From Pre‐Roman Bailo To Roman Baelo: Long‐Term Landscape Dynamics In The Straits Of Gibraltar

The Straits of Gibraltar have been historically an important maritime axis of connection between the Mediterranean and Atlantic areas of the Iberian Peninsula. For this reason, most of the archaeological research has focused on the coastal settlements, but its broader archaeological landscape remains mostly unknown. In this paper, we present recent intensive surveys in which a wide range of sites was detected, dating from the eighth century BC to the fourteenth AD. The ancient landscape is thus reconstructed over a long‐term perspective. Prior to the Roman expansion, the earlier Bailo‐La Silla del Papa was an urban central place that supported a dense network of subordinate settlements. Later on, the central settlement was transported from inland to the coastal town of Baelo Claudia, but the territorial structure remained based on a similar pattern.This study has been carried out as part of the Franco-German (Agence Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) project – ARCHEOSTRAITS. Espaces protohistoriques du détroit de Gibraltar: les territoires de la Silla del Papa et de Los Castillejos de Alcorrín (IXe – Ier siècle av. J.-C.) – led by D.Marzoli and P.Moret. In this article we have presented the analysis of the Atlantic sector, drawing on a study included in a Junta de Andalucía General Research Project led by P. Moret – La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz): oppidum, necropolis and territory (2014-2019)