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The Iberian stelae of the Final Bronze Age: Iconography, Technology and the Transfer of Knowledge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean 

As estelas ibéricas da Idade do Bronze Final: iconografia, tecnologia e a transferência de conhecimento entre o Atlântico e o Mediterrâneo

Las estelas ibéricas del Bronce Final: iconografia, tecnología y a transferencia de conocimiento entre el Atlántico y el Mediterráneo

Die Iberischen Stelen der Spätbronzezeit: Bildkunst, Technologie und Wissenstransfer zwischen Atlantik und Mittelmeer

Funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG, Projektnummer: AR 1305/2-1

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Stelae made of hard rock: 1. Baraçal 1, granite; 2. Brozas, gabbro; 3. Robledillo, granite; 4. Capilla 8, quartzite; 5. Capilla 1, quartzite; (1: courtesy of Raquel Vilaça, 2-5: photographs Ralph Araque).

Die archäologische Überlieferung der Spätbronzezeit auf der Iberischen Halbinsel (ca. 1300-800 v. Chr.) ist in vielen Regionen lückenhaft: es sind nahezu keine Gräber, nur spärliche Siedlungsreste und wenige Hortfunde sowie Bergbauspuren bekannt. Umso größer ist daher die Bedeutung der mit komplexen Bildwerken verzierten Iberischen Stelen, denn die Darstellungen von anthropomorphen Figuren, Tieren und Gegenständen sind eine einzigartige archäologische Quelle für die Untersuchung dieser Epoche. Dank jener Denkmäler sind nicht nur Bilder überliefert, die im sonstigen Befund unbekannte Objekte zeigen, sie liefern auch Hinweise auf spirituelle und ideologische Konzepte, die kognitiven Fähigkeiten der Künstler sowie Steinbearbeitungstechniken.

Das Kulturphänomen hatte nach aktuellem Forschungsstand seinen Ursprung in der Beira Interior in Portugal und in der Alta Extremadura in Spanien, wo seit der Kupferzeit eine lange Tradition von Statuen-Menhiren und Stelen bestand. Darum sollen dort umfassende Regionalstudien durchgeführt werden, welche eine Untersuchung zur diachronen und synchronen Entwicklung der Felskunst, Landschafts- und Materialanalysen sowie eine Ausgrabung vorsieht. Die Region fungierte durch die geografische Lage als Mittler zwischen dem Atlantik und dem Süden Iberiens. Die Stelen waren bald bis nach Andalusien verbreitet, und die Motive belegen Verbindungen zum Mittelmeerraum. Folglich sollen sie auch im überregionalen Rahmen als ein charakteristischer kultureller Ausdruck der iberischen Netzwerke untersucht werden.

Ca. 50% der bekannten Stelen sind in Hartgesteine wie Granit oder Quarzit gehauen. Die Bearbeitung solcher Materialien mit bronzezeitlichen Werkzeugen ist bislang ungeklärt. Es ist jedoch unerlässlich, zu verstehen wie die Stelen gemacht sind, um zu erkennen, warum die Symbole in Hartgestein gemeißelt wurden. In einem grundlegend neuen Ansatz sollen die Stelen als komplexe Bildträger untersucht werden, wobei die symbolträchtigen Bilder und das als Projektionsfläche genutzte Gesteinsmaterial sowie die Position in der Landschaft als untrennbare kognitive Einheit betrachtet werden.

Ziel des Forschungsvorhabens ist eine kohärente und systematische Untersuchung der Stelen in Hinblick auf ihre symbolische und gesellschaftliche Bedeutung, die handwerkliche Leistung der Künstler und das Netzwerk der interkulturellen Kommunikation zwischen atlantischen und mediterranen Regionen, das für einen kontinuierlichen Wissens- und Technologietransfer sorgte. Dies soll mit einem multidisziplinären Forscherteam und einem Instrumentarium welches digitale Dokumentation, Geo- und Materialwissenschaften, Petrologie, Experimentalarchäologie, Landschaftsanalyse (GIS), Netzwerkanalysen, Bildwissenschaften sowie kognitive und Sozialarchäologie umfasst, erreicht werden.

Summary English

The archaeological record of Late Bronze Age (LBA) Iberia (c. 1300-800 BC) is fragmentary in many areas: sparse remains of settlement and nearly no detectable burials are complemented by traces of metal hoarding and remains of mining activities. Taking this into account, the western Iberian stelae with their depictions of anthropomorphic figures, animals and selected objects are of unique importance for the investigation of this era. These monuments do not only show pictorial representations of artefacts otherwise unknown in the archaeological record, but they also represent spiritual and ideological concepts, the cognitive abilities of the artists, as well as the technical possibilities of stone-working. 

According to recent research, this cultural phenomenon had its origins in the Beira Interior in Portugal and in the neighbouring Alta Extremadura, where statue-menhirs and stelae had a longstanding tradition from the Chalcolithic onwards. A regional in-depth study of this area, comprised of the diachronic and synchronic evaluation of rock art, landscape archaeology, materials analysis and excavation, shall therefore be conducted. The region functioned as a pivotal node between the Atlantic shores and the Mediterranean South of Iberia. The stelae were soon widespread in Extremadura and Andalusia, while they show obvious references to Mediterranean motifs. For this reason, the stelae will also be investigated in their cross-regional context as characteristic manifestations of the Iberian networks.

Almost 50% of all stelae have been carved into hard rock such as granite or quartzite. The carving of such materials with prehistoric technologies remains unexplained and unexplored. It is however essential to understand how the stelae were actually made to be able to interpret why the respective symbols were carved into hard rock. In a pioneering approach, the stelae will be studied as multifaceted image media by considering the depictions together with the materials used to screen the symbolic information and their positioning in the landscape as an inseparable cognitive unit.

The Iberian stelae could not be appropriately studied in their archaeological contexts since none of them so far have been found in situ. For the investigation of the vast majority of stelae, only interpretative drawings of the designs are available. These vary significantly from one publication to the next and generally ignore the rock type, structure, and mineralogy.It is the aim of this project to provide a deeper understanding of the communicative, socio-material meanings of stelae as manifestations of the advances and travels of craftspeople who were actors in the symbolic structuring of social realities in LBA Iberia. Due to the lack of analysis and technological studies, this research project will put emphasis on materials science, which will be complemented by experimental archaeology. Systematic material culture studies of ancient stone-working techniques are a desideratum of Bronze Age research, since the results will be implementable for any archaeological environment featuring rock art.

The main objective of this project is a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the stelae to provide insights into their symbolic and societal significance as well as information on the artists, their social roles, skills, technology transfer and the network of intercultural communications between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean that provided them with a flow of ideas and knowledge. This research will take into account the perspectives of masonry, craftsmanship and technology transfer that will be integrated into micro- as well as macro scale regional studies. The stelae will be examined as multifaceted image media, considering the materials used to screen the symbolic information of designs and their positioning in the landscape as inseparable cognitive units. This will significantly enhance the knowledge on supra-regional connectivity in the LBA as well as on the stelae’s role as a means of communication and on prehistoric strategies of visual communication through persistent symbolic complexes in general.

The project objectives will be achieved through multidisciplinary cooperation of the research group and an approach that encompasses digital recording, geoscience, petrology, materials science, experimental archaeology, landscape and network analysis, visual culture studies, cognitive and social archaeology. The combination of data from scientific analysis (geoscientific and metallurgical analyses) and landscape archaeology with visual and material culture studies is resulting in a broad interpretative framework.

Verbreitungskarte der spätbronzezeitlichen Stelen in Iberien und Südfrankreich.

Distribution map of LBA stelae in Iberia and southern France.

Mapa de las estelas del Bronce Final de la Península Ibérica y en el Sud de Francia.

 

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