Ulaca

Ulaca was a hill fort settlement or oppidum (also known as a castro) where Vettones people lived at the end of the Iron Age (third–first centuries BC). Some ruins are visible after archaeological excavations have taken place. It is located in the municipality of Solosancho in the province of Ávila in Spain.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The oppidum was enclosed by a 3,000 m long wall, leaving an oval-shaped inner area of more than 60 ha. Archaeological excavations in the inner part of the oppidum revealed the stone foundations of more than 250 houses. By taking into account the number of houses found, the extension of the settlement and the cemetery findings, the estimated population of the castro was between 1,000 and 1,400 inhabitants, making it one of the largest settlements in the region at that time. [9]

In the northwest area of the settlement, set apart from the houses, the sanctuary is located. The sanctuary was a space partially carved into the rock. Originally had a size of 16m by 8m with two entries from the Southeast and from the West. There are remaining parts of the enclosing stone walls that have a height of 2 meters, but large stones lie on the ground in the areas where the walls have collapsed. This sanctuary is associated with a large rock on which an altar was carved, with a slope on three of its four sides. On the north-facing side, two sets of parallel steps were carved with six and nine steps that lead to a flat area on the top of the rock, where there are connected concavities which are connected between them, being able to pour each other, allowing liquids reach the bottom of the altar.


References

  1. ^ Ruiz Zapatero G. (2005) Castro de Ulaca. Solosancho, Ávila. Institución Gran Duque de Alba, Ávila.
  2. ^ Álvarez-Sanchís J.R. (1999) Los Vettones. Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.
  3. ^ Ruiz Zapatero G., Álvarez-Sanchís J.R. (1995) Las Cogotas: Oppida and the Roots of Urbanism in the Spanish Meseta. In: Cunliffe BW, Keay SJ (eds) Social Complexity and the Development of Towns in Iberia: From the Copper Age to the Second Century AD. British Academy, London, pp 209–235.
  4. ^ Ruiz Zapatero G., Álvarez-Sanchís J.R., Rodríguez-Hernández J. (2020) Urbanism in Iron Age Iberia: Two Worlds in Contact. J Urban Archaeol 1:123–150.
  5. ^ Almagro-Gorbea M., Álvarez-Sanchís J.R. (1993) La “Sauna” de Ulaca: saunas y baños iniciáticos en el mundo céltico. CAUN 1:177–253.
  6. ^ Rodríguez-Hernández J. (2012) Los procesos técnicos de la cantería durante la Segunda Edad del Hierro en el occidente de la Meseta. Zephyrus 70:113–130.
  7. ^ Álvarez-Sanchís J.R., Marín C, Falquina A, Ruiz Zapatero G (2008) El oppidum vettón de Ulaca (Solosancho, Ávila) y su necrópolis. In: Álvarez-Sanchís JR (ed) Arqueología Vettona. La Meseta Occidental en la Edad del Hierro. Museo Arqueológico Regional, Alcalá de Henares, pp 338–361.
  8. ^ Rodríguez-Hernández J. (2019) Poder y sociedad: el oeste de la Meseta en la Edad del Hierro. Institución Gran Duque de Alba, Ávila.
  9. ^ Álvarez-Sanchís JR (2005) Oppida and Celtic society in western Spain. e-Keltoi 6:255–285

40°31′49″N 4°53′1″W / 40.53028°N 4.88361°W / 40.53028; -4.88361

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