The Cerro del Bu is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

in the Bu hill of the Spanish municipality of

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, O ...

, located on a promontory next to the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

river.

Description

The site is located on the hill that gives it its name, which stands on the left bank of the

, south of the city of

. On the surface, the hill had construction stones with ostensible foundations on a ground that, at first glance, was seen to be unnatural. Its location, isolation and steep relief gives the place a strategic nature and privileged natural defense, suitable for settlement of human groups. The research campaigns that regularly carried out on the site, since 1980, revealed a series of consecutive phases in the occupation of the hill. The first phase of settlement would be characterized by the existence of a large quantity of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

carving remains and few ceramic fragments. Its chronology would be doubtful. The second, best documented corresponds to the main time of habitat use, in full development of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

in the

Meseta Central The ''Meseta Central'' (, sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior. Developed during the 19th cent ...

. The third marks the final phase of the habitat of the aforementioned Bronze Age. In these last two phases, from which habitation structures and

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide s ...

s and even homes "in situ" have been discovered, an eminently pastoral economy was developed, with the primacy of cattle

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

and

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship be ...

. Later there was a medieval settlement,

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

, small and provisional, that responded to a strategic and military conception. From this stage remains are preserved on the top of the hill. The end of this Arabs settlement could be interpreted as an intentional destruction, since although levels of ash are found, the walls would have collapsed before any sign of fire.

Patrimonial status

Cerro del Bu was declared a

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

by the autonous community with the category of archaeological zone on April 28, 1992, by means of a decree published on May 20 of that same year in the ''

Official Gazette of Castile-La Mancha An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

''.

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Coord missing, Spain Toledo, Spain Archaeological sites in Castilla–La Mancha Bronze Age Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Toledo