Zambujal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zambujal, view from east to west over line IV in the foreground, line III in the center of the picture, on line II and I in front of the farmhouse in the background on the left

Zambujal (also Castro do Zambujal) is a fortified settlement from the Copper Age (3rd and 2nd millennium BC) on the Iberian Peninsula . It is located on a mountain spur near Torres Vedras in Portugal . Through geoarchaeological investigations, in particular drilling in the floodplain of the Rio Sizandro and the inflowing Ribeira de Pedrulhos, it was established that the settlement of the 3rd millennium. v. Was only about one kilometer away from a now silted arm of the sea. Zambujal belongs to a number of localities in which the earliest copper - Metallurgy was detected on the Iberian Peninsula. These include Los Millares in Spain ( Almería province ), Valencina de la Concepción ( Seville province ), Cabezo Juré ( Huelva province ), and in Portugal Alcalar ( Algarve ), Vila Nova de São Pedro ( Lisbon district ) and Leceia (in the Near the mouth of the Tejo ). Before the middle of the 3rd millennium BC In today's Portuguese Estremadura, the so-called bell beaker phenomenon seems to have arisen. Zambujal belongs to the area of ​​early metallurgy on the Iberian Peninsula and to the core area of ​​the bell beaker movement, which then spread relatively quickly in Europe.

Discovery and excavation

When Leonel de Freitas Sampaio Trindade discovered the complex in 1932, only a small hill could be seen behind a farmhouse. The first excavations were carried out under the direction of Leonel Trindade together with Aurélio Ricardo Belo in 1959, 1960 and 1961. The German Archaeological Institute, Madrid Department (DAI Madrid) carried out in cooperation with the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory of the University of Freiburg in 1964, 1966, 1968 , Carried out excavations in 1970, 1971 and 1973 under the direction of Edward Sangmeister and Hermanfrid Schubart . In 1994, the DAI began new excavations, which concentrate on the area of ​​the partially collapsed farmhouse, on outer areas in the east and north, and on the area below the steep slope in the west. You are not finished yet. The first two campaigns, in 1994 and 1995, were led by Michael Kunst (DAI) and Hans-Peter Uerpmann from the University of Tübingen , the 2002 campaign led by Michael Kunst and Elena Morán (now the city archaeologist of Lagos (Portugal) ) and Rui Parreira (today Direção Regional de Cultura do Algarve Faro Portugal). Michael Kunst directed the 2004 and 2007 campaigns with the support of Nina Lutz ( University of Marburg ).

Construction and construction phases

Zambujal, view from east to west on lines II and I; in the middle of the picture the barbican, in front of it the hollow towers B (left) and A (right)

The so-called center of the complex, which consisted of a citadel roughly elliptical in shape, is particularly well preserved. To the east, i.e. up the slope, three further wall lines (line II to IV) have been found that secured the mountain spur, at the end of which the citadel (line I) sits, in the form of successive section fortifications. Most of the walls have been reinforced several times over the course of time with external or internal shells. On the east side of the citadel, a semicircular wall, sometimes 4 m high, has been preserved, which only has small loopholes-like openings on the inside. Hence the name of the complex as a barbican , formerly also a kennel. They were later added by a new wall cladding. In the interior of the facility, copper manufacturing has been in operation at all times . Conversions show that the defense concept has been changed several times.

Through vertical and horizontal stratigraphic observations and related, sometimes strategic considerations on the relationships between the buildings, a total of 16 successive building phases could be identified, which could be combined into five concepts.

  • Phase 1: Massive towers are connected by a wall about one meter wide using two-shell technology. In the center there is a small citadel (line I), which is secured up the slope by various arched section fortifications (line II-IV) to the east. Starting from here, radial walls between the section fortifications divide the square into small courtyards that ring the citadel.
  • Phase 2: The citadel and presumably other lines, such as, for example, are built through semicircular walls with small openings (probably loopholes ) in the form of barbican. B. indicates a large semicircular wall in line III, reinforced.
  • Phase 3: The loopholes are closed by a wall shell placed in front of them and further modifications. Barbican and other small courtyards and semicircular towers are filled with large stones so that elevated platforms are created.
  • Phase 4: In front of the walls from phase 3, hollow round towers are placed on the sides, with a superstructure in the form of a cantilever vault - one also speaks of false domes.
  • Phase 5: After large parts of the walls of the first and second line had collapsed, a new wall with small entrances was built over it, but nothing was left of it.

The complex was many times larger than previously assumed, as initially shown by the discovery of the fourth line of the wall with semicircular towers, which has a similar building history to the center. However, through prospecting in recent years, numerous finds have been found on the site east of the fourth line, further up the slope. Copper has been used inside at all times. Various living areas were documented within the enclosure , but also on the slope below the mountain spur on which the fortification is located seems to have been settled. So far, however, very few remains of round houses have been found, which in no way correspond to the number of people who would have been necessary for the construction and defense of the complex. The nearby bay was of fundamental importance for the settlement, not only for food, as is shown by the remains of fish and mussels, but probably also for the transport of various materials used in Zambujal such as amphibolite , ivory and copper as well as for barter. The end of the settlement in the Bronze Age (only a few finds show a loose settlement up to the transition to the Iron Age and then again from the Middle Ages) could be related to the silting up of the bay. The finds from the excavations are kept in the Museu Municipal Leonel Trindade de Torres Vedras .

literature

Monographs (by year of publication)

  • Edward Sangmeister , Hermanfrid Schubart : Zambujal. The excavations from 1964 to 1973. (= Madrid contributions. Volume 5). With contributions from Av d.Driesch u. J. Boessneck, M. Hopf, G. Sperl, B. Kleinmann. Zambujal part 1. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1981, ISBN 3-8053-0055-7 .
  • Michael Art : Zambujal. Bell beakers and ceramics decorated with notched leaves from the excavations between 1964 and 1973 . (= Madrid contributions. Volume 5). Zambujal part 2. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0884-1 .
  • Edward Sangmeister, María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: Zambujal. Copper finds from the excavations from 1964 to 1973; Los Amuletos de las Campañas 1964 hasta 1973 . (= Madrid contributions. 5). Zambujal part 3. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-8053-1571-6 .
  • Hans-Peter Uerpmann , Margarethe Uerpmann: Zambujal. The stone and leg artifacts from the excavations from 1964 to 1973 . (= Madrid contributions. 5). Zambujal part 4. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-8053-2870-2 .

Articles (alphabetical order)

  • Felix Arnold, Michael Kunst: For the reconstruction of the Copper Age fortifications on the Iberian Peninsula. Tower B of Zambujal (Torres Vedras, Lisboa, Portugal). In: Madrid Communications . 52, 2011, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut / Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-89500-825-2 , pp. 36–86 (plates 1–12).
  • Katharina Cordes, Andreas Gut , Thomas Schuhmacher: On the question of the 'Schieß-Scharte' in Zambujal. In: Madrid Communications. 31, 1990, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1991, ISBN 3-8053-1192-3 , pp. 83-108 (plate 15).
  • Rainer Dambeck, Heinrich Thiemeyer, Nico Herrmann, Arie J. Kalis, Michael Kunst, Alan Lord, Holger Rittweger, Hans-Peter Stika, Astrid Stobbe: Holocene valley development and landscape change on the Rio Sizandro. Geoarchaeological contributions to the project ›Sizandro - Alcabrichel‹ (Torres Vedras, Portugal). In: Madrid Communications. 51, Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-89500-753-8 , pp. 9–41 (Fig. 1–7, Tab. 1–3).
  • Gerd Hoffmann: On the Holocene landscape development in the valley of the Rio Sizandro (Portugal). In: Madrid Communications. 31, 1990, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1991, ISBN 3-8053-1192-3 , pp. 21-33 (plate 2).
  • Michael Kunst: Cylindrical vessels, notched leaf decoration and bell beakers in Zambujal (Portugal). A contribution to the Copper Age ceramic chronology. In: Madrid Communications. 36, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-8053-1735-2 , pp. 136-149 (plates 13-14).
  • Michael Kunst, Nina Lutz: Zambujal (Torres Vedras, Portugal). For the precision of the absolute chronology through the examinations on the fourth line of fortifications. In: Madrid Communications. 49, Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-89500-654-8 , pp. 29-63 (color plate 3; plates 1-15).
  • Michael Kunst, Hans-Peter Uerpmann: Zambujal (Portugal). Preliminary report on the excavations in 1994. In: Madrider Mitteilungen. 37, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1996, ISBN 3-8053-1833-2 , pp. 10–36 (Taf. 2–9).
  • Michael art, Leonel Joaquim Trindade: On the settlement history of the Sizandrotals. Results from coastal research. In: Madrid Communications. 31, 1990, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1991, ISBN 3-8053-1192-3 , pp. 34-82 (Taf. 3-14).
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart: Excavations in the Copper Age fortification of Zambujal / Portugal 1964. In: Madrider Mitteilungen. 6, FH Kerle Verlag, Heidelberg 1965, pp. 39–64 (Fig. 11–21, Pl. 13–26).
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, excavations in the Copper Age fortification of Zambujal / Portugal 1966, In: Madrider Mitteilungen. 8, 1967, FH Kerle Verlag, Heidelberg 1968, pp. 47-78 (Pl. 7-13).
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, excavations in the Copper Age fortification of Zambujal / Portugal 1968, In: Madrider Mitteilungen. 10, 1969, FH Kerle Verlag, Heidelberg 1970, pp. 11-44 (Figs. 6-7, plates 1-8).
  • Thomas G. Schattner (ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world . Volume 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-2313-1 , pp. 131-134.

Portuguese publications (alphabetical order)

  • Michael Kunst (Coord.): Origens, Estruturas e Relações das Culturas Calcolíticas da Península Ibérica. Actas das I Jornadas Arqueológicas de Torres Vedras, 3 a 5 de Abril de 1987 . Trabalhos de Arqueologia Volume 7. Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico, Lisboa 1995, ISBN 972-8087-15-2 , pp. 17-53.
  • Michael Kunst, Hans-Peter Uerpmann: Zambujal (Torres Vedras, Lisboa). Relatório das escavações de 1994 e 1995. In: Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia 5, 1. Instituto Português de Arqueologia 2002. ISSN  0874-2782 , pp. 67-120.
  • Afonso do Paço, Vera Leisner, Leonel Trindade, Hermanfrid Schubart, Octávio da Veiga Ferreira: "Castro do Zambujal (Torres Vedras)". In: "Boletim da junta distrital de Lisboa" (II Série) 61-62, 1964, pp. 279-306.
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, Leonel Trindade: Escavações no Castro Eneolítico do Zambujal (Torres Vedras - Portugal) 1964 . Torres Vedras 1966.
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, Leonel Trindade: Escavações no Castro Eneolítico do Zambujal 1966. In: O Arqueólogo português. N, p. 3, vol. 3, 1969, pp. 71-114.
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, Leonel Trindade: Escavações na fortificação eneolítica do Zambujal 1968. In: O Arqueólogo português. N, p. 3, volume 4, 1970, pp. 65-114.
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, Leonel Trindade: Escavações na fortificação da Idade do Cobre do Zambujal / Portugal 1970. In: O Arqueólogo português. N, p. 3, vol. 5, 1971, pp. 51-96.
  • Edward Sangmeister, Hermanfrid Schubart, Leonel Trindade: Escavações na fortificação da Idade do Cobre do Zambujal / Portugal 1972/73. In: O Arqueólogo português. N, p. 3, Vol. 7-9, 1974-1977, 1979, pp. 125-140.

Web links

Coordinates: 39 ° 4 ′ 28 ″  N , 9 ° 17 ′ 8 ″  W.