Geoarchaeology of defensive moats: its importance for site localization, evolution and formation process reconstruction of archaeological sites in NE Spain

PEÑA-MONNÉ, J. L.; RUBIO-FERNÁNDEZ, V.; GONZÁLEZ PÉREZ, J. R.; RODANÉS,J. M.; PICAZO-MILLÁN, J. V.; MEDINA, J.; VÁZQUEZ, M. P.; SAMPIETRO VATTUONE, M. M.; PÉREZ-LAMBÁN, F.

JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 p. 383 - 393

0305-4403

The implementation of geoarchaeological methodology to the study of defensive moats is proposed in order to localize and reconstruct site evolution and formation processes of archaeological sites in NE Spain. With this aim in mind, this paper analyses three study cases. In the first place the moat of Puig Pelegrí, an Iberian site (Second Iron Age) where there is not enough infill preserved in the moat. Therefore in this site the materials removed and deposited when digging the moat are analyzed. After that the stratigraphy of the infill of two other moats is studied: the first one (Cabezo de la Cruz) is a well preserved site from the First Iron Age and the second one (Carrasumada) is a highly eroded site from the Iberian Period (Second Iron Age). The results presented in this paper highlight the great importance of the study of these sedimentary contexts in semi-arid regions to complete the present knowledge of past human occupation.