is located on a conically shaped hill (Fig. 14.12) overlooking the whole surrounding region, namely the dam depression where the megalithic necropolis, mentioned before, is located (Vilaça & Cristóvão, 1995; Vilaça, 1997).

The available date ICEN-1085: is 4180±50 BP, and its calibration points towards the first half of the 3rd millennia BC. Unfortunately, it was not possible to complete the excavations at this settlement. Therefore, the size of the area effectively occupied is still to be defined, as well as the confirmation of a possible earlier occupation.

At the crest of the hill, over a 630 m² of usable area, a wall was built, now practically reduced to a large collapse level. Two big occupational phases were identified, one from the Late Bronze Age and the other from the Chalcolithic, the latter related with a sub-circular structure existing under the collapsed wall.

The question of the occupational continuity from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic in Beira Interior is still 165

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amongst which we can count cups and plates with almond shaped rims (“almendrados”) (Fig. 14.13); but also by the weaver’s pieces shaped as “crescent”, appearing alongside with some parallelepiped ones (Fig. 14.14). There are also some pottery sherds decorated with fingernail impressions, incisions combined with dots, comb decorated. The knapped stone utensils are very few. There are low standardized flakes, a scrapper made over blade, and an arrow point with concave base retouched on both faces.

Fig. 14.12. The hilltop of Monte do Trigo

There are two C14 dates – GrN-24064: 4610±170 BP and GrN-24065: 4300±180 BP – unfortunately with high standard deviations, not helping stating precisely this occupation’s chronology. The whole of the data allows admitting a chronology of the 1st half of the 3rd millennia cal. BC. as the most correct.

The cultural affinities between this occupation and the Peninsular Chalcolithic of the South is unmistakable, as is shown not only by its pottery, predominantly plain,

In the scope of the Chalcolithic occupations in Beira Interior, one of the problems focuses on the chronological and cultural meaning of the pottery, since it is clear that it does not show a morphological and stylistic unity. It

Fig. 14.13. Calcolithic ceramics from Monte do Trigo 166

THE CHALCOLITHIC IN BEIRA INTERIOR (CENTRAL PORTUGAL): DATA AND PROBLEMS

Fig. 14.14. Calcolithic loom’s weights from Monte do Trigo

Fig. 14.15. Radiocarbon data for the neo-calcolitlic of Beira Interior (central-south) 167

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should be noticed that the dispersal of the thickened rim cups and of the almond shaped (“almendrado”) rim plates is limited to the most southerly area of the region. Being found either in settlements, either megalithic monuments. In this realm, the cultural connections with the Chalcolithic from the south are particularly clear, gaining special relevance in the nearest region, the Alentejo’s Northeast, where we can find the important settlement of Vidais (Marvão). Another question relates with the definition of a reliable chronological table, which should be confirmed by good stratigraphic sequences and by a greater number of absolute and solid dating. Despite the existence of eight C14 dates (Fig. 14.15)3, there are some questions unresolved, due either to the high standard-deviation of some, either to the uncertainty of the occupation contexts of others, such as in Terlamonte (Covilhã) (Silva & Carvalho, 2004: 137).

Fig. 14.16. Campaniform from Monte do Trigo

Related to this set of problems, two possible archers’ bracers also deserve mentioning, one comes from the dolmen 2 from Couto da Espanhola (Cardoso et al. 1997a: 25) and the other from the Monte do Frade settlement (Vilaça, 1995: 149 and Est. CXIX-6).

In this way, the definition of any accurate boundary between the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic, on the one hand, and the phasing of the latter, on the other hand, seem to be premature. Possible breach points are still to be conveniently identified or, when guessed, they lack reliable archaeological and chronological validation. However, it is obvious that, also here, from the beginning of the 3rd millennia BC, important transformations happened in the life of communities, like the increase of agricultural-pasturing activities and task specialization.

On the other hand, contrarily to what is known from other regions, the consolidation of the productive system does not seem to have been followed by other activities such as metallurgy, which left no evidence in the excavated settlements. The only data available, almost all without a known context, are artefacts – axes and weapons – which should have arrived through inter-regional exchanges. Coming from a funerary context, and deserving mentioning, there is a dagger from the dolmen 2 from Amieiro and a “type Palmela” point from the dolmen 3 from Amieiro (Cardoso et al. 2003: 161 and fig. 6-1 and 9-3).

This higher investment in the landscape can also be suspected from some contemporary engravings, attributed to the Phase IV of the Tejo’s Valley Art, such as the horn shaped engravings of Fratel and of Cachão in the Algarve, that can bring to mind draft animals coupled to carts or ploughs (Gomes, 1991:19-20; 30).

Some of the flat axes that circulated in the region can be attributed to this archaic metallurgy. It is the case of the Corgos’ axe, found near the eponym megalithic monument in Sabugal (already mentioned), of the ones from S. Judia (Idanha-a-Nova), of Vila Velha de Ródão, and also the ones from Fundão’s municipality, these without a known context.

14.3. THE FIRST METALLIC PRODUCTIONS AND THE BELL-BEAKER PHENOMENON The Chalcolithic of this region raises another problem, linked with the Bell-Beaker phenomenon and with the first metallic productions.

Somehow the same happens with the “type Palmela” points, predicting a reality unsuspected until very recently. Besides the axe from the dolmen 3 at Amieiro, there are four more, namely the ones from Malcata and Medelim (Vilaça, 1995: 396 and Est. CCLVII-1), and two other from Fundão’s region. In the latter case they are also occasional finds from important settlements – S. Roque and Tapada das Argolas (Fig. 14.17) – both occupied during the Bronze Age (Vilaça et al. 2003).

The knowledge of Bell-Beaker pottery in Beira Interior is very recent and can be limited to two sites: the Monte do Trigo and the dolmen 5 from Amieiro (a cist like structure peripheral to the dolmen). In the latter case it is a small fragment with pseudo-excise decoration (Cardoso et al. 2003:162 and fig. 12-8). From Monte do Trigo there are five small pottery sherds on “maritime style – international variant” (Fig. 14.16) (Vilaça & Cristóvão, 1995; Vilaça, 1998; 2000).

However, there is already some information on the metallurgy of these artefacts, since six where analysed to identify its chemical composition (Table 14.1)4. Some are

3

We thank to A. Monge Soares the help in dates calibration. The calibration was made in reference to “Calib Radiocarbon Calibration Program” (Stuiver and Reimer, Radiocarbon, 1993, 35: 215-230; Reimer et al., Radiocarbon, 2004, 46: 1029-1058).

4 We thank to Ignacio Montero the collaboration in the analythical study of the S. Roque and Fundão artefacts.

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Fig. 14.17. Palmela points from Monte de São Roque and Tapada das Argolas

Table 14.1. Chemical composition of the metallic artefacts Proveniência

Tipo

Peso gr.

Fe

Ni

Cu

Zn

As

Ag

Sn

Sb

Pb

Bi

Tapada das Argolas

Ponta Palmela (PA10406)

13.4

tr

nd

95.5

nd

4.43

0.022

nd

0.026

nd

-

Vilaça et al. 2003

S. Roque

Ponta Palmela (PA12302)

20.9

nd

nd

97.9

nd

1.68

0.008

nd

tr

0.43

0.16

inédito

Conc. Fundão (Zona Norte)

Machado Plano (PA 11276)

0.11

nd

91.6

nd

3.81

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

inédito

Medelim

Ponta Palmela (1470)

-

tr

-

-

1

0.015

0.016

-

-

0.003

Junghans et al; 1968: 24-25

Sabugal

Machado plano (1563)

301.33

-

-

-

-

0.74

0.014

-

-

-

-

Junghans et al; 1968: 28-29

S. Judia (Idanha-a-Nova)

Machado plano (1569)

572.99

-

0.023

-

-

1.35