Revisiting some earlier papers on the late prehistoric walled enclosures of the Iberian Peninsula : some remarks

Abstract

Between 1994 and 2003 I published some reflections on the validity of different approaches to the interpretation of the so-called ‘fortified settlements’ or ‘walled enclosures’ of the 4.th to the 2.nd millennia BC in the Iberian Peninsula. It seems opportune to publish some of these papers again, if only in part, but this time in English. The first was originally published in 1994, and presented for the first time a different perspective on the theme. In the present version the inventory and a final section have been omitted, and the absolute dates have been calibrated. The second, originally published in 2002, is part of a longer article on the history of the site of Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão. The chapter published here is a reflection on the multifunctionality of the site in the context of contemporary walled enclosures in the Peninsula. The third and shortest text, as yet unpublished but circulated in the archaeological community, is a summary of a paper presented at an international round table held on the 15th and 16th May 2003 at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Oporto, on the subject "Late prehistoric walled enclosures". The three texts capture three stages in the personal development of an alternative view of late prehistoric walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula. This view calls for a dual interpretative strategy: an approach to these places within the hermeneutic framework of the anthropology of space, and their specific evaluation, including the chronological-cultural context and the interpretative systems employed in Europe for these generally similar and contemporary sites.