The ceramic productions of Puente de Santa Bárbara: a Bell Beaker metallurgical centre in the Almanzora Basin (Huércal-Overa, Almería, SE Spain)

Abstract

Puente de Santa Bárbara (Huércal-Overa, Almería) is a fortified settlement (1.5 ha) dating from the Middle and Late Copper Age. It is near Cerro Minado, a copper mine known for its high arsenic content according to chemical results obtained by XRF analyses. Excavations at Puente de Santa Bárbara unearthed a great amount of evidence of metallurgical activity suggesting the site’s specialisation in the production of metal tools and small ingots that were transported to other more important settlements of the Lower Almanzora Basin such as Almizaraque. Twenty ceramic samples of varying typology, including four crucibles, served to characterise the Santa Bárbara production. The main group, according to mineralogical and petrographic analyses, were produced locally. They respond to the demands of the local population which included, as evidenced by the crucibles, metallurgical production. The finds of certain red-slipped vessels, in turn, were probably produced elsewhere, notably at Almizaraque.