Motillas

The motillas during the Iberian Bronze Age

The motillas were the early settlements of La Mancha (Spain) belonging to the Middle Bronze Age, and connected to the Bronze of Levante culture. These were human-made hills atop of which are placed fortified settlements. Their height is usually between four and five meters and the motillas are separated from each other by a distance of four or five kilometers. Their construction started c. 2200 BC and they were used for about 1000 years.

History of research

The motillas were first believed to be antique burial mounds. However, this theory was ruled out when an excavation at the Motilla de Azuer that took place in the seventies proved their defensive and management faculties. This way, a wide area could be controlled easily.

Some similar sites in the foothills of Sierra Morena mountains are fortified towns of larger size.

Construction and use

The motillas were constructed in the period of c. 2200 BCE-1200 BCE.[1] They were needed as a consequence of severe aridification that affected this wide geographical area. They were also used as a control center of agricultural resources. They were no longer used after the end of the Argarian civilization.

Recently, archaeologists have suggested that these structures are mainly connected with water management, and agricultural production,

"Motilla del Azuer contains the oldest well known from the Iberian Peninsula and the archaeologists suspect that the walled enclosures were therefore used to protect and manage the livelihood of the people living in the settlement: to secure the well’s water, to store and process cereals on a large scale, to occasionally keep the livestock, and to produce pottery and other domestic artefacts."[2]

According to Moreno et al., who reported the first paleohidrogeological interdisciplinary research in La Mancha,

"Recent studies show that the “motilla” sites from the Bronze Age in La Mancha may be the most ancient system of groundwater collection in the Iberian Peninsula. ... These were built during the Climatic Event 4.2 ka cal BP, in a time of environmental stress due to a period of severe, prolonged drought."[3]

The authors' analysis verified a relationship between the geological substrate and the spatial distribution of the “motillas”.

Similar structures

Nuragic holy wells in Sardinia, recently redated earlier to the Mycenaean Greece period, may provide a parallel to motillas.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mejías Moreno, M., Benítez de Lugo Enrich, L., Pozo Tejado, J. del y Moraleda Sierra, J. 2014. Los primeros aprovechamientos de aguas subterráneas en la Península Ibérica. Las motillas de Daimiel en la Edad del Bronce de La Mancha. Boletín Geológico y Minero, 125 (4): 455-474 ISSN 0366-0176
  2. ↑ Motilla del Azuer - A Bronze Age Wonder 2015 eyeonspain.com
  3. ↑ Mejías Moreno, M., Benítez de Lugo Enrich, L., Pozo Tejado, J. del y Moraleda Sierra, J. 2014. Los primeros aprovechamientos de aguas subterráneas en la Península Ibérica. Las motillas de Daimiel en la Edad del Bronce de La Mancha. Boletín Geológico y Minero, 125 (4): 455-474 ISSN 0366-0176

External links

References

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