Bronze Age Cisterns

The Illeta cisterns were in use until the Late Bronze Age, when they were filled in. The materials found inside them allow us to discover some interesting aspects of this little-known phase of the site.

The faunistic studies carried out by M. Benito indicate that the deer is the most represented animal, so hunting continued to be of prime importance in the economy at this time. Among the wild animals also represented are the brown bear, wild boar, rabbit and aurochs.

Livestock farming was oriented towards the rearing of large animals, with horses and oxen predominating, followed by ovicaprids and pigs. This preference is indicative of the economic use made of the animals, as in addition to meat, it allowed for the secondary use of the large hides and bones.

Most of the equids were slaughtered at a young adult age, around four years old, and some bones show traces of human bites, indicating that they were used as food rather than as transport or draught animals.

Dogs are also present in this sample and their function may have been to accompany the small herds of ovicaprids.