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Abstract
Montinhos 6 is located in Serpa (Beja, south Portugal) and was excavated under the direction of one of the authors (LB)
during an emergency intervention within the Alqueva Project. The site was characterized by negative structures of
different types, chronologies and fills. In this paper the authors wish to focus on the structures related to the burial
practices from the Bronze Age: both hypogea and pits with burials from one individual to a maximum of five. Only six
hypogea revealed faunal remains associated with funerary rituals, consisting mainly of bones from the forelimbs of Bos
taurus and Ovis/Capra and a partial skeleton of Oryctolagus cuniculus. Most parts of the faunal assemblage were
deposited in articulation, but isolated radius are also present. An analysis of how these elements are used in these
practices can contribute some information to our understanding of the burial practices of the Bronze Age.
Key-words: Bronze Age; funerary practices; faunal remains.
hercynian substrate partially covered by quaternary and
tertiary deposits which form the Alentejan peneplain, an
extensive flat area with gentle undulations (Duque &
Almeida 1998). The closest mountainous areas are the
Serra de Serpa to the south, the Serra de Portel to the
north and the Serra de Ficalho to the east.
Introduction
The site Montinhos 6 was identified and excavated under
the auspices of the Project for the minimization of
Impact on cultural heritage arising from the execution of
the Brinches-Enxo irrigation block Work Phase
(Projeto de minimizao de Impactes sobre o Patrimnio
Cultural decorrentes da execuo do Bloco de Rega
Brinches-Enxo Fase de Obra) undertaken by the
company EDIA, SA. The execution of the project, which
focused on an extensive area of the county of Serpa, and
specifically the parishes of Brinches and Salvador,
involved the opening of irrigation channels and in some
case more ample areas (where reservoirs or pumping
stations were to be installed). Excavation was carried out
by teams from the companies Arqueologia e Patrimnio,
Lda., and
Histrias e Tempus, Lda, under the
coordination of Lidia Baptista. Various excavations were
carried out which allowed the identification and study of
contexts that contributed to a greater understanding of the
past of the county of Serpa. The results obtained in the
different emergency excavations allowed us to convert a
series of negative impacts on our cultural heritage into an
opportunity to know and study many archaeological sites
(Baptista & Gomes 2012). Of the 38 sites identified just
Montinhos 6, which revealed important archaeological
contexts from various chronologies was extensively
excavated in terms of area, as its location coincided with
the future site of a reservoir.
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Figure 6. Summary of all burials in Hypogea (all drawing are of the same scale, oriented to the north).
ossuary. Besides this, a fragment of human bone, a right
ulna (the proximal half) of a sub adult was found
associated with an adult in chamber 1 of H118. The
fragment belonged to a sub-adult which was found in
another chamber of the same hypogeum.
Pits
Out of the large number of 130 pits, just 7 contain human
burials from which 9 individuals were exhumed (figure
7). Within the group of pit burials (FE) the occurrence of
one or two individuals in varied positions was noted. The
dimensions of the pit (diameter of the opening, maximum
diameter and depth) are variable; all have sub-circular
plans and have open and closed forms, and in the
majority of cases have cylindrical bodies and a flat base;
in 3 examples they contain small niches. Just 3 pits with
burials have faunal remains in their interior (FE77, FE144
and FE152), which correspond to the pits with niches,
and FE77 which is the only closed structure made up of
fragments of quern stone. Out of the structures containing
burials, just FE152 contains a context in which we can
consider the association of fauna as a funerary practice.
The first burial, corresponding to a child of 7-10 years old
at the time of death, was found in the niche. Given the
small size of the space within the niche, the corpse
(specifically the torso) was deposited partially in the area
H59
H102
H118
H153
H155
H159
H169
Total
Bos taurus
14
Ovis/Capra
Oryctolagus cuniculus
28
30
28
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Midsize animal
Total
38
Species
Bos taurus
H59
H118
H153
H155
H159
H169
Left ulna
Left scaphoide
Left pyramidal
Left pisiform
Left radius
Left lunar
Ovis/Capra
Midsized animal
O. cuniculus
Partial skeleton
Und carpal
Right radius
Right ulna
Right scaphoide
Radius
Figure 8. Hypogeum 59 - Two votive sets with faunal remains: Bos Taurus associated with an ossuary (on the left);
Ovis/Capra associated with a female skeleton (on the right).
summary of the faunal associations can be found in tables
1 and 2.
Pits
Of the seven pits which contained primary burials, faunal
remains were only recovered in three: FE77, FE144 and
FE152. In the first two cases, the faunal remains were not
found directly associated with the burials, but in the case
of FE152, they seem to be associated with one of the
burials. The faunal assemblage contains 17 remains made
up of Ovis/Capra and an undetermined animal of medium
size, represented by the bones of its forepaws.
Final remarks
In other words, identity is not something that people
have, an unchanging set of qualities; rather, it is an
ongoing act of production an inherently fluid set of
properties under continual construction and revision
(Bruck 2004, 311).
Figure 9 - Hypogeum 118 Radius, ulna and carpals, with cut marks, associated to a female skeleton.
Figure 10 - Hypogeum 153 - Partial skeleton of a rabbit among bones from a female skeleton, mostly disarticulated.
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Figure 11 - Hypogeum 155 Bos, with cut marks, associated to a female skeleton.
Figure 12 - Hypogeum 159 Ovis/Capra radius, with cut marks. Associated with a female skeleton.
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Figure 13 - Hypogeum 169 Radius diaphysis (of a mid-size animal) associated with a human skeleton of
undetermined sex, probably a male.
Figure 14 - Pit FE152 Burial of a sub-adult individual placed in lateral left decubitus, inside a small wall niche
(age at death 10 years old). With faunal remains.
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References
Alves, C., Costeira, C., Estrela, S., Porfrio, E., Serra, M.,
Soares, A. M. M., Moreno-Garcia, M. (2010) Hipogeus funerrios do Bronze Pleno da Torre Velha 3
(Serpa Portugal). O Sudeste no Sudoeste?!. Zephyrus
LXVI : 133-153.
Other Sources
Hidroprojecto; COBA; Hidrotcnica Portuguesa; WS
AtKins; ConsulGal; GIBB Portugal (1999) Plano da
Bacia Hidrogrfica do Rio Guadiana, Volume III.1
Caracterizao Geral [Em linha] INAG. [Consult.
Outubro
2012].
Disponvel
em
http://www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/planeam
ento/pbh/pbh04.html, Ministrio da Ambiente.
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