Archaeological site of the Fuente de la Mora
Carpetan settlement in Leganés
The archaeological site of the Fuente de la Mora
The deposit, with an extension of more than 20 hectares, is located on a mosaic hill next to the Butarque stream. The choice of the place denotes a perfect knowledge of the terrain, since it is a spur on the plain surrounded by good pasture and cultivation lands, close to springs and with extensive visual control of the environment. The favorable conditions of the place favored its repeated occupation from the Chalcolithic period to the Middle Ages.
The Carpetan town that existed here presents two very close phases in time, between the beginning of the XNUMXrd century and the end of the XNUMXst century BC. It was a permanent settlement, with houses with square or rectangular plants attached to each other. They were built with a small stone plinth on which the adobe and mud walls were raised. The ceilings were of vegetal material with a framework of wooden beams.
The articulation of the living space revolves around the main room, usually rectangular in shape, to which smaller spaces are attached, which would serve as food, tool and barn warehouses. The hearths were arranged in the center of the room or in one of its corners.
The agricultural and livestock activity was essential during this period, judging by the large amount of wheat that has been recovered in the spaces for barns. Numerous tools and implements made of iron (axes, wedges, tridents, azuelas) were also found, as well as elements for weaving such as carding combs and especially a considerable number of fusayolas (loom weights) that give an idea of the great importance of the textile industry, undoubtedly supported by an important cattle herd.
The material culture of the site stands out for an important presence of ceramics, usually painted in red, as well as the containers made on a lathe with stamped decorations with a wide variety of motifs: blades, triangles, spikes, diagonals, horizontal bands, vertical parallel lines , circles and arcs. It is also worth noting the presence of a rare example of Iberian ceramics with zoomorphic decoration, in which you can see the dotted animal's neck, the face grated with lines and a circle that seems to represent a shield. Ornamental elements include pins, rings, handles, and various fragments of bronze fibulae.
At the beginning of the XNUMXnd century BC, Carpetania became an area of special strategic importance for Rome, as an area of supply of resources such as wheat. The settlement of the Fuente de la Mora would be a clear exponent, since the granaries of the same seem to exceed in size and capacity the needs of its population.
This settlement was destroyed by a great fire dating from the first third of the XNUMXst century BC, perhaps due to a specific and violent action that did not give its inhabitants time to collect part of their goods, as evidenced by the large number of tools and Containers found and some rare objects made of decorated wood sheet, which were charred along with the grain.
The progressive implantation of Roman culture in this area will end up diluting the indigenous personality, thus imposing the acculturation process that we know as "Romanization".
Image gallery
Archaeological performance
The archaeological excavations were motivated by the construction of the section of the M-45 road that runs between the N-IV and the NV, crossing the Arroyo Butarque Archaeological Zone, declared BIC in 1991.