Prácticas de sacrificio en el Cerro de la Mesa (Alcolea de Tajo, Toledo): el depósito ritual de la Casa 1

Abstract

Deposits with animal bones remains buried under the floor in domestic areas, are well known ritual practices in the Peninsular Iron Age. These practices are traditionally associated either with foundation of new buildings or refurbishment, or linked to propitiation rites and fertility. Although best studied examples are in the east coast of Spain, the phenomenon is also known in other archeological interior sites. This paper presents a ritual deposit, dug in the veton settlement of Cerro de la Mesa, in the Tagus river middle basin, whose formal characteristics relate it to domestic offerings of the Iberian area. This pit, located at the threshold of the Casa 1, contains selected remains of several sheep and a small ceramic bowl placed upside down. The analysis of the skeletal remains, together with the contents of the bowl and the study of the archaeological context, have allowed to relate it with sacrifice and libation practices within the framework of vetonian religiosity. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the formation of a peninsular corpus of ritual domestic deposits contributing to study of the religious practices.