Iberian Iron Age monuments in the landscape. Mobility, water and territorial configuration in the southeast of the southern Meseta

Abstract

In this paper we study the relationship between oppida, ritual sites, mobility, visibility and water resources in a southeastern territory of the southern Meseta (Inland Iberian Peninsula). GIS and statistical analysis shows a clear connection of Iberian Iron Age settlement with respect to certain water resources and an unequal link with livestock routes and transitability. Together with a correlation between oppida and springs, our analysis shows that funerary and ritual sites were mainly located at a low level with respect to their surroundings and close to water sources of endorheic origin, in lagoon or wetland environments. These results underline the role of water in the spatial configuration of Iberian settlement of this territory, while pointing out the necessary integration of a series of natural and cultural elements when analyzing mobility and territorial organization. In addition, the long diachrony of some funerary spaces allows us to consider their own entity as religious sites and their possible territorial role, enduring in changing and successive territorial configurations.