Protohistoric mining in the Extremadura: The case of in the Cerro de San Cristóbal de Logrosán (Cáceres)
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Abstract
In this paper the archaeological work carried out in Cerro de San Cristóbal (Logrosán, Cáceres) during the period 1998 to 2002 is summarized. The work, led by Dr. Craig Merideth until his death in 2005, allowed to document what was interpreted as a mining-metallurgical site specialized in the treatment of cassiterite. Despite being the prehistoric layers disturbed by contemporary, 1950´s, mining works, it was possible to document traces of prehistoric mining, remains of elliptical huts and some of the steps of the proposed operational chain for the mining and processing of tin in the site. The chronological/cultural context for the archaeological register was placed between the 9th-8th/7th-6th centuries B.C., during which the present-day Extremadura territory was conformed as a Tartesian periphery. Also, the preliminary metallurgical results of the recent (summer 2013, after its declaration as a “Geosite” within the “Villuercas-Ibores-Jara” Geopark) archaeological excavation in Cerro de San Cristóbal are presented.