RT Journal Article
T1 Archaeoastronomy in Bronze Age sites of La Mancha (Spain)
A1 Esteban, César
A1 Benítez de Lugo Enrich, Luis
AB We present archaeoastronomical results of an interdisciplinary project to study Bronze Age sites of the socalled Cultura de las Motillas in the Spanish region of La Mancha. We find that winter solstice sunrise was ofspecial importance in the funerary and perhaps religious practises of these peoples. The impressive megalithic monumental complex of Castillejo del Bonete shows a remarkable marker of the winter solstice sunrise on the most peculiar mountain of its horizon as well as alignments with this and other singular solar events as equinox and summer solstice. There seems to be a correspondence between the orientations of some of the main architectural structures of the monument and the general arrangement of two of the maingalleries of a natural cave that lies just beneath it. Markers and orientations to the winter solstice sunriseseem to be present in other nearby contemporary sites such as the necropolis of Cerro Ortega and the motilla of El Azuer. Castillejo del Bonete stands as the first evidence of a clear solar marker in a megalithic site of the Iberian Peninsula, indicating that the precise location of the monument was carefully chosen. The alignments defined by several of its structures further reinforce its astronomical symbolism.
PB The University of the Aegean, Greece
SN 1108-9628
YR 2016
FD 2016
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/23882
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/23882
LA eng
NO Junta de Comunidades de Castilla La Mancha/Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 9 abr 2025