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On the symbolic values of the Iron Age walls in the western Iberian Plateau: an approach to the landscape archaeology of warfare

2023, Metal Ages / Âges des métaux Proceedings of the XIX UISPP World Congress (2–7 September 2021, Meknes, Morocco) Volume 2 / General Session 5

Among the Celtic territories, the Iberian Peninsula is the area with the largest number of hillforts with upright stone band defences, usually misnamed ‘chevaux-de-frise’. Parallels are found from southeastern France (Pech Maho, Languedoc) to Ireland (Dun Aonghasa, Galway), Wales (Castell Henllys) and Scotland (Kaimes Hill, Midlothian), most of them dating from the Iron Age. However, new data and research highlight different contexts that could lead to a variety of explanations beyond their defensive purpose. Using geographical information systems (GIS) and LiDAR images to study the landscape, we have analysed one of the most significant groups in the Iberian Peninsula, built by a Celtic people called Vettones. In their territory, large oppida with massive and solid ramparts, moats, bastions and, probably, towers are distinctive. Nevertheless, there are only six examples with upright stone band defences, all among the most powerful and wealthy oppida. If the upright stone bands were simple defensive devices, we examine what the reasons for this difference are and, by analysing the meaning of these elements, we attempt a more comprehensive definition of this group.

Metal Ages / Âges des métaux Proceedings of the XIX UISPP World Congress (2–7 September 2021, Meknes, Morocco) Volume 2 / General Session 5 Edited by Dirk Brandherm Metal Ages / Âges des métaux Proceedings of the XIX UISPP World Congress (2–7 September 2021, Meknes, Morocco) Volume 2 / General Session 5 edited by Dirk Brandherm Archaeopress Archaeology Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-80327-539-0 ISBN 978-1-80327-540-6 (e-Pdf) © The authors and Archaeopress 2023 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncnd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Proceedings of the XIX UISPP World Congress (2–7 September 2021, Meknes, Morocco) Volume 2: Metal Ages / Âges des métaux VOLUME EDITOR: Dirk Brandherm SERIES EDITOR: The board of UISPP | SERIES PROPERTY: UISPP – International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences © 2023, UISPP and authors KEY-WORDS IN THIS VOLUME: Aeneolithic, Bronze Age, Chalcolithic, Iron Age, Metal Ages UISPP PROCEEDINGS SERIES is a printed on demand and open access publication, edited by UISPP through Archaeopress BOARD OF UISPP: François Djindjian (Président), Marta Arzarello (Secrétaire-Générale), Apostolos Sarris (Trésorier), Abdulaye Camara (Vice-président), Erika Robrahn Gonzalès (Vice-présidente) The Executive Committee of UISPP includes the presidents of all the UISPP scientific commissions (www.uispp.net). BOARD OF THE XIX UISPP CONGRESS: Abdeljalil Bouzouggar, Larbi Boudad, Aissa Masrour Contents Foreword to the XIX UISPP Congress Proceedings ���������������������������������������������������������������������v Introduction ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������vi Les objets en coquilles d’œufs d’autruche du Chalcolithique en Espagne ��������������������������������1 Linda Boutoille The painted pottery from the Chalcolithic mega-site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain) and its possible relationship with Gar Cahal, northern Morocco �����������������14 Alfredo Mederos Martín, Thomas X. Schuhmacher, Juan Manuel Vargas Jiménez, Charles Bashore Acero and Lorena Garvin Arcos Dérive chronologique ou changement de paradigme ? Le cas du Bronze ancien en Europe centrale ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40 Mireille David-Elbiali Between defensive and symbolic� ‘Fortified’ hilltop sites in the Irish Late Bronze Age ���������51 Dirk Brandherm, Cormac McSparron and Linda Boutoille Analyses chimiques et pétrographiques des céramiques du premier âge du Fer dans le Sud-Ouest de la péninsule Ibérique : bilan et perspectives �������������������������������������������������������67 Michał Krueger, Dirk Brandherm et Violeta Moreno Megías The emergence of Celtic culture in Styria ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������76 Florian Mauthner On the symbolic values of the Iron Age walls in the western Iberian Plateau: an approach to the landscape archaeology of warfare ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������86 Luis Berrocal Rangel, Lucía Ruano, Pablo Paniego Díaz, Gabriel Bartolomé and Luis Berrocal Maya Celtic swordplay: the contribution of the use-wear analysis of swords and scabbards from the La Tène site �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������98 Guillaume Reich Authors / Auteurs ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������115 i On the symbolic values of the Iron Age walls in the western Iberian Plateau: an approach to the landscape archaeology of warfare Luis Berrocal Rangel1, Lucía Ruano2, Pablo Paniego Díaz3, Gabriel Bartolomé4 and Luis Berrocal Maya5 Abstract Among the Celtic territories, the Iberian Peninsula is the area with the largest number of hillforts with upright stone band defences, usually misnamed ‘chevaux-de-frise’. Parallels are found from southeastern France (Pech Maho, Languedoc) to Ireland (Dun Aonghasa, Galway), Wales (Castell Henllys) and Scotland (Kaimes Hill, Midlothian), most of them dating from the Iron Age. However, new data and research highlight different contexts that could lead to a variety of explanations beyond their defensive purpose. Using geographical information systems (GIS) and LiDAR images to study the landscape, we have analysed one of the most significant groups in the Iberian Peninsula, built by a Celtic people called Vettones. In their territory, large oppida with massive and solid ramparts, moats, bastions and, probably, towers are distinctive. Nevertheless, there are only six examples with upright stone band defences, all among the most powerful and wealthy oppida. If the upright stone bands were simple defensive devices, we examine what the reasons for this difference are and, by analysing the meaning of these elements, we attempt a more comprehensive definition of this group. Keywords CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE, HILLFORT, IRON AGE, DEFENSIVE ARCHITECTURE, FORTIFICATIONS. Résumé Parmi les territoires celtiques, la Péninsule ibérique est la région avec le plus grand nombre de sites fortifiés disposant de défenses de bandes de pierres plantées, qui sont connues sous le nom inadapté de « chevaux-de-frise ». Les exemples de telles installations sont localisés du sud de la France à l’ouest de l’Irlande, le pays de Galles et l’Écosse, et la plupart de ces exemples sont datés de l’âge du Fer. Cependant, nouvelles dates et recherches récentes soulignent les contextes et la topologie d’apparition, parce qu’ils peuvent éclairer sur leurs fonctions défensives. Avec l’utilisation des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) et des images LiDAR nous proposons l’étude du paysage de l’âge du Fer dans l’ouest du plateau espagnol, où oppida et fortifications disposant d’une quantité élevée de bandes de pierre plantées défensives sont bien connues parmi l’ancien peuple des vettones. Dans ce territoire, il y a des grands remparts avec des fossés, des gros bastions et des tours. Néanmoins, nous connaissons seulement six cas de défenses de pierres plantées, c’est ça dans les plus riches et grands oppida. C’est pour ça que nous nous demandons les raisons pour ces défenses, bien qu’ils soient considérés comme de simples engins défensifs. À travers des analyses spatiales et des ensembles des signifiées symboliques et réels de ces contextes, nous proposons une plus compréhensive définition de ce groupe. Mots-clés BANDES DE PIERRE PLANTÉES, SITE FORTIFIÉ, ÂGE DU FER, ARCHITECTURE DÉFENSIVE, FORTIFICATIONS. Hillforts with chevaux-de-frise, a prehistoric defence?6 Upright stone bands or rows in the vicinity of Late Bronze and Iron Age settlement walls are a controversial protohistoric device well known throughout the vast expanses of western Europe, from eastern Italy to northern Scotland (Fig. 1). Traditionally, these elements have been considered 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología. luis.berrocal@uam.es Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología. lruano02@ucm.es 3 Instituto de Arqueología de Mérida (CSIC). pablo.paniego@iam.csic.es 4 Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología. gabartol@ucm.es 5 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología. luis.berrocalm@estudiante.uam.es 6 Project Late Prehistory Architecture in the Western Spanish Plateau. Archaeotecture and Archaeometry about the Built Heritage of the Vettones Hillforts (HAR2016-77739-P), Ministerio de Ciencia. Innovación y Universidades, Spain. 2 Metal Ages / Âges des métaux (Archaeopress 2023): 86–97