Las Gobas is a cave settlement and necropolis situated in

Laño Laño () is a hamlet and '' concejo'' (a small administrative subdivision) in Condado de Treviño within the Treviño enclave; which is administratively part of the Spanish province of Burgos, but which is completely surrounded by the territo ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, dating from the 7th to the 11th centuries CE. The site features 13 artificial caves. Initially, these caves served both residential and burial functions. Over time, however, the settlement transitioned to solely serving funerary and religious purposes, with the inhabitants moving to a new location in Laño.

Archaeology

The name "Las Gobas" specifically refers to a cluster of 13 artificial caves carved into a rocky outcrop. These caves date from the mid-6th century to the 11th century CE, and they include two churches and a variety of single-room cavities of different sizes. The site is part of a broader complex of medieval cave settlements across Iberia, which have been the subject of much scholarly debate regarding their temporal origins and purposes. Archaeological investigations have identified two distinct phases within the Las Gobas necropolis:

Phase I (7th–9th centuries CE)

This period is characterized by a mixed use of cave architecture and free-standing structures. It includes a church (referred to as Las Gobas-6) and a cemetery with 22 burials. Evidence from this phase indicates an active settlement with signs of daily life and social activities. The construction of domestic structures outside the church during this time suggests a residential character.

Phase II (10th–11th centuries CE)

In the latter half of the 9th century, the site was abandoned as a living area, and transitioned to solely functioning as a cemetery and place of worship. This change is evidenced by sedimentation layers and the repurposing of a silo as a waste dump. The inhabitants eventually relocated to a new settlement in

, distinguishing this phase from the earlier residential use of Las Gobas. Nineteen burials from this period have been discovered at the site.

Diet

The study of isotopic data from Las Boas indicates that local diet was primarily omnivorous, with a strong reliance on terrestrial plant resources, particularly

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, especially during the later period (10th to 11th centuries). The consumption of

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

was more common during the earlier period (7th to 9th centuries).{{Cite journal , last1=Guede , first1=Iranzu , last2=Ortega , first2=Luis Angel , last3=Zuluaga , first3=Maria Cruz , last4=Alonso-Olazabal , first4=Ainhoa , last5=Murelaga , first5=Xabier , last6=Solaun , first6=José Luis , last7=Sanchez , first7=Iban , last8=Azkarate , first8=Agustín , date=2018-12-01 , title=Isotopic evidence for the reconstruction of diet and mobility during village formation in the Early Middle Ages: Las Gobas (Burgos, northern Spain) , url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-017-0510-9 , journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences , language=en , volume=10 , issue=8 , pages=2047–2058 , doi=10.1007/s12520-017-0510-9 , issn=1866-9565, hdl=10810/66219 , hdl-access=free The population's diet was relatively homogeneous, with minimal differences based on sex or age. However, in the 10th to 11th centuries, women tended to consume a more plant-based diet with less animal protein compared to men. Additionally, higher nitrogen isotope values in infants reflect the weaning process. These findings suggest that the Las Gobas population shared similar dietary practices with other contemporary Christian and Muslim communities in the northern

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, with no significant divergence in food resources or diet between these groups.

Genetic studies

A 2024 genetic study on 33 individuals buried at Las Goblas revealed family relationships and genetic continuity within a

consanguineous Consanguinity (from Latin '' consanguinitas'' 'blood relationship') is the characteristic of having a kinship with a relative who is descended from a common ancestor. Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are closely related by blo ...

population, suggesting that the community maintained close familial ties over generations. Despite the Umayyad invasion and subsequent Islamic rule in Iberia, there was no significant increase in

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

or Middle Eastern ancestries detected among the individuals analyzed. This suggests that the community at Las Gobas remained relatively isolated during this period. Additionally, the presence of

zoonotic diseases A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (b ...

, including an individual infected with a

variola virus Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus ''Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO ...

related to the northern European variola complex, indicating a close interaction between humans and animals within this population.

References

Archaeological sites in Spain Medieval sites in Spain