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The history of agricultural terraces remains poorly understood due to problems in dating their construction and use. This has hampered broader research on their significance, limiting knowledge of past agricultural practices and the long-term investment choices of rural communities. The authors apply OSL profiling and dating to the sediments associated with agricultural terraces across the Mediterranean region to date their construction and use. Results from five widely dispersed case studies reveal that although many terraces were used in the first millennium AD, the most intensive episodes of terrace-building occurred during the later Middle Ages (c. AD 1100-1600). This innovative approach provides the first large-scale evidence for both the longevity and medieval intensification of Mediterranean terraces., Newton Fund; British Academy; UK Research and Innovation; Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK); European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; European Commission (EC); Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness; Xunta de Galicia; Dumbarton Oaks; Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust (UK)

This paper presents an interdisciplinary methodology to help better understand the evolution of the use and reuse of stone material in the construction sequence of historical buildings. A combination of petrological analyses, stratigraphic analyses of walls, geochemical characterisation and absolute dating of mortars using optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating, the study of written sources and photogrammetry is applied to the case study of San Martino de Armental, a rural parish church from NW Iberia. Results reveal a much more complex history and evolution than previously thought for this church, with the discovery of the remains of a tenth century AD building still standing in some parts of the building. This first church was already made of reused ashlars from one or several unknown buildings. Later Romanesque and modern phases still reuse some of these ashlars while incorporating new stone material. All the stones and mortars of the church seem to have local origin, although there are differences in their composition depending on the construction phase they belong to. Basing on these results, we will discuss in the last part of the paper how the reuse of materials can become an interesting reflection of the different construction techniques used and the level of economic investment made by those who promoted the work.

Geophysical exploration methods allow the detection of archaeological features before any excavation is carried out on these sites. This is due to the contrast of properties between the buried archaeological structures and objects and the surrounding soil, sediment, or rock. Although Gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) is [widely] used for geological exploration and mapping, it has been scarcely used in archaeology so far, despite the successful results of previous studies on the matter. In situ GRS is a non-destructive method that allows direct assessment of uranium-238 (238U) and thorium-232 (232Th) from daughter radionuclides of their decay chains, as well as potassium-40 (40K), on soils and rock outcrops. The technique documents the concentration of these isotope concentrations in the topsoil by surface measurements and this enhances its potential for archaeological exploration. However, two assumptions must be made: the archaeological objects must contain a different concentration of radionuclides than the surrounding sediment or soil, and they must be buried in the terrain less than 25–30 cm deep. In this work, we present the results of the use of in situ GRS for the study of a buried structure in the archaeological site of Cidadela (Galicia, NW Spain). Firstly, we have tested in situ spot GRS measurements to detect rock-built structures buried in the sediments; secondly, we have excavated the surveyed area. The results are reliable despite the low radioactive content of the rocks used as building materials, given that the burying and sediments also have low amounts of radioactive isotopes. Although the direct use of the estimates of K, U and Th has not proved successful, the use of U/Th, Th/K and U/K ratios provided reliable results, This research has been funded by project Marie Curie Career Integration Grant “EMCHAHE: Early Medieval Churches: History, Archaeology and Heritage” (Grant agreement ‐ PCIG12‐GA‐2012‐334068) and TERPOMED project (funded by a Xunta de Galicia 2016 Excellence Projects Grants). The University Institute of Geology of the University of A Coruña (Spain) also received support from the Xunta de Galicia with from the programs “Consolidación y estructuración de unidades de investigación competitivas: Grupos de potencial de crecimiento” (GPC2015/024) and Redes de investigación (ED431D 2017/08). The Lab2PT - Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory - AUR/04509 is supported by the Portuguese “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (FCT UID/AUR/04509/2013), with Portuguese funds and when applicable of the FEDER co-financing, in the aim of the new partnership agreement PT2020 and COMPETE2020 - POCI 01 0145 FEDER 007528.

Este artículo tiene como objetivo profundizar en el conocimiento arqueológico de las técnicas constructivas altomedievales del noroeste peninsular, y la dimensión social en las que éstas se enmarcan, a través del estudio comparativo de tres iglesias de la actual provincia de Ourense: Santa Eufemia de Ambía, San Xés de Francelos y San Martiño de Pazó. Para ello, partimos de un trabajo extensivo previo en el que se realizó una prospección arqueológica para documentar posibles restos de iglesias altomedievales. Se seleccionaron, entre otras, estas tres iglesias y se hizo una lectura veloz de sus paramentos combinada con la datación absoluta de los morteros de tierra de las fases altomedievales mediante Luminiscencia Ópticamente Estimulada y radiocarbono. Esta metodología, completada con una revisión historiográfica de cada edificio, nos permitirá observar de cerca las transformaciones en las técnicas constructivas que tienen lugar en esta zona entre los siglos IX y X y contextualizarlas en el marco más amplio de los estudios sobre arquitectura altomedieval en la península ibérica This paper aims to explore from an archaeological point of view, the constructive techniques and their social implications in northwest Iberia during the early middle ages by means of the comparative study of three standing churches in the current province of Ourense: Santa Eufemia de Ambía, San Xés de Francelos and San Martiño de Pazó. Our departure point is a previous extensive architectural survey focused to identify early medieval church remains in the area, in which these three churches were selected for further study. Then we applied a speedy stratigraphical analysis of their walls combined with the absolute dating of the earth mortars from the early medieval phases through Optically Stimulated Luminescence and Radiocarbon. This methodology, complemented by a historiographical review of each building, will allow us to discuss the transformations in the construction techniques that took place in this area between the 9th and 10th centuries and to contextualize them in the broader framework of the studies on early medieval architecture in the Iberian Peninsula Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto EMCHAHE: Early Medieval Churches: History, Archaeology and Heritage (2013-2017) financiado por una ayuda europea Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (Grant agreement - PCIG12-GA-2012-334068) de la Agencia Europea de Investigación (Frame Program 7). Parte de la investigación ha sido también financiada por una ayuda de la Xunta de Galicia a redes de grupos de investigación (red “Consiliencia”, 2014-2016) SI

Archaeology of churches can be a powerful and interesting platform to study Late Antique and Early Medieval societies. However, in Northwest Spain this topic remains limited to stylistic and typological studies, despite being a very promising area of study, given the high density of ecclesiastical foundations that reflect Late Antique texts. The first step in order to begin this kind of research is to collect and analyze the features and problems of the available material data. According this idea, the first part of this work intends to carry out a brief but complete recompilation and critical review (in some extent, for the first time) of the available but scattered material information on ecclesiastical structures in Late Antique Galicia, this is, between 5thand 8thcenturies. This catalogue, of 50 cases, will be based both in previous archaeological works and stylistic-typological approaches from the History of Art. These two areas have initiated in the last years interesting and intense debates about t...

Following a previous collection and analysis of the archaeological evidences about church buildings in Galicia between the end of the Roman Empire and the consolidation of the Astur Kingdom, and their role in the landscape, this work focuses on the social processes that these foundations seems to reflect along time. The main objective is not to offer a comprehensive study of society and church life of this period but, rather, to reflect from a broad and comparative perspective on the meaning and importance of the foundations of churches between 5th-8th centuries in this «peripheral» area of the Late Antique world. From this perspective we can distinguish two main stages that roughly correspond to two major processes and contexts. First, the peak time of supra-local powers, especially bishops, in relation to the survival of late roman economical structures, and the control of church-building until mid seventh century. Subsequently, the definitive end of the late roman landscape and the consequent political fragmentation will promove a stronger role of local elites in the creation of churches. This change is mainly represented by the monasteries, as focus of stability in this time of sociopolitical transitions., A partir de la recopilación y análisis previo de las evidencias arqueológicas conocidas sobre edificios eclesiásticos en Galicia entre el fin del Imperio romano y la consolidación del Reino Astur y de su papel en el paisaje, se reflexiona aquí sobre los procesos sociales que estas fundaciones parecen reflejar en cada momento. El objetivo principal no es tanto el de ofrecer un estudio exhaustivo de la sociedad ni la vida eclesiástica de este período, sino el de reflexionar desde una perspectiva amplia y comparativa sobre el significado e importancia de las fundaciones de iglesias entre los siglos V y VIII en esta zona «periférica» del mundo tardoantiguo y altomedieval. Desde esta perspectiva podemos distinguir dos grandes etapas que corresponden, aproximadamente, a dos grandes procesos y contextos históricos. En primer lugar, el apogeo de los poderes supralocales, especialmente episcopales, en relación con la pervivencia de las estructuras socioeconómicas tardorromanas, y su control de la construcción de iglesias hasta aproximadamente la mitad del siglo VII. Posteriormente, el definitivo fin del paisaje tardorromano y la fragmentación política que lo acompaña sacarán a la luz un mayor protagonismo de las élites locales en la creación de iglesias. Este cambio se representa principalmente en la figura de los monasterios, como focos de estabilización en esta etapa de transición sociopolítica.

This chapter seeks to illustrate the largely underestimated potential for the use of available historical aerial photographs in archaeological research projects conducted in the Iberian Peninsula. The richest Spanish and Portuguese aerial photographic archives are described, before presenting two different examples of their use from the Atlantic seaboard. While the first case study takes a wide perspective on a Galician landscape, the second is a more local analysis from the Sado Estuary. Though both are preliminary assessments, they are intended to encourage the directors of research projects in the Iberian Peninsula to take an interest in these useful aerial photographic archives, even though they were compiled without any archaeological purpose in mind.

32 páginas, 2 mapas, 2 tablas, 4 gráficos. Estas páginas constituyen un parcial resumen de un capítulo de nuestra tesis en proceso de elaboración. Por ello, y dadas las características de la publicación, debemos obviar gran parte del proceso metodológico y omitir la mayoría de los datos de trabajo: base de datos de las menciones documentales, planos de cada aldea, resultados de todos los análisis de densidades… Por tanto, exponemos aquí únicamente algunas de las principales ideas de un proceso de investigación más amplio. El autor ha sido becario de la EEHAR durante 2005-2006., [EN]This study tries to relate geographic and historical information of a group of villages of the Northwest of Galicia in order to attempt an approaching to the origin and evolution of the galician traditional rural settlement. By means of the observation of the current morphology of 97 villages documented as “villa” between 9th and 13th century and its analysis through several quantitatives methods we finally propose a model of evolution of the galician traditional rural habitat from the Late Antiquity to the configuration of its present appearance in the 12th - 13th centuries., [ES]Este estudio pretende poner en relación datos geográficos e históricos relativos a un grupo de aldeas del Noroeste de Galicia para tratar de aproximarse al origen y evolución del poblamiento rural tradicional gallego. Mediante la observación de la morfología actual de 97 aldeas documentadas como “villa” entre los siglos IX y XIII y su análisis a través de diversas técnicas cuantitativas se propone finalmente un modelo de evolución del hábitat rural tradicional gallego desde época tardoantigua hasta la configuración de su aspecto actual en la Plena Edad Media