The last builders of megaliths in the South of the Iberian Peninsula? The Bronze Age Necropolis of Trafalgar (Barbate, Cádiz, Spain)

Abstract

The archaeological excavations undertaken at the Trafalgar tombolo during 2021-2022 led to the identification of a Bronze Age megalithic necropolis. This paper presents an interdisciplinary study, considering chronological, structural, bioarchaeological, and archaeometrical evidence of two megalithic tombs. The main aim of this work is to date both tombs through the use of Bayesian statistical models that confirms the use of the necropolis during the first quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. Another goal is to define the period of use of these structures and the burial practices adopted by this community. Although the 2nd millennium BC is characterized by the reuse of megalithic tombs from earlier periods, the significance of the Trafalgar necropolis also lais in the possibility to have been built ex novo during the first quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. This would make it one of the latest megalithic necropolises of the Iberian peninsula. The use of high value objects such as gold, silver, and ivory, as grave goods and the necropolis’ location in an outstanding geographical landmark, Cape Trafalgar, suggests that the sea played a key role for these communities both economically (trade routes) and ideologically (as a funerary landscape). Finally, in addition to helping us with the architectural analysis of the two tombs, the use of new technologies (3D scanner and photogrammetry) allowed us to generate digital models for the transfer of knowledge purpose, since the site is challenging in terms of public value and recognition.