JSA 5.1 (2019) 56–78 ISSN (print) 2055-348Xhttps://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.36707 ISSN (online) 2055-3498

ReseaRch aRticle

Enduring Sacred Places: The Astronomical Orientation of the Iberian Cave-Sanctuary of Cueva Santa del Cabriel in Spain

Sonia Machause LópezDepartament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Universitat de València sonia.machause@uv.escel@iac.es

César EstebanDepartamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La LagunaInstituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spaincel@ll.iac

Fernando Moya MuñozOfficial Chronicler of Fuenterrobles, Valencia, Spain

Abstract: This paper presents the results of an archaeoastronomical study of the Iberian Iron Age cave-sanctuary of Cueva Santa del Cabriel, near the town of Mira in the province of Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain, together with a review of the latest archaeological and ethno-graphical data about the site. We found that the cave’s 12 m-long access corridor is oriented precisely along the summer solstice sunset, so that the north wall of the main gallery is partially illuminated by sunlight at this time. Although the cave was in use from the Late Chalcolithic, it became an important religious centre in the Iberian period. After an apparent hiatus during the Roman and Islamic occupations, its ritual use was re-established with the Christian Reconquista, especially from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and it is now dedicated to the worship of the Virgin Mary. Popular pilgrimages to the cave have continued until the present day. The characteristics of modern traditions related to the cave can, however, be of great value in under-standing ancient Iberian ritual practices.

Keywords: archaeoastronomy; Iron Age; ritual pilgrimage; sacred cave; solstice orientation

Enduring Sacred Places 57

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Introduction

Iberian Cave-Sanctuaries and Astronomy

Caves have been regarded as places of symbolic importance from prehistory to the present day (Bonsall and Tolan-Smith 1997; Bradley 2002; Brady and Prufer 2005; Ustinova 2009; Bergsvik and Skeates 2012; Moyes 2012; Faro 2013; Dowd 2015). During the Iberian Iron Age (sixth to first century BC), some such caves became ritual sites, and the docu-mentation of this phenomenon along the Mediterranean coast of Spain is progressively bringing to light complex ritual contexts that demonstrate regional and cultural variation (Rueda 2011; Grau and Amorós 2013; Machause et al. 2014; López-Bertran 2015; Machause 2017; Machause et al. 2017). Ritual caves in this region contain an array of material culture, including ceramics and metals, as well as charcoal and faunal and human remains. The power of the underground has been an inspiration for ritual practitioners over the centu-ries. In fact, the sanctity of these caves and their territories is still evident in some cases, and they are still used for traditional ceremonies.

Most of the caves interpreted as Iberian rock sanctuaries have their entrances open to the west (Ocharan 2017, 85), and this contrasts with the common eastward orientation of the Iberian temples or open-air sanctuaries (Esteban 2013; 2015). The different general orientation of these sacred sites suggests differences in the character of the rituals taking place in them. Although archaeoastronomical studies of Iberian cave-sanctuaries are still very few, and of rather limited statistical significance, they indicate that illumination phenomena occurred at sunset inside the caves at certain points in the solar calendar.

Esteban et al. (2014) presented a study on the orientation of the cave-sanctuary Cueva de la Lobera, near the town of Castellar, in the southern Spanish province of Jaén, Andalusia. These authors found that the innermost part of the cavity, a kind of natural niche, is illuminated at sunset around the equinoxes and that the shapes of the niche and the area lit by the Sun seem to fit more closely at the precise date of the half-way point between the solstices. The Sun’s rays enter through an opening at the western end of the cave, from which the horizon can be seen. There are also indications that the opening has been reworked at some point (Nicolini et al. 2004, 151). Another feature suggestive of this solar phenomenon is that the shape of the sunlit area at the moments before sunset recalls the profile of some of the ex-voto offerings at Castellar and other Iberian sanctuaries, which represent a typical female figure that has been interpreted as an Iberian goddess. Esteban et al. (2014) discuss this interesting idea and propose that, at Cueva de la Lobera, the Iberians may have attempted to present a visual representation of the divinity as part of the ritual.

Another remarkable phenomenon is reported by Esteban and Ocharan (2016) at the Iberian cave-sanctuary of Cueva de la Nariz (also known as Umbría de Salchite), located in Moratalla in the province of Murcia, southeastern Spain. This cave has a strikingly symmetrical morphology, with two parallel galleries of very similar dimensions. It is located on the western slope of a mountain known as Calar de la Cueva de la Capilla, in an area where access is difficult. Both cavities contain a spring and a carved basin to collect water in their innermost areas, and Esteban and Ocharan directly observed that sunlight illuminates the basin in the northern cavity just a few minutes before winter

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz58

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

solstice sunset. Moreover, in the last moments of sunset the reddish spot of sunlight fits the shape of the basin and the canals carved in the rock. Especially interesting is the tangential illumination of the water contained in the basin by the last sunrays of the day.

Esteban and colleagues (Esteban et al. 2014; Esteban and Ocharan 2016) have proposed that the natural orientation towards sunset at significant dates in the solar calendar was at least one of the features that gave Cueva de la Nariz and Cueva de la Lobera their sacred character. In addition, the alteration of parts of the caves in order to provide better alignment with the pool of sunlight at sunset suggests an eagerness to create a liminal atmosphere in the sanctuaries, and perhaps even a dramatisation of the sacred experience: elements that would greatly enhance the sacred and symbolic character of the caves.

Cueva Santa del Cabriel

Cueva Santa del Cabriel is located along the course of the River Cabriel, about 860 m asl. The entrance (Figure 1), oriented to the northwest, was reshaped at the end of the eighteenth century AD to facilitate access to the cave (Moya 1998, 30). The main gallery is 30 m wide and 10 m tall and contains many stalactites and stalagmites. It also has columns and a basin (Gallery A) and can be entered via a long corridor (Figure 2). Unfortunately, explosives used in Gallery A in the 1970s destroyed not only the majority of the karst formations, but also the sediments and stratigraphy. In two other galleries connected to Gallery A – Galleries B and C – the majority of the archaeological artefacts were found on the surface, due to the use of explosives in Gallery A (Lorrio et al. 2006) (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Cueva Santa del Cabriel: (1) location (2) entrance of the cave (photograph by one of the authors).

Enduring Sacred Places 59

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Figure 2: Plan of Cueva Santa del Cabriel (based on Lorrio et al. 2006: fig. 2), with Points 1 and 2 noted. The red circles indicate the position of the points from where the orientation measurements were taken. The black arrows indicate the slope direction and the square outlining Gallery C marks the area where the archaeological prospection was made in 2003.

Although the cave has not been excavated, artefacts collected during surveys demon-strate the ritual use of this space since prehistoric times (Lorrio et al. 2006), while recent analyses of the cave have further confirmed that it was the scene of ritual activity during the Iberian Iron Age (Machause 2017). Cueva Santa del Cabriel is an excellent example of ritual continuity at different periods, for different people with different cultures and beliefs, and it is today a site of Christian pilgrimage. One tradition that once involved every village around this sacred site is today maintained only by Fuenterrobles, a small

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz60

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

settlement about 15 km from the cave in the province of València (Moya 1998): this is when the people of this village come to the cave on the second Sunday of May to give offerings to the Virgin of the Cave, to request her blessings and to ask for her protection for the harvest.

According to Lorrio et al. (2006), the cave’s orientation facing the sunset is one of the features that defines the sacred character of Cueva Santa del Cabriel. However, observa-tions from the interior of the cave have ruled out the theory that the corridor was aligned towards the sunset around the dates of the present-day pilgrimages to the cave in May. Fernando Moya and José Ángel Jesús María took photographs at sunset during the summer solstices of 2008 and 2010, recording the striking illumination of certain parts of the interior of the cave. We carried out archaeoastronomical fieldwork at the cave on 17th May, 2017.

In this paper, we discuss the theory that the astronomical orientation of the entrance corridor of the cave-sanctuary of Cueva Santa del Cabriel may have played an important role in the ritual practices of the Iberian Iron Age. In the next section, we present the archaeological importance of the cave, focusing on Iberian ritual practices, and in the third and fourth sections we present the methodology followed in our astronomical study, together with the results we obtained. In the fifth section, we compare this cave-sanctuary with other similar ones. We put forward the proposal that these sacred places were selected because of their astronomical orientation, and we look at their continuous ritual use.

Iberian Ritual Practices in the Cave

The majority of the materials found in the cave are associated with religious activities performed during this period. To analyse these practices, we need to look at four main elements: materiality, location, morphology and the persistence of religious activity. As we argue below, all of these elements suggest the use of the cave as a ritual space in the Iberian period (Lorrio et al. 2006; Machause 2017; Machause and Quixal 2018).

Figure 3: General percentage and representation of the Iberian materials found in the cave.

Enduring Sacred Places 61

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Based on the number of ceramics dating from the Iberian period found at Cueva Santa del Cabriel, most of which seem to come from Gallery C (Lorrio et al. 2006), the total minimum number of vessels (MNV) was assessed to be 223. Most of these are native Iberian ceramics (98.65%, of which 86.55% are fine or class A and 12.11% rough or class B), especially tableware (known as Group III in Mata and Bonet’s 1992 ceramic typology), as compared to imported ceramics (0.45%) and hand-made ceramics from the First Iron Age (0.90%) (Mata and Bonet 1992) (Figure 3). The assemblage is characterised by the pattern of vases (122), plates (89) and pots (25), which are sometimes miniaturised (Machause 2017). They may have been used during the rituals as offerings or as the containers of offerings, as libation containers or as part of the tableware. However, it is notable that fewer instances of these kinds of objects were found here than at other Iberian ritual contexts (Moneo 2003). This may be due to the periodical use of the cave, which appears to have been frequented only at certain times of the year, perhaps associated with the astronomical orientation discussed in this paper.

Ancient Iberian ritual sites usually include faunal and human remains (Blay 1992; Machause et al. 2014; Machause and Sanchis 2015), although, as noted above, in this instance such remains were collected from the surface following the use of explosives, meaning that the period during which they were deposited cannot be determined. However, an analysis carried out by Alfred Sanchis of the Museum of Prehistory in Valencia found that the faunal remains at Cueva Santa del Cabriel belong to a mixture of wild and domestic animals. These include red deer (Cervus elaphus), rabbits or hares (Leporidae) and wild cats (Felis silvestris), pigs (Sus sp.), sheep (Ovis aries), sheep/goats (Ovis/Capra) and indeterminate birds of different ages. Of the four identifiable examples of human remains, three belong to a single juvenile aged approximately 12 years.

The ceramic artefacts also include some symbolic items, such as a bird represented on a miniature pestle (Figure 4, leftmost image). Its size indicates that it was a child’s object, used as a toy or teaching aid (Chapa 2003; Sánchez Romero 2010; López-Bertran and Vives-Ferrándiz 2015), but its context here means that it is also significant as an ex-voto offering used in the course of a child’s rite of passage. Representations of birds are very common in Iberian culture, and they are found in other similar caves, as decorations on ceramics and rings and as ex-voto offerings. Birds are generally associated with the female image and they are usually interpreted as a symbol of the female divinity linked to fertility (Olmos and Tortosa 2010, 243), although as offerings they can also be related to the gender of the person making the offering (Prados 2004). This idea of fertility, which is also symbolised by the Sun’s light at the summer solstice, may be represented by both organic and inorganic offerings.

The location of the cave is notable not only because of its situation on the western edge of the territory associated with the Iberian settlement of Kelin, which is bordered by the River Cabriel and the Rubial Mountains (Moreno 2011, 38–40; Quixal 2015, 170), but also because of the absence of other important settlements in the surrounding area (Lorrio et al. 2006, 66). Another feature marking the western boundary of Kelin is Cueva del Puntal del Horno Ciego II, at Villargordo del Cabriel (Gil-Mascarell 1977; Martí Bonafé 1990; Machause 2017; Machause and Quixal 2018). In the same way as other Iberian exam-

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz62

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

ples (Grau 1996; 2002; 2010; Grau and Olmos 2005; Rueda et al. 2008; Rueda 2011; Amorós 2012; Grau and Amorós 2013; González Reyero et al. 2014), the Kelin caves might have sanctified territorial boundaries. The only Iberian settlements documented near Cueva Santa del Cabriel are very small, such as Casas del Alabú and Collado de la Cañada, near Mira, or Cerro del Castillo, near the village of Minglanilla, in Cuenca. The largest oppidum, El Molón, is located about 10 km away (Lorrio 2001; 2007). These features are indirect evidence of possible ritualised journeys from the surrounding settlements to the sacred site (Alfayé 2010; López-Bertran 2011), a pilgrimage that even nowadays has a strong symbolic power in the villages around Cueva Santa del Cabriel.

The physical characteristics of the cave – its darkness, the presence of water inside and outside and the sunlight at the summer solstice sunset (Figure 7) – impart an intrinsic sensory power to the site, helping to create a strong ritual atmosphere. It is well-known that the physical features of a site can influence the sensory and emotional experience of ritual practices carried out in places where there are restrictions on air, light and space (Whitehouse 1992; 2001; Hamilakis 2002; 2011; 2013; Skeates 2007; 2012; Rueda and Bellón 2016). In Cueva Santa del Cabriel, most Iberian artefacts were found in one of the darkest, innermost galleries (Gallery C in Figure 2). The presence of water, columns, stalactites and stalagmites and a basin inside, together with proximity to the River Cabriel outside, may also have played a significant symbolic role. A large part of Iberian ritual is related to nature (Moneo 2003), and the symbolic act of fertilisation by the Sun could perhaps indicate that the solstice was an important day at this site – a day when a group of people would participate in a ritual pilgrimage from different oppida to the sacred cave. However, it is likely that even if a large number of people travelled to the cave, only a select group would actually have had the privilege of participating in the rites conducted in the innermost areas. In fact, the direct participation materialised by the offerings found in this cave would probably have been restricted to certain groups, perhaps based on age, gender or social status. Through these practices, however, the political order would be legitimised and the sense of community would be promoted (Machause 2017).

Figure 4: Complete calyx cups deposited in the Museum of Cuenca and a miniature pestle representing a bird from the private collection of F. Moya (photographs by one of the authors).

Enduring Sacred Places 63

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

A final point that reinforces the intrinsic ritual power of Cueva Santa del Cabriel is the period of its continued use, from at least the Late Chalcolithic to the present day (Lorrio et al. 2006). Although the evidence of ritual use in prehistory is scant, the presence of materials prior to the Iberian period might also have helped to increase its ritual significance in this epoch (García Sanjuán et al. 2007, 122; Grau and Amorós 2013, 206; Alfayé 2011, 162–163), just as it continues to do today with the traditional Christian pilgrimage. In fact, if we focus on the present-day rituals that take place in the cave, they could be similar in some ways to the Iberian ones. Ritualised journeys, musical performances and ceramic, ornamental and organic offerings could have been part of the rituals in the Iberian Iron Age, as they are in the Christian rites that are celebrated every year in Cueva Santa del Cabriel. Elements like fire or water still have a symbolic meaning, as we argue in Section 5.

Methods

The instruments used in the archaeoastronomical fieldwork were a Suunto Tandem /360PC/360R DG, which combines a precision compass and a clinometer, a Settop TEO-3 theodolite, a global positioning device and a digital camera. The minimum graduation intervals in both axes are 0.05° centesimal for the theodolite (0.045° sexagesimal) and 0.5° sexagesimal for the tandem. The final accuracy is of the order of half of the quoted intervals. Our main aim was the precise measurement of the orientation of the access corridor and the area of the horizon visible from the interior of the cave. These data could not be obtained easily with the theodolite, so the tandem was used instead. The determination of local magnetic declination – allowing us to obtain an azimuth from a horizontal angle measured with the compass – was estimated by combining observa-tions taken with the theodolite and the tandem. The cave is located within a forested area, just at the base of a vertical rocky wall and without a clear view of the horizon. We therefore placed the theodolite in a spot with a clear view of the horizon, where we could measure several topographic reference points in different directions. This observation point was located on the old dirt road that leads from the hamlet of Casas del Alabú to the village of Enguídanos, just in the curve where a footpath descends to the cave. With the theodolite, we measured the horizontal angle of several selected distant topographic features, as well as the centre of the solar disk. We also measured the angular altitude of the Sun over the horizon (h), timing the exact moment of this last observation according to Universal Time given by the GPS. We took three measurements of the position of the Sun to obtain the factor which would enable us to transform the horizontal angles given by the theodolite into azimuths (A). Finally, we calculated the magnetic declination from the mean difference between the azimuths obtained with the theodolite and the horizontal angles measured with the tandem for the different topographic references. As a result, the magnetic declination was calculated as 0.8° ± 0.4°. We had to add this figure algebraically to transform horizontal angles measured with the compass into azimuths.

Results

The fieldwork in the cave was based on determining (a) the orientation of the axis of its access corridor and (b) the range of A and h covered by the small section of the horizon

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz64

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

that can be seen from different points of the northern wall of the cave, which is aligned with the access corridor (an application of the “window of visibility” concept, for example Silva 2014). The orientation of the corridor axis of the cave – considering the mean of several measurements from the inside outwards and from the outside inwards – is 299.1° ± 0.4°. This corresponds to the setting of a celestial body with a declination of +22.8° ± 0.7°, taking into account that the horizon is at an angular altitude of 1.5° ± 0.5°. We measured the sections of the horizon visible from two points of the north side of the cave. The first, Point 1, is placed approximately at the middle of the north wall of Gallery A of the cave, between 1.2 m and 1.5 m above the floor. The second, Point 2, corresponds to one of the innermost areas illuminated by the present-day summer solstice sunset, which coincides with a small ledge at the base of the eastern wall of the cave, located just in front of the corridor (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Partial view of the northeast corner of the interior of Cueva Santa del Cabriel. The circle indicates the position of Point 2. We estimate that this is the innermost point that is illuminated by sunlight at the present-day summer solstice sunset. The inset in the upper right part of the figure is an outside-in view of the access corridor of the cave. The white dot corresponds to a led torch stuck on Point 2 (photograph by one of the authors).

The positions of both points are indicated in Figure 2. Figure 6 shows the narrow portion of the horizon visible from Point 1 through the entrance of the cave, which ranges from 298.8° to 300.3° – approximately three diameters of the Sun wide. The area of sky covered in angular altitude is smaller, only 1° high, from 1° to 2°. Taking into account these measurements and their uncertainties, we can estimate that the range of declination of a celestial body passing through that portion of sky visible from Point 1 is +21.8° to

Enduring Sacred Places 65

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

+24.3°. This interval includes the present-day summer solstice (δ = +23.4°), which is the northernmost position that the Sun can reach during the year. However, the position of the Sun at the summer solstice has changed over the millennia, albeit to an extent barely noticeable to the naked eye, due to the variation in the obliquity of the ecliptic. The Sun’s declination at the summer solstice – which coincides with the value of the obliquity – can be calculated using an online calculator found on the PHP Science Labs website (Tanner 2017), whose algorithm uses Laskar’s formulae for the precession over a 10,000-year period (Laskar 1986, table 8). According to the calculator, in 450 BC – the approximate date at which the cave began to be used as an Iberian sanctuary, based on the forms and decoration of the Iberian pottery (Lorrio et al. 2006) – the declination of the Sun at the summer solstice was δ = +23.7°, slightly more than half of the Sun’s diameter north of its present position. The results indicate that, in the early Iberian period, the access corridor of the cave was still oriented towards the summer solstice sunset and, as a consequence, the interior of the cave would have been illuminated. It is important to emphasise that, considering the sinusoidal behaviour of the variation in the obliquity of the ecliptic (see Esteban and Aura 2001, fig. 2.7) and making the appropriate calculations, we estimate that this alignment would also have been related to the summer solstice during recent prehistory. For example, the Sun’s

Figure 6: Part of the horizon seen through the access corridor of Cueva Santa del Cabriel from Point 1 (photograph by one of the authors).

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz66

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

declination at the summer solstice at the beginning of the third millennium BC was around δ = +24.0°, so the solstitial alignment could also have been effective in the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age. There is some evidence of occupation in the cave during this period, based on the presence of a polished stone axe fragment, a copper axe, a bone pendant and some fragments of hand-made pottery (Lorrio et al. 2006).

In Figure 7 we show the modern sunlight illumination pattern in the interior of the cave at two different points prior to the summer solstice sunset. We can see how, as the sunset approaches, sunlight increasingly illuminates internal areas of the north wall of the cave. In Figure 5 above we show a photograph of the northeast area of the cave, where the precise position of Point 2 is indicated (see also Figure 2 above). As noted, we estimate that Point 2 is the innermost area of the cave that could be reached by sunlight during the solar year. Witnesses who have seen the sunlight phenomenon at the summer solstice sunset note that the rest of the cave also becomes illuminated, though obviously more diffusely, by the light reflected from the wall (see Figure 8). It is important to mention the possibility that if water or a solid reflective surface (a polished metallic object, for example) had been deliberately placed, the Iberians might have produced different patterns of illumination or even illuminated particular areas of the interior of the cave.

Figure 7: Photographs taken from the interior of Cueva Santa del Cabriel at different moments of the summer solstice sunset: (a) 21st June, 2014, at 19:47; (b) 20th June, 2010, at 21:06; (c) 21st June, 2014, at 20:19 (c). Local sunset was about 21:40 on those dates (photographs by José Ángel Jesús María).

Enduring Sacred Places 67

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Moya (1998, 30) quotes a document dated 1787 which indicates that the access to the 12 m-long corridor of the cave was five palmos high. A palmo traditionally measures about 21 cm, so five palmos indicates a height of just over one metre – significantly less than the current height of about 1.7–1.8 m. This description suggests that, at some point after that date, the opening of the corridor was extended in height in order to facilitate access for visitors. However, we do not know if that alteration was made in the lower or upper part of the aperture, or in both. Although the extension certainly would not affect the general orientation of the axis of the corridor towards the solstice sunset, it would undoubtedly affect the illumination pattern and the precise parts of the interior of the cave that were illuminated by direct sunlight. It should be noted that Figure 6 above shows the horizon visible to an observer with his or her eyes located between 1.2 m and 1.5 m high at Point 1 of the cave. If we consider that the alteration affected only the upper part of the corridor, that would imply that the illuminated area would be restricted to lower parts of the north wall and the sunrays would not penetrate as deeply as they do at present. In particular, Point 2 would never have been illuminated in this case (see Figure 2 above). However, if the alterations were carried out to the floor of the corridor this would have less impact on the depth of the illuminated area of the north wall. As we can see, the lack of accurate information about the original shape of the corridor does not permit us to estimate what the exact pattern of illumination at the summer solstice sunset in the Iberian sanctuary would be.

Figure 8: Photograph taken from the interior Cueva Santa del Cabriel at the summer solstice sunset of 20th June, 2010. We can see that other parts of the interior of the cave are illuminated by the sunlight reflected by the walls (photograph by José Ángel Jesús María).

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz68

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Discussion

The Astronomical Orientation

In addition to the archaeoastronomical findings relating to Cueva de la Lobera and Cueva de la Nariz (discussed in Section 1.1), the solar orientation of the entrance corridor at Cueva Santa del Cabriel is further evidence of the importance of the Sun in the rituals carried out in Iberian sacred places. These three caves, in common with most Iberian cave-sanctuaries (Ocharan 2017, 85), have their entrances open to the west, in contrast to the common easterly orientations found at Iberian temples and open-air sanctuaries (see Esteban 2013; 2015). On the other hand, the illumination phenomena reported in the three cave-sanctuaries mentioned here are produced at sunset over the local horizon, indicating celebrations at the end of the day when the Sun appears to return to the Earth. These two facts might be related to the chthonic character of the cult conducted in the cave-sanctuaries. Other interesting features of the illumination phenomena are their short duration – they occur for just a few minutes before sunset – and the intense colour sensations produced by the reddish sunlight at this moment of the day. However, from our point of view the most important characteristic is that they take place at singular moments of the solar cycle: equinoxes or solstices, correlated with moments of seasonal change. Therefore, the illumination phenomena are perfectly delimited in space and time, closely relating the cave with the Sun as the source of life and the cycle of nature. The periodic, brief and liminal phenomenon of illumination of the inner parts of the caves might be interpreted as a symbolic act of union of two elements, earth and sunlight. In this sense, following Esteban et al. (2014), we can hypothesise that the cave might have represented the Iberian feminine fertility goddess – perhaps her womb – while the sunrays represented the fertilising power of the Sun, perhaps an astral representation of a masculine deity. The illumination phenomena would in this case represent the symbolic act of the fertilisation of nature.

The orientation towards the summer solstice sunset found at Cueva Santa del Cabriel is not very common in Iberian sanctuaries, but it is certainly present in some of them (see Esteban 2013; 2017). Archaeoastronomical studies indicate that most of the temples or open-air sanctuaries show orientations or markers associated with the equinoxes or, more probably, with the half-way point between the solstices (Esteban 2015; 2016). The chronology of the sites showing equinoctial orientations is in general later than the mid-fourth century BC, indicating a terminus post quem for the use of equinoxes in Iberian rituals (Esteban 2016). That period in the protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula also saw a significant change in the prevailing ideology of Iberian society and increased Punic influence (for example Rueda 2011). It is important to note that the chronology of the equinoctially oriented Cueva de la Lobera is consistent with that idea. It has been dated from between the middle of the fourth century BC and the first century AD, as indicated by the presence of Roman votive offerings (Rueda 2011, 97–98), but there are no indications of any previous occupation. In the case of Cueva Santa del Cabriel, in contrast, occupation goes back to the Late Chalcolithic, and there are some indications of funereal and ritual use dating from this period or the beginning of the Bronze Age

Enduring Sacred Places 69

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

(Lorrio et al. 2006, 62). This means it is possible that the cave had a sacred character prior to the Iberian epoch and even that the orientation towards the summer solstice sunset had been observed at earlier times. In fact, the importance of solstices in the later prehistory of the southern Iberian Peninsula has been revealed with the recent discovery of winter solstice markers. Cueva del Sol, near Tarifa, a small town on the southern coast of Spain in the province of Cadiz (Versaci et al. 2017), and Cueva del Toril, in the Otíñar Valley, near the city of Jaén in Andalusia (Serrano et al. 2017), are caves dating from the Chalcolithic containing a number of painted or carved motifs. At both sites, one of the most remarkable motifs shows a striking correspondence with a sunlit spot observed at the winter solstice sunset. On the other hand, Castillejo del Bonete, an impressive complex of funereal tumuli, with absolute dates that place it clearly in the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age (2465–1565 cal. BC) (Benítez de Lugo et al. 2014), has a very clear association with the solstices. Esteban and Benítez de Lugo (2016) found that, viewed from the main tumulus, the winter solstice sunrise takes place over a conspicuous mountain with a curiously squared profile.

Recent results suggest that orientations towards the summer or winter solstices in protohistoric sanctuaries of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula may have Semitic influences. Escacena (2007; 2009; 2015) found possible orientations towards the summer solstice sunrise at Tartessian/Phoenician temples in the Guadalquivir valley. According to this author, these astronomical alignments were related to annual rites dedicated to the death and resurrection of the Phoenician god Baal, a divinity with strong solar attributes. Archaeoastronomical studies of some temples carried out by Esteban and Escacena (2013) have confirmed these associations, although they can also be explained as orientations towards the southernmost position of Venus at its setting. Esteban has also compiled results for other sanctuaries located in the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula dating from the first millennium BC which show solstitial orientations (Esteban 2017), while González-García et al. (2015) have found remarkable solstitial alignments at archaeological sites in the modern city of Cartagena, old Carthago Nova, which was founded by the Carthaginians towards the end of the third century BC. Therefore, there are enough indications to confirm that solstitial orientations were common at sacred places before and during the Iberian Iron Age. This phenomenon may have originated from the ancient traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Iberian Peninsula or the influence of colonisers, such as the Phoenicians or Carthaginians.

The Persistence of the Sacred Space: Christian Use of the Cave

Although the ritual use of Cueva Santa del Cabriel in Iberian times is clearly demonstrated, Roman and Islamic evidence is so scant that ritual continuity cannot be affirmed (Lorrio et al. 2006, 58–59, 70). In fact, it has been proposed that due to the depopulation of the area, the cave was used only as a refuge during the Islamic period (Moya 1998, 73–74). Its ritual use appears to have recommenced with the Christian Reconquista, especially from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries onwards, when numerous ceramics from the Paterna and Manises workshops were deposited in the cave as offerings (Moya 1998, 75–77; Lorrio et al. 2006, 59).

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz70

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

The present-day pilgrimage from the village of Fuenterrobles to Cueva Santa del Cabriel is rather modest, but this tradition has brought hundreds of pilgrims to this remote place every year since the fourteenth century. Until the end of the nineteenth century, people from all of the surrounding villages visited the cave at different dates in the spring, adhering to a strict calendar. In spite of its continued use as a chapel since the Middle Ages, no architectural elements were ever added to modify its natural character, although a few small works in the interior were carried out to facilitate Catholic worship. These consisted of the construction of a central altar, where an image of the Virgin was placed, as well as of a small pulpit and a side altar where the people of the town of Mira placed an image of Saint Mark in the sixteenth century. However, although alterations are known to have been made to the interior of the sanctuary at the beginning of the nine-teenth century, it is not known what they were. We also know that the altar underwent several modifications over time, but that it always remained in the same place (Figure 9). Most of the human action in the cave has been focused on improving access, such as the extension of the height of the entrance corridor or the construction of steps carved into the rock, nowadays replaced by a metal staircase (Figure 1.2). The external appearance of the cave, meanwhile, has barely changed over the centuries. Outside, there has been a small building known as the hermit house since the eighteenth century, although the original structure was destroyed after the Spanish Civil War to prevent it from serving as a shelter for guerrillas hiding out in these remote areas (Moya 1998; Lorrio et al. 2006). It was originally used as a dwelling by the family in charge of the sanctuary and by some of the pilgrims. In front of the house there used to be a circular threshing floor with a small table built of stones and plaster, where the image of the Virgin was placed during the celebrations.

As in Iberian times, the cave as a Christian sanctuary remains a very isolated place. Written sources inform us that the territory where the cave is located was in the thir-teenth century attached to the village of Requena. Later, the cave was the property of the Diocese of Cuenca, and in 1537 it belonged to the municipality of Mira (Moya 1998). Manuscripts from the period inform us about a few pastoral visits, when the precarious economic situation of the site and the shortage of funds for its maintenance and equip-ment were reported. In this chapel all of the ornaments, lamps or images deemed essential in other cave-sanctuaries were regarded as superfluous here. In fact, this may be one of the reasons why ancestral pagan religious traditions survived over the ages. The people who went on a pilgrimage to this cave showed their devotion in their own simple way, a practical religiosity characteristic of farming communities. The main objective of their devotions was to ask for protection for their families, lands and livestock (Moya 1998; Lorrio et al. 2006).

While written sources are sparse, oral information about the cave is very rich and covers all kinds of religious practices, many of which suggest the survival of ancestral rites. These were mainly related to the symbolism of rainwater, to encourage rainfall in order to ensure a successful harvest and the survival of farm animals, but they also highlight the importance of the water that flows from the cave itself. Perhaps the most remarkable and best-kept practice – one that the Catholic clerics know of but have

Enduring Sacred Places 71

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

always disdained – was the tradition of “offering” very young children to the Virgin of the Cave. This practice, which was maintained by recent generations, consisted of a mother immersing her child in a water basin behind the altar, and after drying and wrapping the child then placing a candle in front of the image of the Virgin. This was customary even if the child were already baptised, and the practitioners believed that with this ceremony their children were completely protected. This example of popular religiosity appears to echo the beliefs of ancient times. Also, since water from different places inside the cave was believed to have health-giving qualities, devotees took it back to their homes, particularly for use by the sick who could not attend the celebrations at the sanctuary. The water in the cave was regarded as so sacred that visitors to churches and cave-sanctuaries would use it to cross themselves rather than holy water blessed by a priest. Pilgrims also took pieces of the stalagmites and stalactites and kept them in their homes as relics, especially to protect them from storms and adverse atmospheric conditions. They were stored inside the house or placed in the lintel of the door, or on windows and balconies when a storm was approaching (Moya 1998; Lorrio et al. 2006). This tradition, attested since at least the eighteenth century, may perhaps have its origin in Iberian times, as suggested by the findings at Cueva del Águila, near the village of Orcera, in northeastern Andalusia, where fragments of stalactites and stalagmites have been found in closed deposits as offerings, along with other Iberian materials (Rueda and Bellón 2016).

Vegetation also plays a role at the cave, particularly during the spring, when the tradi-tional pilgrimages now take place. Offerings are made of containers (“vergeles”) filled with stalks of germinated cereals and/or legumes (Figure 10), and a tradition of offering them at the summer solstice (Moya 2015) has recently been restored – again, a symbolic

Figure 9: Christian altar located inside the cave (photograph by one of the authors).

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz72

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

offering performed at an important time of the year. Fragrant plants growing near the cave were also used to decorate the carts and draught animals that carried some of the pilgrims until a few decades ago, and these later became an important memento of the pilgrimage.

Obviously, it is very difficult to trace these practices back to the Iron Age. However, the presence of pots and the representation of vegetation as offerings in bronze ex-votos in Iberian cave-sanctuaries have also been related to these practices (Grau and Olmos 2005; Machause et al. 2017).

Figure 10: Offerings deposited next to the altar during (1) the annual pilgrimage and (2) the solstice (photographs by two of the authors).

Although Cueva Santa del Cabriel has not been excavated, all the archaeological evidence indicates an apparent hiatus in the use of the cave. If this is true, however, it is very difficult to understand how a remote and isolated cave maintained its sacred char-acter, both in Iberian times and, much later, as a Christian chapel. It is tempting to think that some notion of sanctity persisted among the people living in the surrounding areas during the Roman and Islamic periods – a notion which was transmitted to subsequent generations. It is obvious, however, that the present-day celebrations do not coincide with the summer solstice. Moya (1998) also points out that the dates of celebrations and annual pilgrimages to the cave varied at different local villages, at least in the twentieth century. Mira held its celebrations on 25th April, the feast day of Saint Mark the Evangelist. La Pesquera and Fuencaliente de Mira (both in Cuenca) celebrated on 1st May and 3rd May respectively, while Fuenterrobles, the only village that still maintains the traditions, as noted above holds its pilgrimage on the second Sunday of May. Clearly, mid-spring was the important time of the year, regardless of the exact date of the celebrations.

In our opinion, although the sacred character of the cave persisted among local people for centuries, the orientation towards the solstice of the entrance corridor was

Enduring Sacred Places 73

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

perhaps forgotten after the Iberian period. However, the original dedication of the cave to a fertility goddess may have survived and might help to explain its later dedication to the Virgin Mary by Christians. There are many Catholic traditions linking the month of May with devotion to the Virgin Mary. Cantigo 406 in the thirteenth-century poetry collection Cantigas de Santa María, attributed to King Alfonso X of Castile, tells of the special honour accorded to Mary on particular days in May (Mettmann 1989). It may not be a coincidence, therefore, that celebrations at the cave took place in May once it became Christianised and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Finally, from our own recollection of oral traditions gathered among elderly people in Fuenterrobles after the work by Moya (1998), there is one particularly interesting point about the origins of Christian activity at the site. According to several local people, the Virgin venerated in the cave pre-dates the Virgin Mary and was there at a much earlier time. This was something they had always known and understood from their grandpar-ents and ancestors.

Conclusion

After presenting the results of the archaeoastronomical study at the Iberian cave-sanctuary of Cueva Santa del Cabriel, we remark that the 12 m-long access corridor that leads to the main gallery of the cave is oriented precisely upon the summer solstice sunset. This means the north wall of the main gallery can be partially illuminated by sunlight, but only for a few days around that particular time of the year. However, altera-tions to the access corridor made during or after the eighteenth century prevent us from knowing precisely how the illumination pattern appeared in the Iberian period. We calculate that this solstitial orientation was also effective during the Iberian Iron Age, and even in the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age. Other Iberian cave-sanctuaries also show orientation and illumination phenomena at sunset at particular points in the solar cycle, such as solstices and equinoxes. All of this evidence indicates a clear relationship between the Iberian cult in caves and the annual cycle of nature. Considering this, we propose that the astronomical orientation of the cave might be one of the reasons for the choice of Cueva Santa del Cabriel as a sacred place during the Iron Age, or perhaps earlier during the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age.

Although there are indications that Cueva Santa del Cabriel was in use as early as the Late Chalcolithic, it became important as a supra-territorial religious centre during the Iberian period. In fact, it can be interpreted as a marker of the western boundary of the territory of the Iberian settlement of Kelin. Most of the materials found in the cave date from that period and correspond to offerings or containers of offerings made to the divinity at particular points in the year, related to pilgrimage and perhaps rites of passage. There are indications that the rites practised inside the cave were reserved to certain privileged groups.

After an apparent hiatus during the Roman and Islamic periods, the ritual use of the cave was re-established with the Christian Reconquista, especially from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but now dedicated to the worship of the Virgin Mary – the Virgin of the Cave. The solstitial orientation of the cave had perhaps by then been forgotten but

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz74

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

it was replaced by celebrations held in mid-spring, around the beginning of May, a month dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. Popular pilgrimages to the cave have been continuously maintained until the present day. While written evidence relating to the Christian celebrations at Cueva Santa del Cabriel is sparse, the oral information available is very rich and covers all kinds of religious practices, many of which remind us of ancestral rites.

Even though the majority of the activities performed inside caves do not leave evidence in the archaeological record, the memories of rituals might survive through the ages. The repetition of ritualised activities can renew the memory of these places and their ritualised landscape (Tilley 1994, 27; Kyriakidis 2007, 299). As Evangelos Kyriakidis (2007, 299) remarks, “rituals, literally, take place” – they invade spaces and create an atmosphere charged with symbolism. Even if there were no continuity in the original cult, the sanctity of a place would persist through continuous ritual practice.

Acknowledgements

The fieldwork carried out by César Esteban was funded by the project Arqueoastronomía (P/309307) of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, with further postdoctoral funding from the Valencian Government: APOSTD-Generalitat Valenciana- European Social Fund (Sonia Machause López). We express our gratitude to Alfred Sanchis and Ángela Pérez, who have studied the faunal and human remains published in this paper, as well as the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia and the Museum of Cuenca (where the majority of the materials are deposited). We would also like to show our gratitude to Professor Consuelo Mata, of Universitat de València, for sharing her pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this research. We are grateful to Régulo Algarra, José Ángel Jesús María, Olivier Soriano and Ignacio Latorre Zacarés for their important contributions to the discovery of the solstitial orientation of the cave. Finally, we would like to thank the peer reviewers of the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology for their suggestions and to Richard Bartholomew, who has helped to improve the style of the original English text.

References

Alfayé, S., 2010. “Hacia el lugar de los dioses: aproximación a la peregrinación religiosa en la Hispania indoeuropea”. In Viajeros, peregrinos y aventureros en el mundo antiguo, edited by F. Marco, F. Pina and J. Remesal, 177–218. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. https://doi.org/10.12795/habitatysociedad .2015.i8.04

Alfayé, S., 2011. Imagen y ritual en la céltica peninsular. A Coruña, Spain: Toxosoutos.Amorós, I., 2012. “La Cova de l’Agüela (Vall d’Alcalà, Alicante). Una cueva-santuario en el corazón de la Con-

testania Ibérica”. Alberri 22: 51–93.Benítez de Lugo, L., H. J. Álvarez, S. Fernández, E. Mata, J. Moraleda, N. Palomares, C. Odriozola, A. Morgado

and D. C. Salazar-García, 2014. Castillejo del Bonete (Terrinches, Ciudad Real, España): Un complejo tumular prehistórico de la Cultura de las Motillas en el Alto Guadalquivir. Menga. Revista de Prehistoria de Andalucía 5: 151–17 https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2014.121253.

Bergsvik, K. A. and R. Skeates, eds, 2012. Caves in Context: The Cultural Significance of Caves and Rockshelters in Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1djk4

Blay, F., 1992. “Cueva Merinel (Bugarra). ‘Análisis de la fauna’”. In Estudios de Arqueología ibérica y romana.

Enduring Sacred Places 75

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Homenaje a Enrique Pla Ballester, edited by J. J. Cabanilles, 283–287. Serie de Trabajos Varios del SIP 89. Valencia: Diputación Provincial de Valencia. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_geri.2016.v34.53760

Bonsall, C. and C. Tolan-Smith, eds, 1997. The Human Use of Caves. British Archaeological Reports, Interna-tional Series 667. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Bradley, R., 2002. An Archaeology of Natural Places. London: Routledge.Brady, J. E. and K. M. Prufer, eds, 2005. In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. Austin:

University of Texas Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022216x06501506Chapa, T., 2003. La percepción de la infancia en el mundo ibérico. Trabajos de Prehistoria 60 (1): 115–138.

https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2003.v60.i1.125Dowd, M., 2015. The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland, Oxford: Oxbow Books. Escacena, J. L., 2007. “El dios que resucita: claves de un mito en su primer viaje a Occidente”. In Las aguas

primigenias. El Próximo Oriente Antiguo como fuente de civilización. Actas del IV Congreso Español de Antiguo Oriente Próximo, edited by J. J. Justel, B. E. Solans, J. P. Vita and J. Á. Zamora, 615–651. Zaragoza, Spain: Instituto de Estudios Islámicos y del Oriente Próximo. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.085.012.018

Escacena, J. L., 2009. “La Égersis de Melqart. Hipótesis sobre una teología solar cananea”. Complutum 20 (2): 95–120.

Escacena, J. L., 2015. “Orientation of Phoenician Temples”. In Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Eth-noastronomy, edited by C. L. N. Ruggles, 1793–1799. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_183

Esteban, C., 2013. “Arqueoastronomía y religión ibérica”. In Congreso Internacional ‘Santuarios iberos: territo-rio, ritualidad y memoria. El Santuario de la Cueva de La Lobera de Castellar (Jaén) 1912–2012, edited by C. Rísquez and C. Rueda, 465–489. Jaén, Spain: Asociación para el desarrollo rural de la Comarca de El Condado. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.087.014.006

Esteban, C., 2015. “Iberian Sanctuaries”. In Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, edited by C. L. N. Ruggles, 1163–1168. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 -1-4614-6141-8_111

Esteban, C. 2016. “Equinoctial Markers in Protohistoric Iberian Sanctuaries”. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 16 (4): 297–304.

Esteban, C. 2017. “Lugares de culto y astronomía en Iberia y el norte de África durante la protohistoria”. In Entre el Cielo y la Tierra, Arqueoastronomía del Mundo Fenicio Púnico. XXX Jornadas de Arqueología Fenicio-Púnica (Eivissa, 2015), edited by B. Costa Ribas and A. C. González-García, 81–116. Treballs del Museu Arqueològic d’Eivissa i Formentera 76. Ibiza Town, Spain: Museu Arqueològic d’Eivissa i Formentera. https://doi.org/10.12795/spal.2018i27.26

Esteban, C. and J. E. Aura, 2001. “The Winter Sun in a Palaeolithic Cave: La Covadel Parpalló”. In Astronomy, Cosmology and Landscape, edited by C. L. N. Ruggles, F. Prendergast and T. Ray, 8–14. Bognor Regis, UK: Ocarina Books.

Esteban, C. and L. Benítez de Lugo, 2016. “Archaeoastronomy in Bronze Age Sites of La Mancha (Spain)”. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 16 (4): 283–289.

Esteban, C. and J. L. Escacena, 2013. “Arqueología del cielo. Orientaciones astronómicas en edificios proto-históricos del sur de la Península Ibérica”. Trabajos de Prehistoria 71 (1): 113–138. https://doi.org/10.3989 /tp.2013.12105

Esteban, C. and J. A. Ocharan, 2016. “Winter Solstice at the Iberian Cave-Sanctuary of La Nariz”. In The Mate-riality of the Sky, edited by F. Silva, K. Malville, T. Lomsdalen and F. Ventura, 189–196. Ceredigion: Univer-sity of Wales, Trinity Sant David, Sofia Centre Press.

Esteban, C., C. Rísquez and C. Rueda, 2014. “Una hierofanía solar en el santuario ibérico de Castellar (Jaén)”. Archivo Español de Arqueología 87: 91–107. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.087.014.006

Faro, E., 2013. “Caves in the Ritual Landscape of Minoan Crete”. In Stable Places and Changing Perceptions: Cave Archaeology in Greece, edited by F. Mavridis and J. Tae Jensen, 166–175. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 2558. Oxford: Archaeopress.

García Sanjuán, L., P. Garrido and F. Lozano, 2007. “Las piedras de la memoria (II). El uso en época romana de

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz76

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

espacios y monumentos sagrados prehistóricos del Sur de la Península Ibérica”. Complutum 18: 109–130. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2011.11072

Gil-Mascarell, M., 1977. “Excavaciones en la cueva-ritual ibérica de Villargordo del Cabriel (Valencia)”. In XIV Congreso Nacional de Arqueología (Vitoria 1975), 705–710. Zaragoza, Spain: Secretaria General de los Congresos Arqueologicos Nacionales.

González-García, A. C., J. M. Noguera, J. A. Belmonte, A. Rodríguez, E. Ruiz, M. J. Madrid, E. Zamora and J. Bonnet, 2015. “Orientatio ad sidera: astronomía y paisaje urbano en Qart Hadašt/Carthago Nova”. Zeph-yrus 75: 141–62. https://doi.org/10.14201/zephyrus201575141162

González Reyero, S., F. J. Sánchez-Palencia, C. Flores and I. López Salinas, 2014. “Procesos de apropiación y memoria en el sureste peninsular durante la segunda edad del hierro: Molinicos y La Umbría de Sal-chite en la construcción de un territorio político”. Zephyrus 73: 149–170. https://doi.org/10.14201 /zephyrus201473149170

Grau, I., 1996. “La Cova dels Pilars (Agres, El Comtat). Aportació a l’estudi de les coves-santuari ibèriques”. Alberri 9: 78–105. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.2005.v78.73

Grau, I., 2002. La organización del territorio en el área central de la Contestania Ibérica. Alicante, Spain: Publi-caciones Universidad de Alicante. https://doi.org/10.14198/ancontemp.1984-1985.3-4.11

Grau, I., 2010. “Paisajes sagrados del área central de la Contestania ibérica”. In Debate en torno a la religiosi-dad protohistórica, edited by T. Tortosa and S. Celestino, 101–122. Mérida, Spain: Instituto de Arque-ología de Mérida. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.1997.v54.i2.366

Grau, I. and I. Amorós, 2013. “La delimitación simbólica de los espacios territoriales: el culto en el confín y las cuevas-santuario”. In Congreso Internacional ‘Santuarios iberos: territorio, ritualidad y memoria. El San-tuario de la Cueva de La Lobera de Castellar (Jaén) 1912–2012, edited by C. Rísquez and C. Rueda, 183–212. Jaén, Spain: Asociación para el desarrollo rural de la Comarca de El Condado. https://doi.org/10.3989 /aespa.087.014.006

Grau, I. and R. Olmos, 2005. “El ánfora ática de la Cova dels Pilars (Agres, Alicante): Una propuesta de lectura iconográfica en su contexto espacial ibérico”. Archivo Español de Arqueología 78 (191–192): 49–77. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.2005.v78.73

Hamilakis, Y., 2002. “The Past as Oral History: Towards an Archaeology of the Senses”. In Thinking through the Body: Archaeologies of Corporeality, edited by Y. Hamilakis, M. Pluciennik and S. Tarlow, 121–136. New York: Kluwer Academic and Plenum Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774302210148

Hamilakis, Y., 2011. “Archaeologies of the Senses”. In Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Reli-gion, edited by T. Insoll, 208–225. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb /9780199232444.001.0001

Hamilakis, Y., 2013. Archaeology of the Senses: Human Experience, Memory, and Affect. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Kyriakidis, E., 2007. “Archaeologies of Ritual”. In The Archaeology of Ritual, edited by E. Kyriakidis, 289–308. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvdjrr 7s.17

Laskar, J., 1986. “Secular Terms of Classical Planetary Theories Using the Results of General Theory”. Astron-omy and Astrophysics 157: 59–70.

López-Bertran, M., 2011. “Practical Movements: Kinetic Rituals in the Ancient Western Mediterranean”. Jour-nal of Mediterranean Archaeology 24 (1): 85–109. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v24i1.85

López-Bertran, M., 2015. “Paisajes rituales en el Sucronensis Sinus”. In El Sucronensis Sinus en época ibérica, edited by C. Aranegui, 43–62. Saguntum Extra 17. València: Universitat de València.

López-Bertran, M. and J. Vives-Ferrándiz, 2015. “Miniatures From Domestic Context in Iron Age Iberia”. World Archaeology 47 (1): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2014.991804

Lorrio, A. J., 2001. “El poblado y la necrópolis de El Molón (Camporrobles, Valencia)”. In Los íberos en la Comarca de Requena-Utiel (Valencia), edited by A. J. Lorrio, 151–171. Alicante, Spain: Serie Arqueología, Publicaciones Universidad de Alicante. https://doi.org/10.14198/lvcentvm2008.27.12

Lorrio, A. J., 2007. “El Molón (Camporrobles, Valencia) y su territorio: fortificaciones y paisaje fortificado de un espacio de frontera”. In Paisajes fortificados de la Edad del Hierro. Las murallas protohistóricas de la

Enduring Sacred Places 77

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

meseta y la vertiente atlántica en su contexto europeo, edited by L. Berrocal-Rangel and P. Moret, 213–236. Bibliotheca Archaeologica Hispania 28. Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia Casa De Velázquez. https:// doi.org/10.3989/tp.1989.v46.i0.600

Lorrio, J., T. Moneo, F. Moya, S. Pernas and M. D. Sánchez de Prado, 2006. “La Cueva Santa del Cabriel (Mira, Cuenca): Lugar de culto antiguo y ermita cristiana”. Complutum 17: 45–80.

Machause, S., 2017. “Las cuevas como espacios rituales en época ibérica. Los casos de Kelin, Edeta y Arse”. PhD diss., Universitat de València.

Machause, S., I. Amorós and I. Grau, 2017. “La Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi, Alacant): anàlisi de la materialitat i el paisatge d’un espai ritual ibèric”. Recerques del Museu d’Alcoi 26: 63–84. https://doi.org/10.5209/geri .60308

Machause, S., A. Pérez, P. Vidal and A. Sanchís, 2014. “Prácticas rituales ibéricas en la Cueva del Sapo (Chiva, Valencia): Más allá del caliciforme”. Zephyrus 74: 157–179. https://doi.org/10.14201/zephyrus201474157179

Machause, S. and D. Quixal 2018. “Cuevas rituales ibéricas en el territorio de Kelin (ss. V-III a.C.)”. Complutum 29 (1): 115–134. https://doi.org/10.5209/cmpl.62398

Machause, S. and A. Sanchis, 2015. “La ofrenda de animales como práctica ritual en época ibérica: la Cueva del Sapo (Chiva, Valencia)”. In Preses petites i grups humans en el passat, II Jornades d’Arqueozoologia del Museu de Prehistòria de València, edited by A. Sanchis and J. L. Pascual, 261–286. Valencia, Spain: Museu de Prehistòria de València. https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2017.15.0264

Martí Bonafé, M. A., 1990. “Las Cuevas del Puntal del Horno Ciego. Villargordo del Cabriel, Valencia”. SAG-VNTVM-PLAV 23: 141–182.

Mata, C. and H. Bonet, 1992. “La cerámica ibérica: ensayo de tipología”. In Estudios de Arqueología ibérica y romana. Homenaje a Enrique Pla Ballester, edited by J. J. Cabanilles, 117–173. Serie de Trabajos Varios del SIP 89. Valencia: Diputación Provincial de Valencia. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_geri.2016.v34.53760

Mettmann, W., ed. 1989. Alfonso X el Sabio: Cantigas de Santa María. Madrid: Clásicos Castalia.Moneo, T., 2003. Religio ibérica: santuarios, ritos y divinidades (siglos VII-I a.C.). Madrid: Real Academia de la

Historia.Moreno, A., 2011. Cuando el paisaje se convierte en territorio. Aproximación al proceso de territorialización íbero

en La Plana d’Utiel, València (ss. VI-II ane). British Archaeological Reports, International Series 2298. Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.12795/raa.2011.i01.03

Moya, F., 1998. La Cueva Santa del Cabriel (Mira, Cuenca). Aproximación a la evolución histórico-religiosa del Santuario y de la imagen allí venerada. Utiel, Spain: Ayuntamiento de Fuenterrobles.

Moya, F., 2015. “Los vergeles. Manifestación etnobotánica de carácter ritual”. Oleana: Cuadernos de cultura comarcal 30: 505–524.

Moyes, H., ed. 2012. Sacred Darkness: A Global Perspective on the Ritual Use of Caves. Boulder: University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.12136_18

Nicolini, G., C. Rísquez, A. Ruiz and N. Zafra, 2004. El santuario ibérico de Castellar. Jaén. Investigaciones arque-ológicas 1966-1991. Seville: Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura. https://doi.org/10.3989/aespa.087 .014.006

Ocharan, J. A. 2017. “Santuarios rupestres ibéricos en el sureste peninsular”. PhD diss., Universidad de Alicante.Olmos, R. and T. Tortosa, 2010. “Aves, diosas y mujeres”. In La Dama de Baza: Un viaje femenino al más allá.

Actas del Encuentro Internacional Museo Arqueológico Nacional (27 y 28 de Noviembre de 2007), edited by T. Chapa and M. I. Izquierdo, 243–258. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title .118541

Prados, L., 2004. “Un viaje seguro: Las representaciones de pies y aves en la iconografía de época ibérica”. Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 30: 91–104. https://doi.org /10.15366/cupauam2004.30.006

Quixal, D., 2015. La Meseta de Requena-Utiel (Valencia) entre los siglos II a.C. y II d.C. La Romanización del terri-torio ibérico de Kelin. Serie de Trabajos Varios del SIP 118. Valencia, Spain: Diputación Provincial de Valen-cia. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_geri.2016.v34.53760

Rueda, C., 2011. Territorio, culto e iconografía en los santuarios iberos del Alto Guadalquivir (ss. IV a.n.e.-I d.n.e.). Textos CAAI nº 3. Jaén, Spain: Universidad de Jaén.

Sonia Machause López, César Esteban and Fernando Moya Muñoz78

© 2019 EQUINOX PUBLISHING LTD

Rueda, C. and J. P. Bellón, 2016. “Culto y rito en cuevas: modelos territoriales de vivencia y experimentación de lo sagrado, más allá de la materialidad (ss. V-II a.n.e.)”. In Verenda numina: temor y experiencia religiosa en el mundo antiguo, edited by S. Alfayé, 43–80. Monográfico de la Revista Arys 14. Madrid: Monográ-fico de la Revista Arys. https://doi.org/10.20318/arys.2017.3986

Rueda, C., J. M. Gutiérrez and J. P. Bellón, 2008. “Aportación desde los procesos territoriales a las lecturas iconográficas de los santuarios del Alto Guadalquivir”. Anales de Arqueología cordobesa 19: 23–48.

Sánchez Romero, M., 2010. “¡Eso no se toca! Infancia y cultura material en Arqueología”. In Infancia y cultura material en Arqueología, edited by M. Sánchez Romero. Special issue of Complutum 21 (2): 9–14.

Serrano, M., C. Esteban, F. Gómez, N. Zafra and F. Arias, 2017. “Los signos del tiempo: documentación e inter-pretación de los petroglifos calcolíticos de la Cueva del Toril (Otíñar, Jaén)”. Menga. Revista de Prehisto-ria de Andalucía 8: 117–141. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2016.12167

Silva, F., 2014. “A Tomb with a View: New Methods for Bridging the Gap Between Land and Sky in Megalithic Archaeology”. Advances in Archaeological Practice 2 (1): 24–37. https://doi.org/10.7183/2326-3768.2.1.24

Skeates, R., 2007. “Religious Experience in the Prehistoric Maltese Underworld”. In Cult in Context: Reconsid-ering Ritual in Archaeology, edited by D. A. Barrowclough and C. Malone, 90–96. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

Skeates, R., 2012. An Archaeology of the Senses: Prehistoric Malta. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Tanner, J. 2017. “Obliquity of the Ecliptic and Nutation in Obliquity” [online calculator]. PHP Science Labs

website. Accessed October 2017, http://www.neoprogrammics.com/obliquity_of_the_ecliptic/ https:// doi.org/10.1888/0333750888/4946

Tilley, C., 1994. A Phenomenology of Landscape: Places, Paths and Monuments. Oxford: Berg.Ustinova, Y., 2009. Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth.

Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0009840x10000776Versaci, M., I. González Martínez-Pais, M. Lazarich, F. Torres, A. Carreras, M. Galindo del Pozo and S. Pardo

del Donlebún, 2017. “La Cueva del Sol, un marcador solar en la Sierra de la Plata (Tarifa, Cádiz)”. Spal 26: 295–310. https://doi.org/10.12795/spal.2017i26.13

Whitehouse, R. D., 1992. Underground Religion: Cult and Culture in Prehistoric Italy, London: Accordia Research Centre, University of London. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00046032

Whitehouse, R. D., 2001. “A Tales of Two Caves: The Archaeology of Religious Experience in Mediterranean Europe”. In The Archaeology of Cult and Religion, edited by P. F. Biehl and F. Bertemes, 161–167. Budapest: Archaeolingua.