Mass sacrifice of horses and other animals at a Tartessian site

2023-11-23 13:40:04

There are hardly any known archaeological sites of the Iron Age in the Mediterranean region with evidence of great animal sacrifices, and there is a gap between the information offered by written sources and that of the archaeological record. This makes it difficult to clearly understand the guidelines and protocols of this ritual practice, but a new study reveals some keys.

About 2,500 years ago, the inhabitants of the building Turuñuelo Houses (Guareña, Badajoz) carried out a unique ritual in the patio of this enclave. This archaeological gem of 5th century a. C. was found in 2017 and, since then, its study has led to new discoveries that are changing our knowledge about tartessian cultureconsidered by the Greeks as the first civilization of the West.

Now, research published in the journal PLOS ONEled by the Institute of Archeology of Mérida (IAM-CSIC) and the Valencian Institute of Conservation, Restoration and Research (IVCR+i), determines that the largest animal sacrifice discovered in the western Mediterranean during the first Iron Age, with 6,770 skeletal remains of 52 animalsis the result of the ritual practices carried out by the last communities of Tartessos.

The bones of 52 animals, especially horses, found at the Casas de Turuñuelo site (Badajoz) are the result of ritual practices carried out by the last communities of Tarteso

“The results of the zooarchaeological study of the bone remains of these 52 animals and the microstratigraphic analysis show that this mass sacrifice was part of a series of rituals carried out in the last years of the building until its abandonment, when it was intentionally sealed at the end of the 5th century. BC under a mound 90 meters in diameter and six meters high,” they explain. Sebastian Celestino y Esther Rodriguezdirectors of the excavations and researchers from the IAM, a joint center of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Government of Extremadura.

Horses, bulls, pigs and a dog

Researchers have identified the remains of six bovidsfour pigsand dog y 41 equids (horses, donkeys and their hybrids), the most represented group by far.

Equines sacrificed in the patio of the Casas del Turuñuelo site (Badajoz). / Building Tartessus

Deposited in three phases

The taphonomic (evolution of the remains), microstratigraphic and radiocarbon dating tests show that the animals were deposited in the courtyard of the Tartessian enclave along three phases.

In the first, there are indications that the animals were partially exposed to the elements, since bones modified by the action of scavengers have been found. In the second and third phase, the skeletons are complete and in anatomical connection, suggesting a rapid burial.

This patio was used repeatedly over several years for sacrificial rituals that varied.

These data indicate that this space was used repeatedly over several years for sacrificial rituals whose practices and purposes varied, although all the details are not yet known.

“In the last phase, together with the sacrifice of two horsesthe remains of a banquet which included the consumption of bovine and pork meat,” they comment Maria Pilar Iborra y Silvia Albizuriresearchers from the IVCR+i and the Institute of Archeology of the University of Barcelona (IAUB) who co-led the study.

“Although we cannot know exactly if these are sacrifices made as an offering to the deities, or if they are sacrifices linked to certain festivities or specific rituals – propitiatory -, it is true that the excavations and research that we have carried out “It is providing us with a lot of data to get us closer to the functionality of these sacrifices,” Iborra explains to SINC.

We do not know if these are sacrifices made as an offering to the deities or linked to specific festivities or rituals, but this research provides a lot of data to get us closer to their functionality.

María Pilar Iborra (IVCR+i)

Importance of the horse in the Iron Age

Regarding the large number of equids found and their importance during the Iron Age, he comments: “The horse It was a symbol of power and social status. Its use was intended for riding, but also for shooting or transport, for this reason its consumption during the Iron Age is very punctual. Its symbology, according to classical sources, is related to the fertility, prosperity, but also with the transition towards death. In addition to the horse, the donkeys and mules “They are very precious animals for Iron Age societies.”

Horse skeletons found at the site. / Building Tartessos

The arrangement of the animal corpses suggests an intention in the exhibition and staging of the sacrifices, according to the researchers.

Burned plants and sheep’s wool

In addition to animal remains, this work includes the discovery of cremated vegetables that could have been part of offerings and objects associated with symbolic activities, such as sheep tabs.

This type of information provides details about the ritual protocols at this site, including the intentional selection of adult animals instead of juveniles, and the importance of fire evidenced by the presence of burned plants and animals.

As a whole, Casas del Turuñuelo presents Unique features compared to other sites, such as the great abundance of sacrificed horses, and this study represents a step forward in efforts to contextualize ritual animal sacrifices throughout Europe during the Iron Age.

Building Tartessus

Building Tartessus It is a project of the State Research Agency within the State R&D&i Plan of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Its main objective is to characterize the Tartessian material culture through the architectural analysis of the large adobe buildings excavated in recent decades.

The Construyendo Tarteso team, which began its first excavation campaign in 2015, at the Casas del Turuñuelo site located in Las Vegas Altas del Guadiana, concluded the V excavation campaign last June. In this campaign, the work focused on the eastern sector of the site, where the existence of a large room was discovered in which they were able to recover, among other objects, a batch of ivories of Etruscan origin and the remains of the first reliefs. figurative figures of Tartessus. The good state of conservation of this building makes it the best preserved in the western Mediterranean, which makes it possible to characterize construction techniques and architectural solutions that to date had not been documented in a Tartessian site.

Reference:

Ma Pilar Iborra You, Sebastian Celestino Perez et al. “Mass Animal Sacrifice at Casas del Turuñuelo (Guareña, Spain): a Unique Tartessian (Iron Age) Site in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula”. PLOS ONE2023

These works have been carried out within the framework of two research projects: on the one hand, the ‘Building Tarteso 2.0’ project developed within the National Research and Development Plan and, on the other hand, the ‘Study of the animal catastrophe of the Casas del Turuñuelo site (Guareña, Badajoz)’ within the Regional Research Plan of the Government of Extremadura. Likewise, he has received funding from the Palarq Foundation.

The results are the result of the interdisciplinary work of Spanish and foreign researchers belonging to the IAM, the IVCR+i, the IAUB, the University of Jaén, the Center d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse, the Université Paul Sabatier, the Mixed Center (among the Complutense University of Madrid and the Carlos III Health Institute) of Human Evolution and Behavior, the University of Córdoba, the University of Lleida, the Institució Milà i Fontanals (IMF-CSIC) and the University of Extremadura.