La Hoya, Álava

Archaeological site in the Basque Country, Spain

Alejandro Sampedro Martínez
Armando Llanos

Official nameRecinto Arqueológico de la Hoya^[2]TypeNon-movableCriteriaMonumentDesignated17 July 1984Reference no.RI-51-0005133

La Hoya is an important archaeological site of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Laguardia, Álava, Basque Country, Spain.^[3] The fortified town was inhabited between the 12th and 3rd centuries BCE. It has three levels:^[4]

Middle-Late Bronze Age: in this early period, the fortifications, as well the houses, were all made of wood.
Early-Middle Iron Age: construction became more complex using mixed formulas with stone, wood and adobe. Most houses were near the wall in this period.
The Late Iron Age, with a cultural context that some classify as Celtiberian, shows important changes in urbanization: with paved streets and plazas that form a reticular structure. The wall is also rebuilt on stone. This final period also shows great advancement in the technologies: potter's wheel, elaborated blacksmithing, etc.

The successive layers of rubble, that served as cementations for further edification, make up a small tell 3 meters high.^{[citation needed]}

The town was destroyed violently between 350 and 200 BCE, leaving the remains of the people and their everyday items in the streets.^[5]

References

^ González de Durana, J.M.; Llanos Acebo, H.; Llanos, A.; Ulivarri, V. (1992). "Estudio geofísico preliminar del yacimiento arqueológico de La Hoya, Laguardia (Álava)". Jornadas sobre teledetección y geofísica aplicadas a la arqueología, Madrid 7-10 de mayo de 1986, Mérida 1-3 de octubre de 1987 (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales. pp. 99–104. ISBN 84-7483-802-9.
^ "Recinto Arqueológico de la Hoya". Consulta a la base de datos de bienes inmuebles (in Spanish). Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^ Arcediano Salazar, Santiago. "Museo de La Hoya". Auñamendi Encyclopedia (in Spanish). Eusko Ikaskuntza. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^ "Poblado de la Hoya". Ondarea (in Spanish). Basque Government. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^ Woodyatt, Amy (30 September 2020). "Archaeologists discover Iron Age massacre, frozen in time". CNN. Retrieved 11 March 2024.