An iberian decorated vessel of ceremonial function: a singular space in the Coll del Moro (Gandesa, Tarragona)

Abstract

An exceptional decorated Iberian ceramic vase dating from the third century BC and coming from room 8 of the site of Coll del Moro de Gandesa (Tarragona) is presented. It is a hermetically sealed ceramic vessel, hand-made, with a globular profile, with two twisted horizontal handles and profuse geometric and zoomorphic decoration. It has a knob handle, solid, quadrangular, which is decorated in each of its four upper angles with plastic motifs, stylized ram heads. The inner bottom of the vessel is decorated with a swastika in high relief. Both the ram and the cross, the two most outstanding decorative elements of the piece, have an ingrained symbolism related to the cult of the home and the ancestors. The function of the vessel is, without a doubt, liturgical. It connects with cults to the home and to the ancestors already attested in the Protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula and shows that ceremonies of worship were taking place in the room in which it was discovered. This room is located in what can be called a productive or industrial neighborhood of the settlement of Coll del Moro where an architectural complex dedicated to textile workshop where flax was processed has been exhumed and another complex was dedicated to winery and wine storage. The finding brings new perspectives on the ceremonial activities and the liturgical items in the northeastern peninsular, so greedy regarding this type of information.