Apología de un arma de destrucción masiva: el uso del detector de metales en arqueología. Experiencias de investigación y gestión en el Alto Guadalquivir

Recent research undertaken as part of the Iliturgi Project has located the remains of an Early Imperial building complex linked to the Via Augusta. They include the foundations of an arch and a monumental platform whose size and characteristics allow it to be identified as the Ianus Augustus, a monumental complex near the River Baetis that marked the limit between the Roman provinces of Baetica and Tarraconensis. Its location makes it a reference point for our knowledge of the ancient geography of Hispania and for understanding Roman interprovincial frontiers. Geophysical prospections in its surroundings have also revealed the possible remains of a bridge across the river.

El desarrollo del Proyecto “Metodología para el estudio arqueológico de campos de batalla y asedios de la segunda guerra púnica: Iliturgi, Castulo y Metauro (207-206 a. n. e.)” tiene entre sus principales objetivos la puesta en práctica de estrategias de análisis arqueológico destinadas a la investigación de la segunda guerra púnica, tratando de diferenciar contextos en campos de batalla, como el caso estudiado de Baecula, y asedios, para lo cual se escogió el caso práctico de contrastación y experimentación de Iliturgi, por Escipión el Africano, en el 206 a. n. e. Los trabajos de fotointerpretación, modelado digital del terreno, prospección geofísica y prospección y excavación arqueológica, unidos a una revisión crítica de los antecedentes historiográficos y arqueológicos referentes a los textos clásicos que narran el papel destacado de Iliturgi en la segunda guerra púnica, nos conducen a proponer una localización distinta para este oppidum del Alto Guadalquivir, tradicionalmente situado en Cerro Maquiz. Planteamos que esta ciudad debe situarse en dos emplazamientos distintos: en el Cerro de la Muela, entre los siglos VI y III a. n. e. y en Cerro Maquiz, a partir del siglo II a. n. e., formando parte, en todo caso, de un mismo proceso histórico.

No abstract

Roman roads are omnipresent in the Mediterranean basin. Despite the methodological advances achieved, interdisciplinary studies including geoarchaeological techniques are still rare. The aim of this study is to offer a microstratigraphic analysis of an important Roman road in order to characterise the raw materials and construction techniques used to build it and their evolution over time. Our research focuses on the Via Augusta, the longest road in Roman Hispania, where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain), a monumental complex on the frontier between the provinces of Baetica and Tarraconensis. Archaeological excavations of this road have revealed vertical stratigraphic variations, suggesting the presence of several transit surfaces and repair works. A protocol was designed to characterise the road deposits at the microscale, where micromorphology revealed six overlying roads and their construction techniques. The combination of micromorphology, µ-XRF and the study of the textural parameters of the deposits allowed us to identify the raw materials used and their sources, as well as the specific features generated during the construction and use of the road. The results show how the technical solutions used survived as a tradition for centuries, and how the repair works identified in the stratigraphic sequence have a correlation with the road maintenance works mentioned in the Roman epigraphic record of Hispania Baetica. This study shows how detailed microstratigraphic analyses of Roman roads are very effective in the characterisation of road biographies.