RT Journal Article
T1 New Dates for the Emergence of the Megalithic Phenomenon on the Iberian Plateau: The Funerary Practices of Valdelasilla, Toledo (Spain)
A1 Barroso Bermejo, Rosa
A1 Bueno-Ramírez, Primitiva
A1 Cerrillo Cuenca, Enrique
A1 Martínez-Sevilla, Francisco
A1 Sáez Martínez, Marcos
A1 Cambra-Moo, Óscar
A1 Rojas Rodríguez-Malo, Juan Manuel
A1 Castañeda Clemente, Nuria
A1 Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, Marta
A1 Moraga Vaz, Patricia
A1 Vicente Navarro, Alejandro
A1 Altamirano García, Manuel
A1 Alvarez-Fernández, Esteban
AB This study presents an analysis of funerary practices at the site of Valdelasilla (Illescas, Toledo, Spain). The methodology integratesthe morphological study of burial structures, anthropological analyses, a consideration of grave goods and the radiocarbon datingof human bone. The chronological data indicate funerary activity at the site from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period.Bayesian modelling confirms the establishment of a planned cemetery by the end of the fifth millennium cal. BC, featuring smallburial chambers organized around a larger tomb enclosed by a ditch. The burial chambers, which were constructed from wood,clay and small stones, created distinct spaces for the deceased. This embryonic form of monumentalization, the funerary practicesobserved and the early chronology link Valdelasilla to other peninsular cemeteries associated with the emergence of megalithism,now identified for the first time on the plateau. The location of the necropolis offers new insights into the role of inland regions inthe emergence of Iberian and European megalithism.
PB Cambridge University Press
SN 0959-7743
YR 2026
FD 2026-05-11
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/136701
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/136701
LA eng
NO Barroso Bermejo, R., Bueno-Ramírez, P., Cerrillo-Cuenca, E., Martínez-Sevilla, F., Sáez Martínez, M., Cambra-Moo, O., … Alvarez-Fernández, E. (2026). New Dates for the Emergence of the Megalithic Phenomenon on the Iberian Plateau: The Funerary Practices of Valdelasilla, Toledo (Spain). Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 1–19. doi:10.1017/S0959774326100559
DS Docta Complutense
RD 23 jun 2026