habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

J. Higón Calvet, J. Albert Ballester, M. Gimenez Ribera, F. Hidalgo Delgado, P. Cabezos Bernal, H. Barros CostaSimilarly to the rest of Spain, the groups of houses form barriosor neighbourhoods. In the case of hillside settlements, thebarrios are normally found on the outskirts of the towns andvillages and normally close to a river. In the case of flatlandsettlements, there location has no ties to rivers, although theyare normally built on transitional land, namely between thetown development and the farming land.Some of the excavated structures in this geographical regionare used for the production of wine. The wine cellars, alsoknown as ‘cuevas vinarias’ or wine caves enjoy an almost constanttemperature throughout the year, and are specially suitedfor the wine making process; both for crushing the grapes toget the grape juice and the subsequent fermentation process.Their spatial structure depends on what they are used for andgenerally speaking there are two clearly defined and separatespaces. They usually have an initial open-plan area used tocrush the grapes to get the wine juice, with suitable access tothe able to unload the grapes. The area used for fermentingthe wine is usually smaller and is connected to the first via acorridor. The second area usually has chimneys that facilitateventilation and thus avoid the build up of harmful fumes. Thewine caves are usually found on the edges of villages, forming‘barrios’ used for the sole purpose of producing wine. Incertain cases, and through municipal initiatives, these winery“barrios” have undergone comprehensive renovation work,and are valued for their cultural and ethnographical significancewith regard to wine making.Examples of this type are the settlements in Ainzón, Almonacidde la Sierra, and Tabuenca in Saragossa; Valtierraand Lodosa in Navarre, and Quel in la Rioja, which all sharecommon characteristics.A third type of excavated hollow can be found in the areasaround the villages of Muel, Salillas and Épila. These aremuch smaller excavated hollows and are used by shepherds.They were used as shelters during periods when shepherdingduties meant that the shepherds had to spend the night closeto their flock. They comprise a small hollow dug into the soil,which can be accessed via a ramp. Their entranceways arenormally covered with earth and vegetation. These shelterswere built in groups of four or five around a central parideraor lambing shed, where the animals would be locked up atnight. The majority of the shelters and lambing sheds found inthe area are no longer in use, although they are easily distinguishedamidst the landscape.Fig. 5 Hillside settlement; Valtierra (Navarre)Fig. 6-7 Wine caves in AinzónValencia and Castile-La-ManchaThe group of settlements of excavated dwellings in the SpanishLevante and Castile-La-Mancha areas are relatively homogenousin both their characteristics and how they evolved,both historically and socially.The climate of the area, like the other two areas in Spain, isarid, sub-humid, although less affected by the continental climatethan is the case of Aragon, and with rainfall somewhathigher than in Andalusia. There is a particular geology whichdetermines the type of settlements built there. The sedimentaryrocks found on the fringes of the land as it slopes towardsthe coastline usually have a layer of limestone up to a depth ofbetween 60 cm and 2 m. These superficial layers, which arevery resistant, means that excavating can take place beneaththem, their resistant shell acting as a roof for the excavated117volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 117 16/11/2012 15:02:07