En este trabajo se presentan algunas novedades de la investigación arqueológica altomedieval en el sureste de la Península Ibérica a la luz de los trabajos desarrollados en el Tolmo de Minateda (Hellín, Albacete) y se discuten, en el marco del debate cronológico recientemente planteado, aspectos relativos al método arqueológico, la cultura material, el poblamiento y la edilicia visigoda. ; This paper presents some new aspects of High Medieval archaeological research in the south east of the Iberian Peninsular in the light of work carried out in Tolmo de Minateda (Hellín, Albacete) and discusses, in the framework of the recently-announced chronological debate, aspects relating to the archaeological method, the material culture, population and Visigothic civil government.
La ciudad visigoda hallada en El Tolmo de Minateda ha sido identificada como la sede episcopal Eiotana o Elotana, fundada por el estado visigodo entre finales del siglo VI y principios del VII. En los últimos años, en la zona alta de la meseta se han podido documentar los restos arqueológicos que atestiguan la presencia de un complejo episcopal que actuó como núcleo político-religioso de la ciuitas y su territorio; en el que se incluyen la ecclesia Mater o cathedralis, el baptisterium y el episcopium. A este último edificio es al que dedicamos este trabajo, con el objetivo de presentar los últimos resultados sobre el proyecto arquitectónico llevado a cabo para su construcción, así como la interpretación funcional y la posible restitución de cada una de las estancias que formaron parte de lo que hemos interpretado como palatium o domus episcopi del obispado de Eio. De esta forma, pretendemos acercarnos algo más al papel jugado por este tipo de edificaciones en el desarrollo de las funciones administrativas, representativas y residenciales de los obispos. ; The Visigoth town found in the Tolmo de Minateda has been identified as the episcopal see Eiotana or Elotana, founded by the Visigoth state between the late sixth and early seventh century. In the last years, in the upper area of the hill, in the upper area of the plateau it has been able to document the archaeological remains that testify the presence of an episcopal complex that served as the political and religious center of the ciuitas and its territory; where are included the ecclesia Mater or cathedralis, the baptisterium and the episcopium. The latter building is to which we dedicate this work, with the aim of presenting the latest results on the architectural project carried out for its construction and functional interpretation and the possible restitution of each of the stays that were part of what we've interpreted as palatium or domus episcopi of the Eio bishopric. In this way, we intend to approach more to the role played by this type of construction in the development of administrative, representative and residential functions of the bishops. ; Trabajo realizado en el marco del proyecto de investigación HAR2012-34035, Lectura arqueológica del uso social del espacio. Espacios domésticos y vida social entre la Antigüedad y el Medievo, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.
The episcopal complex of Eio, located at El Tolmo de Minateda, was built between the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the seventh century. It may have been created as a result of a political decision taken by the authority of the Visigothic kingdom (based at Toletum) to control the Byzantine territories of south-east Hispania. With a comprehensive study of the construction phases, and of the decoration and location of spaces, we can recreate and interpret the function of each space in the episcopal palatium or episcopium, and detail the chronological development of the building. After the Arab-Berber conquest of Hispania in the early eight century, the whole complex underwent alterations that converted the religious and monumental public area into a private, residential and artisan Islamic quarter. ; Questo articolo è stato scritto nell'ambito del progetto di ricerca HAR2012-34035 (Lettura archeologica dell'uso sociale dello spazio. Spazi domestici e la vita sociale tra l'Antichità e il Medioevo) dal MICINN e nell'ambito del progetto di post-dottorato HA-2010-0461 (Influenza delle prime società medievale nel paesaggio rurale tardo romano nel Mediterraneo. Nuove forme di insediamento nella Penisola Iberica (V-VIII secolo d.C.) dal MEC (Spagna).
Analytical data of Roman and early Islamic glass established several primary glass production groups linked to glassmaking centres in the Levant and in Egypt. In contrast, the activities of secondary glass workshops are largely invisible in the compositional fingerprint of first millennium glass. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of 261 glass finds from the Visigothic settlement of Tolmo de Minateda (Spain) revealed a site-specific contamination pattern due to secondary glass processing and recycling, namely the enrichment of the glass batch by a unique combination of rare alkali elements (Li, K, Rb, Cs). With a median of 21 ppm, Li is particularly distinctive. Elevated lithium contents (Li>30 ppm) are also one of the characteristic features of Iberian plant ash glass from the Islamic period. The earliest known examples of this type of glass were found among the ninth-century remains from Tolmo. ; This project received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovative Programme (ERC-CoG-2014, grant number 647315 to NS), as well as from the "El contexto como herramienta: escalas de aplicación en los procesos de cambio en la Alta Edad Media (CONTEXT)" PID2019-108192GB-I00 funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation; "Cerámica y Alimentos. Paleoeconomía de la Alta Edad Media en el sureste peninsular" APOSD/2020/2016 funded by the Regional Government of Valencia and the European Union through the European Development Fund R.
In this work, we analyze the elements of power of the Visigothic elites through their representative buildings, as a symbol of the power of these groups, along with the objects they contained or were used in those spaces. In particular, we will focus on the episcopal complex of El Tolmo de Minateda built at the end of the sixth century or beginning of the seventh century, possibly as a political decision taken by the ecclesiastical authority in the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom (Toledo), as a way to counteract the Byzantine influence in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and exercised from Cartagena. The episcopal complex of El Tolmo is composed of three buildings, which are in turn the three main buildings of this type of religious facility: church, baptistery and bishop's palace, the last one being the most authoritative ecclesiastical space for audiences and those in residence. With the comprehensive study of the whole complex (construction cycles, furniture, decoration and the location of spaces), we can interpret the function of each space in the basilica and the domus episcopi, the routes of liturgical and general movement, the existence of some hierarchical environments, and specify the chronological development of the buildings. Complementing this work, we will analyze other types of objects that are in themselves indicators of prestige and economic power, such as imported ceramics, metal objects or coins documented in the contexts of the use of these spaces. The objects analyzed within these spaces of power and their location in relation to them will help us to expand our vision of Visigothic elites and the symbolism both of their architecture and of the objects that represented them. ; This paper has been carried out within the framework of the research project HAR2015-67111-P, El sitio de las cosas: relación entre la cultura material y los espacios construidos a la luz de la arqueología (siglos VI-XIV), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
