Atalaia burial ground
The Bronze Age burial ground of Atalaia is located in the east of the Beja district , in the Baixo Alentejo in southwest Portugal .
Geographical environment
Most of the landscapes of Portugal are divided into small areas. Only the Alentejo shows a spacious character and is reminiscent of Spanish landscapes, with which it has similarities in terms of climate and vegetation. The Alentejo begins south of the Tejo and stretches in the south to the mountain range that forms the natural border with the Algarve . The Alentejo stretches from the Atlantic to the Guadiana in the east. The southern half, the Baixo Alentejo, forms a separate district with the capital Beja . Climatically, the area lies in the transition zone from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean zone on the border of the semi-arid area. Carbon slate and greywacke form the subsoil, which bears a thin layer of weathering. The soil is extremely unfavorable for the maintenance of bones.
Excavation history
Since 1958 the Portuguese teacher and archaeologist Abel Viana excavated the fortified settlement "Nossa Senhora da Cola" on the Rio Mira. Viana also explored megalithic and dome tombs in the neighborhood . In their pedestal zones and corridors there were vertically placed stones, the "pedras empinadas", which seem strange and artificial. Excavation workers pointed out that there were "pedras empinadas" in the area around Atalaia, where Viana found stones and horizontally laid slabs around the "Monte Atalaia". Here he started in 1959 with a test excavation. In a few days, some stone boxes and stone rings were uncovered. The excavations continued in 1960. However, the first publications were inadequate, so that some of the facilities were understood as round houses from the Copper Age . In 1962 there was a cooperation with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) Dept. Madrid, which took over the financing of the excavation and provided the excavation management with Hermanfrid Schubart .
description
The graves of the Bronze Age lie on the hilltops or ridges around the village of Atalaia. Here the excavators found an abundance of lying, standing and fallen stones under a layer a few centimeters thick. Only gradually did this tangle of burial ground become clear . The lying slabs, between which there were occasional vertical ones, formed stone rings, inside of which a stone mound was piled up. There seems to have been a stele at times in the center of the hill.
In the area, which was mainly made up of stones, it became apparent that several stone rings formed a kind of honeycomb system. The oldest grave of a honeycomb system, which has a closed stone ring, was laid on the highest point of a gently sloping terrain elevation, while the burial mounds of the younger "generations" connected on these slopes, so that complicated honeycomb systems were created. The grave mounds of the second "generation" connected to the central mound in such a way that they no longer formed a full circle. The mounds of the third and fourth "generation" in turn began in the same way on the existing burial mounds.
Each burial mound contained, for the most part, only one grave in its center. The grave system of Atalaia consisted of a total of 32 mounds, which contained 35 individual graves. Four graves were outside the honeycomb system. The graves within the hills were not easily recognizable. Some could only be accessed because of the remains of the burial mound. In addition to the central burial mound, the stone ring of which has the largest diameter, there are z. B. in the honeycomb systems III and V a second full ring, which is a bit down on the slope and in turn some secondary systems adjacent. The systems formed around the 2nd full ring are usually connected to the main system and can be assigned to it as a secondary system. If one assumes that the surrounding hills are younger than the central hill, a chronological sequence can be determined for each of the seven grave systems of Atalaia, which forms the basis of a chronological classification of the graves and their graves.
The most common forms of graves are pits sunk into the rock, the long walls of which are parallel to the cleavage rock and appear regular and almost vertical. The ground plan of the pits is long and rectangular and in a few cases approaches a square shape. The majority of the graves were closed during the excavation by cover plates, which lay directly on the top of the rock and covered the entire grave area.
The small extent of the pits makes it clear that they cannot have been buried in a stretched position. It can be assumed that the pits hosted stool burials . The dead man must have had his head to the north, facing east, so that the accessory vessel standing on the long eastern side, in several cases shifted to the north, stood between the chin and the crouched knees.
The stone boxes form the second strongest group. They originally consisted of four panels that enclosed a relatively small interior space with an average length of 0.90 m and an average width of 0.50 m. Most of them are laid out on the rock surface and are often only preserved in a collapsed state.
In individual grave mounds, for example in the central grave of grave system V, graves were also found that were lying on the rock surface without any stone protection, sometimes also limited by stone frames.
Of the 135 known graves in Atalaia, 91 are sunk pit graves, 27 stone boxes and nine graves in the ground. Due to the chronological order, these graves in the Atalaia system are relatively old and the stone boxes are relatively young. The grave pits occupy the middle position. The different types of graves occur side by side, but a chronological differentiation can be recognized. It is inconceivable that the seven investigated and the four as yet unexplored grave systems of Atalaia began to be occupied at the same time. A certain shift in the chronological starting points is likely. However, the research results so far are not sufficient to reconstruct the progression process of the necropolis .
Found material
Ceramics
One can speak of a certain scarcity of gifts, because only about half of the graves of Atalaia contain gifts. The clay pot, as the most common grave object, occurs normally only individually. Only two of the Atalaia tombs have two clay vessels. It refers to an upheaval shell and a Kumpf . Peeled bowls, for which the name "Atalaia bowl" was introduced, are characteristic. Breaks also dominate in higher vessels. Mugs with a slim shape and a deep set, are identified by a handle attached to the edge. The wrap-around bowls include the so-called "Santa Vitória bowls" as a more recent variant, with a radial pattern grooved on the inner bottom surface. Narrow-mouthed rib vases and bottles, wide-bodied vats and bowls complete the ceramic inventory.
Metals
Metal additions are very rare in Atalaia. Two were dagger blades , one of which has a rivet on the rounded end of the handle. One of the two arrowheads is slightly stalked. There were also two spiral rings, the smaller of the two made of silver. All other metal finds are made from arsenic copper.
Pearls
Two stone boxes contained a number of deep dark blue to medium blue tinted glass beads, which in smaller form are also tinted yellow to yellow-brown. The smallest pearls of tiny dimensions are white in color. Among the pearls from grave 22 of grave system V there were also two pearls made of solid gold with a thin perforation.
hierarchy
In view of the lack of gifts, it is noticeable that particularly valuable pieces of metal or glass were found in the central burial mound. Apparently, those buried in a central location are of particular importance, which is not only expressed in the location and size of the hill. The person buried in the central hill has a prominent position, but remains a first among equals within the overall system. The same follow him in the secondary burial mounds at a short distance. The family or tribal context that can be assumed for those buried in a grave system must have been such that the honeycomb system emerged as the appropriate expression for it. The collective burial of the Copper Age, which lasted in the inner Baixo Alentejo, lives on in Atalaia in a different form.
Cultural space
Due to the Southwest Bronze Age defined by the Atalaia excavations, the expansion of a culture of the Iberian Peninsula was determined, primarily on the basis of similar burial grounds. The settlement area of the Southwest Bronze Age includes the Algarve, the Serra de Monchique and the northern foreland, in which Atalaia is also located. Further north the plain of the Campo de Beja and the Rio Sado with its tributaries. The heights of the Alto Alentejo are only occupied on their southern edge. The lower reaches of the Guadiana belong to the settlement area of the Southwest Bronze Age on both sides of today's border. Bronze Age necropolises are located in the Sierra de Aracena and in the mountains to the south.
Within the distribution area there is a regional differentiation between the Algarve and the Baixo Alentejo. The southern edge of the Alto Alentejo was apparently only included in a later stage of the Southwest Bronze Age, which is indicated by the absence of the grave forms classified as older. From the finds it is possible that one or the origin of the Southwest Bronze Age was in the Algarve. It is of interest that the Algarve has stronger ties to the south -east Spanish El Argar culture . Influences that have reached the southwest by continental route may have led to certain developments in the Baixo Alentejo. But El Argar influences can also be seen there.
Time position
The beginning of the Southwest Bronze Age is on 1600/1500 BC. To date, for which the absolute chronological approaches are obtained from the El Argar culture . The Southeast Spanish Bronze Age culture begins with its first stage (El Argar A) around 1900 BC. BC, while the second stage around 1600 BC. Begins. A stage preceding the southwest Bronze Age in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula , the “Ferradeira horizon”, represents the Early Bronze Age here - parallel to El Argar A - but still has a strong Copper Age character. Atalaia itself, with the majority of its graves, belongs to stage I of the Southwest Bronze Age, which is also named after Atalaia (Atalaia stage) and dates back to around 1200/1100 BC. Lasts. The finds of the older Southwest Bronze Age, which allow a parallelization with El Argar due to the daggers, correspond to level B of El Argar. This suggests the later onset of the Southwest Bronze Age (around 1600/1500 BC). The end of Stage II (1100-850) of the Southwest Bronze Age (also called "Santa Vitória Stage") is determined by the beginning of prehistoric cultures. In the transition period, a third stage should be inserted before the Iron Age , which extends from around 850 to 650 BC. And in a broader sense can be counted as part of the Southwest Bronze Age. As a result, the Iron Age and the southwest script (Escrita do Sudoeste) developed there.
The mapping of the copper ore deposits on the Iberian Peninsula shows an accumulation in the distribution area of the El Argar culture and a concentration in the distribution area of the southwest Bronze Age. It can be assumed that the copper ore deposits were the reason for the development of a Bronze Age culture, through which the area stood out from the basin landscapes of the Guadalquivir and Tejo rivers, which were not in possession of larger copper deposits.
Sculpted steles or relief plates, on which the weapon ensemble of the buried person such as sword, dagger , hatchet, bow, belt and other equipment possibly even a peculiar shield shape, belong to the later stage of the Southwest Bronze Age . Compared to the large number of stone boxes, that of the relief slabs is small. So the relief plates can be assigned with certainty to outstanding personalities, possibly the chiefs or "reguli", as they were called in the Iron Age in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, at least a group out of the general population.
So far, almost only necropolises or individual graves have been examined. Settlement research in this area has not been carried out with the same intensity, so that fewer settlements are known and only a few have been investigated through excavations. Terrain research and mapping can show that settlements with Bronze Age remains and burial grounds are often found in the same landscapes, so that their togetherness and simultaneity can be assumed.
literature
- Hermanfrid Schubart : Burial mounds in honeycomb systems Atalaia and the Southwest Bronze Age In: Hermanfrid Schubart et al. (Ed.) Finds in Portugal. Muster-Schmidt, Göttingen / Zurich 1993 ISBN 3-7881-1512-2
- Hermanfrid Schubart: The culture of the bronze age in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula , Madrid research vol. 9. de Gruyter, Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-11-002339-3