Almudena Orejas Saco del Valle

Las zonas arqueológicas como paisajes culturales: el parque arqueológico de Las Médulas(León)

Ejemplar dedicado a: Homenaje al profesor Manuel Fernandez-Miranda II / coord. por Maria Angeles Querol Fernandez, Maria Teresa Chapa Brunet

Water networks of Roman gold mines of Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

This paper presents a synthesis of the work done by the research group Social Structure and Territory—Landscape Archaeology (Institute of History, CSIC) in North Western Spain, for which the study and analysis of hydraulic networks related to Roman mining exploitation has been a fundamental part. The gold-bearing areas of the Iberian Peninsula’s North West had a great importance for the Roman Empire, which integrates their exploitation in the overall control of the territory from the very beginning of the 1st century AD. To ensure the essential supply of water for the whole of the mining process was one of the main axes of the reorganization of the provincial territories. The aim of this paper is to present both the historical context of these water networks and the methodology and approach of our work, in which the fieldwork and network analysis is an important research aim. We will do this by using the example of the Roman gold mines of the Sierra de Francia region where an extensive and very well preserved hydraulic system has been recorded and analysed. Our team has gathered archaeological evidence for the study of water networks and mining exploitation and their incidence on the revaluation of natural resources in the region.

Late Antique Environment and Economy in the North of the Iberian Peninsula: The Site of La Tabacalera (Asturias, Spain)

The exceptional preservation of organic remains in a well-reservoir at the site of La Tabacalera (Asturias, Spain) is the subject of an interdisciplinary study regarding past human-environmental interaction. The feature, dated to Late Antiquity, corresponds to a large well containing a wide range of organic material (animal bones, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs ( NPP s), mites, seeds, wood and wooden artefacts, etc.). This article examines both plant micro (pollen and NPP s) and macro-remains (seeds and wood) dated between the late 5th–8th c. AD . The palynological evidence suggests that the structure investigated was colonised by different species dominated by ivy, while the surrounding anthropised area was characterised by the presence of open areas, probably occupied by meadows and pastures. A mixed deciduous forest was also present not far from the site. The abundant plant macro-remains include the presence of water-loving woody species, which inform us about the vegetation growing around the well-reservoir. The seed record comprises cultivated plants, and a wide range of wild species typical of humid environments. Among the remains there are also some wooden artefacts. Plant remains have provided significant information, not only to reconstruct the landscape around the site, but also on the formation of the feature’s backfill. Moreover, the remains offer us information regarding objects of daily life and the maintenance of the feature.

Augusto y el control administrativo y territorial de las zonas mineras del Noroeste hispano

Se presenta una vision de sintesis sobre las reformas de Augusto en el Noroeste hispano y el impacto que supusieron sobre la organizacion social y territorial. Esta reorganizacion fue la base sobre la que se asento la puesta en marcha de la mineria de oro, que debe considerarse un elemento mas dentro de la explotacion integral de los recursos provinciales, no como una actividad economica sectorial. La sintesis se apoya en los resultados de intervenciones recientes en diversas zonas mineras del Noroeste peninsular, entre los que se destacan aquellos que responden a medidas tomadas en epoca de Augusto o que son consecuencia directa de ellas.