Fire and Iron Age building illustration. Stock image of fire with an illustration (inset) of the Iron Age “Building G” from the Tossal de Baltarga site in Spain. A “violent” fire ravaged this Iron Age settlement around 2,200 years ago.
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Archaeologists have uncovered fascinating insights into a prehistoric building that was devastated by a “violent” fire 2,200 years ago.
The building is located at the archaeological site of Tossal de Baltarga, an Iron Age hillfort complex occupying a strategic position in the eastern Pyrenees mountains of Spain.
While the building-along with the wider settlement-was destroyed by the fire, which is thought to have occurred in the second half of the 3rd century B.C., the blaze helped to preserve a significant quantity of archaeological remains, including organic materials, providing researchers with a glimpse into a specific moment in time thousands of years ago.
This is the case with “Building G,” a study of which has shed light on the lives of the hillfort’s inhabitants during the Iron Age. The remains preserved in Building G, which had two floors, include seeds, charcoal and animal remains.
“We don’t have many examples of this kind of Iron Age building with these volume of preserved remains,” Oriol Olesti Vila, a researcher with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and lead author of the Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology study, told Newsweek.
Vila and colleagues have been studying the origin and way of life of Pyrenean communities during antiquity, from the Iron Age until the Roman period.
In the latest study of Building G at Tossal de Baltarga, the researchers made several key findings. They determined that the structure was used for multiple purposes and that the inhabitants of the settlement engaged in a diverse range of economic activities, making good use of local resources.
In the study, the team found that the upper floor of Building G was divided into spaces for cooking and textile production. They also identified the existence of a stable on the lower floor, where the remains of four sheep, a goat and a horse were preserved. (The presence of a metal horse bit may be evidence that the horse was ridden by the building owners.)
On the upper floor, the researchers found numerous spindle whorls and loom weights, which may have been used to spin and weave wool from the sheep and goats who lived below, according to the study.
The upper floor also yielded edible grains like oats and barley, as well as some cooking vessels, which were found to contain residues indicating that the residents drank milk and ate pork stews.
The archaeologists also found an iron pickax on this floor, as well as a gold earring, the analysis of which suggests the manufacturers had “important” technical knowledge of metallurgy.
Intriguingly, the gold ring was concealed in a small pot, potentially indicating that the owners felt there was a danger the settlement could be attacked, according to the researchers. This hypothesis that the community was living in fear of conflict is supported by the evidence indicating that the animals were penned up in their enclosure at the time the fire struck.
The animals may have been trapped inside by a closed door, which would explain burnt wood found in the entrance to the lower floor of the building. Keeping the animals penned up may not have been normal practice but instead could have been motivated by a desire to protect them amid the possibility of conflict, the researchers propose.
“This could be just an unexpected local fire. But the presence of a hidden gold earring indicates the anticipation by the local people of some kind of threat, likely the arrival of an enemy. Also, the keeping of such a high number of animals in a little stall suggests the anticipation of a danger,” Vila said in a press release.
While no human remains were found in the building, the six animals did not manage to escape the fire and perished inside.
“Our reconstruction implies a sudden destruction, with no time to open the door of the stall and save the animals,” Vila said.
In the study, the authors propose that the site’s destruction may have been connected to the Second Punic War, which was fought between the Roman Republic and Carthage, a powerful ancient civilization based in North Africa. In this war, the Carthaginian forces were commanded by Hannibal, considered to be one of the great military leaders of antiquity. He inflicted several notable defeats on the Romans though Carthage was ultimately defeated.
“The destruction [of Building G] was dated around the end of the 3rd century B.C., the moment when the Pyrenees were involved in the Second Punic War and the passage of Hannibal’s troops,” Vila said. “It is likely that the violent destruction of the site was connected to this war. The general fire points to [human-made] destruction, intentional and very effective-not only Building G, but all the buildings of the site, were destroyed.”
“These valleys were an important territory economically and strategically. We know that Hannibal passed the Pyrenees fighting against the local tribes.”
Aside from these finds, analysis of the sheep remains provided a window into what the animals ate, revealing that some of them had previously grazed in lowland pastures-suggesting the community employed a “complex” livestock strategy that may have involved arrangements with other groups.
“These mountain communities were not closed in the highlands, but connected with neighboring areas, exchanging products and, likely, cultural backgrounds,” Vila said. “The complex economy indicates an Iron Age society adapted to their environment and taking advantage of their resources in the highlands. But it also shows their contact with other communities.”
“Baltarga was a smaller site, but with a lot of economic activities,” the researcher told Newsweek.
The available evidence at the site suggests that the settlement may have housed some prominent families, who controlled important resources, like livestock and horses.
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This story was originally published May 17, 2024, 12:00 AM.