OF LA ALMOLOYA

In red, the areas where we excavated below the levels of the latest occupation phase and found the two underlying ones. THE THREE OVERLYING SETTLEMENTS OF LA ALMOLOYA

Looking at snapshots of before and after can be quite useful in getting an idea of how much the surface of the hill changed throughout the three archaeological seasons (2013-2015).

We can observe a very sophisticated urban planning structured in nine architectural complexes separated by narrow alleys. Each complex is subdivided into a variable number of rooms, workshops and warehouses and, beneath them, almost a hundred tombs have been documented. In addition, one of the northern complexes has a cistern. There is an enclosed area that stands out above the others: it is a large meeting room, which was the first space that was explicitly political and permanent in the prehistory of continental Europe.

All of this architectural network was in use during the last two centuries of Argaric society. The radiocarbon dating method places this phase between 1750 and 1550 BCE. La Almoloya also has older remains in the strata located a few metres below the most recent urban complex. We have accessed these deposits in a small area in the south of the plateau, without damaging the rich heritage of this last phase. Thanks to this, we know that there were two “Almoloyas” before that of the final, peak phase.

These two underlying villages were organised differently and had different quality buildings and layout from the one that today occupies the surface. To the south of the plateau, and occasionally in other areas, we have managed to reach the bedrock or geological substrate. The sedimentary sequence, that is the superposition of strata corresponding to the three main phases in the occupation of La Almoloya, illustrates a surprising social development with notable changes in architecture, tools, weapons, rituals and, above all, in the manifestations of power.

Plan of the final phase of La Almoloya (1750-1550 BCE)