The motillas were the early settlements of La Mancha ( Spain ) belonging to the Middle Bronze Age , and connected to the Bronze of Levante culture. These were human-made hills atop of which are placed fortified settlements. Their height is usually between four and five meters and the motillas are separated from each other by a distance of four to five kilometers. Their construction started c. 2200 BCE and they were used for about 1000 years.
30-469: The motillas were first believed to be antique burial mounds. However, this hypothesis was ruled out when an excavation at the Motilla del Azuer that took place in the seventies proved their defensive and management faculties. This way, a wide area could be controlled easily. Some similar sites in the foothills of Sierra Morena mountains are fortified towns of larger size. The motillas were constructed in
60-444: A cyclopean face of limestone blocks. Access to the interior of the fortification from the settlement area was through corridors parallel to the walls. The living area was located outside the walls, within a radius of about fifty metres (160 ft). The houses have an oval or rectangular floor plan, with masonry plinths, clay elevations, and embedded posts. Associated with the houses are large open areas of storage and work spaces, with
90-600: A " Bien de Interés Cultural " (asset of cultural interest) to archaeology . The artificial mounds known as motillas are the remains of one of the most unusual types of prehistoric settlement on the Iberian Peninsula . They are found in the La Mancha region and date from the Bronze Age, between about 2200 and 1500 BCE. The mounds are between four and ten metres (13 and 33 ft) high and were originally fortifications with
120-638: A cave in southern Spain (Cueva de los Murciélagos, Albuñol , Granada ). This collection is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain . There are many esparto remains in archaeological settlements from as long ago as the Neolithic period, including rugs, ropes, clothes, etc. Iberians used esparto rugs as floor coverings. For Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans, esparto was the best raw material for boat ropes. For centuries, esparto grasslands have been managed by local populations in order to boost
150-471: A central plan and several concentric lines of walls. They are found around the La Mancha plain, generally some four to five kilometres (2.5 to 3.1 mi) apart, in an area of river plains and lowland where, until recent times, there were many lagoons and marshes. The special characteristic of this site and the massiveness of its fortifications, with masonry walls more than eight metres (26 ft) high, make
180-408: A collapse inwards, raising questions about the dynamics and constructive systems of the site. Inside the enclosure between the outer and intermediate walls, there are many circular or oval ovens, with masonry plinths and vaulted clay covers, as well as rectangular silos for grain, which were built throughout the occupation of the site. The outermost circular wall has in its last phase of construction
210-455: A diameter of about forty metres (130 ft). On it stand a tower, three concentric lines of walls, and a large courtyard. The central core is a masonry tower with a square floor plan, the east and west walls of which still stand more than ten metres (33 ft) high. Entrance to the interior is by ramps within narrow masonry corridors. Within the walls are large spaces, a patio and two large enclosures separated by an intermediate wall. Inside
240-415: A high concentration of pits and remains of fireplaces or ovens, and areas of middens . There is also a cemetery at the site, covering most of the area of the settlement, following a common pattern in most peninsular cultures of the Bronze Age. The dead were buried in a crouching position, inside simple graves or graves lined with masonry walls or slabs, sometimes attached to the walls of the houses or to
270-576: A high quality paper often used in book manufacturing. First used in Great Britain in 1850 by Thomas Routledge who imported it from southern Spain, and it was greatly exploited by Edward Lloyd at his paper mills at Bow-Bridge and Sittingbourne from the 1860s. Lloyd imported his raw materials from Oran and Arzew in Algeria . It has been extensively used in the UK and Europe , but due to transportation costs, it
300-422: A more complex and hierarchical society". Esparto Esparto , halfah grass , or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa , Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords , basketry , and espadrilles . Stipa tenacissima and Lygeum spartum are the species used to produce esparto. Stipa tenacissima ( Macrochloa tenacissima ) produces
330-558: A relationship between the geological substrate and the spatial distribution of the “motillas” who reported the first paleohydrogeological interdisciplinary research in La Mancha. According to the authors: "Recent studies show that the “motilla” sites from the Bronze Age in La Mancha may be the most ancient system of groundwater collection in the Iberian Peninsula. ... These were built during the Climatic Event 4.2 ka cal BP , in
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#1732876695404360-513: A time of environmental stress due to a period of severe, prolonged drought." Motilla del Azuer The Motilla del Azuer is a prehistoric fortification dating from the Bronze Age in the municipality of Daimiel , in the Province of Ciudad Real , Castilla–La Mancha , Spain. Extensive field work has been carried out since 1974 and was ongoing in 2021. On 20 June 2013 the site was declared
390-458: Is rarely found in the United States . Most paper made from esparto is usually combined with 5% to 10% wood pulp . The fibers are fairly short in relation to their width, yet do not create any significant amount of dust. Because of the short fiber length, the tensile strength of the paper is less than that of many other papers, but its resistance to shrinkage and stretching is superior, and
420-567: Is the esparto canteen. Made with crushed esparto and waterproofed with pine pitch, they were used by the shepherds of southeastern Spain to carry water in the mountains. The Archaeological Museum of Cartagena has an example of a Roman esparto canteen two thousand years old. Esparto was also used for making slingshots. In ancient times these were used as weapons of war, but could also be used for hunting or by shepherds to protect their livestock. A wide strip of plaited raw esparto, named "pleita" in Spanish,
450-411: Is the traditional mold for Manchego cheese. Another important use of esparto is in rope-making. Ropes could be made with raw esparto, crushed esparto or raked esparto (after crushed). A special rope was used to tie cereal bunches in harvest time. Other were used in vernacular architecture to tie reeds to the timber in roof building. Esparto grass is known for its use in papermaking . The fiber makes
480-402: Is to soak the leaves in water for about a month, before drying and then crushing them. This material is known as "crushed esparto", which is stronger and easier to weave. The main techniques are: All techniques involve working with an odd number of strands, from 5 to 31 or more. There are many complementary techniques to end the baskets, square braids, cord edging, crown sinnet, points, etc. In
510-491: The Azuer settlement one of the most notable Bronze Age survivals of the Iberian Peninsula. During the Bronze Age, these fortified settlements played an important role in the management and control of local economies. Inside the walls was a water supply from a well, large-scale storage and processing of cereals, the housing of livestock, and the production of ceramics. Other handicrafts were also carried out. The mound at Azuer has
540-724: The better and stronger esparto. It is endemic to the Mediterranean region (growing in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt). Another name in Spanish for the plant is "atocha", a pre-Roman word. "Esparto" or σπάρτο in Greek may refer to any woven products of sedge or broom , including cords and ropes. This species grows forming a steppic landscape – esparto grasslands – which covers large parts of Spain and Algeria. Esparto leaves have been used for millennia. The oldest baskets of esparto, dating back 7,000 years, were found in
570-422: The esparto industry. Esparto leaves are traditionally harvested with a stick; usually of wood or iron, but in ancient times, of bone. The stick is used to pull up a handful of leaves at a time. The esparto is not normally used immediately after harvesting. Instead, the leaves are left to dry in the sun until they turn yellowish. This is the raw esparto, which is used for different basketry techniques. An alternative
600-466: The finest pieces, all leaves used must be the same size and diameter, and must always be joined in parallel. Traditionally, esparto basketry has not been a professional product. Shepherds, farmers and other people of the countryside used to plait esparto on rainy days or in times not suitable for working. Most craft tools and artifacts in the southern Spanish countryside for farming and livestock were made with esparto, such as harvesting baskets, items for
630-407: The first research phase lasting until 1986. There was a pause of several years, and fieldwork started again in 2000 and was still in progress in 2021. The work has led to consolidation and restoration projects. An interdisciplinary hydrogeological study in 2014 found a relationship between the geological substrate and the distribution of the motillas at Daimiel, considering also that they may be
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#1732876695404660-460: The harvest, due to its economic value. In southern Spain there is an "Esparto culture": a deep knowledge about the many uses of this fiber forms part of the traditions of these communities. After the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), esparto was declared a "national fiber"; there was even a National Esparto Service. The opening of markets to other fibers and plastics eventually led to the decline of
690-449: The home, and containers/sacks for carts, horses, and donkeys. There is a huge variety of items, many of which are well known and have a specific use, but others are the product of a special personal need or a free creation, such as toys for children or animals. Every kind of basket has a special name that describes its use. For example, a "cesto rosero" is a basket used traditionally to gather saffron flowers. A special esparto basketry piece
720-461: The most ancient system of groundwater collection in Iberia. The study concluded that the motillas were built in the Bronze Age during the 4.2-kiloyear BP aridification event , due to a period of prolonged and severe drought, and that the building of defended settlements around wells was "a successful solution that continued for about one millennium and formed the main part of the processes of change towards
750-413: The oldest well known from the Iberian Peninsula and the archaeologists suspect that the walled enclosures were therefore used to protect and manage the livelihood of the people living in the settlement: To secure the well’s water, to store and process cereals on a large scale, to occasionally keep the livestock, and to produce pottery and other domestic artefacts." Analysis by Moreno et al. (2014) verified
780-509: The outer defensive walls. Some children were buried in pots. Few grave goods have been found, apart from the exceptional cases of adults buried with ceramic vessels. Such finds include a dagger with arsenical bronze rivets and a punch of the same metal. Since 1974, a team from the University of Granada , directed by Trinidad Nájera Colino and Fernando Molina González, had by 2021 undertaken fourteen seasons of archaeological fieldwork, with
810-439: The paper is a well-filled, dense paper with excellent inking qualities. It also has very good folding properties. Some manufacturers of rolling paper may use esparto, which might lead to a slightly higher carcinogen level when burned. The old leaves, which are under the plant, were used to make the traditional torches of southern Spain, named "hachos". They are also used by beekeepers to produce smoke while taking honey from
840-399: The patio, which has a trapezoidal plan, is a well which goes down through the alluvial terrace to the water table. This was in use throughout the occupation of the site and currently reaches to a depth of at least sixteen metres (52 ft). The intermediate enclosure occupies the western half of the fortification, between the intermediate wall and the outer face of a corridor surrounding
870-572: The period of c. 2200 BCE–1200 BCE. Their use started at the time of the 4.2 kiloyear event . They were needed as a consequence of severe aridification that affected this wide geographical area. They were also used as a control center of agricultural resources. They were no longer used after the end of the Argaric civilization . Recently, archaeologists have suggested that these structures are mainly connected with water management, and agricultural production: "Motilla del Azuer contains
900-448: The tower. The function of this enclosure changed during the different phases of occupation of the site, being sometimes used as a stabling area for sheep, goats, and pigs, and sometimes as a warehouse for barley and wheat. It has rectangular silos built of masonry and mud, a system replaced by storage in large vases and esparto baskets in the later phases of occupation. The outermost line of walls are of great interest, as there has been
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