Intensive survey and protohistoric settlement in the middle Guadiana basin (Badajoz, Spain)

Proceeding of the international meeting Siena, Italy, May 25-27, 2007.Although agriculturally marginal, the Guadiana river basin has been an axis of connection between the Mediterranean and Atlantic shores of the Iberian peninsula. Nevertheless its archaeological landscape remains mostly hidden. Little effort has been put into regional-scale survey in comparison to other peninsular regions. In this paper we show recent work carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of Merida in this direction. Intensive survey results from the area surrounding the archaeological site of Cancho Roano (Zalamea de la Serena, Badajoz) are analyzed. Our aim is to fi nd a balance between fl exible and quick recording methods, and the detailed study of artefact distributions. A wide range of archaeological fi nds was detected, including very low density scatters. Problems related to ground visibility in pastoral areas, site defi nition and dating of materials will be discussed. Finally we will consider interpretation of the results in terms of land exploitation during Protohistoric and Roman times.The work presented in this paper has been partially developed in the framework of the research projects ‘Entre el Atlántico y el Mediterráneo: Contraste de dinámicas en la evolución histórica del paisaje’ (HAR 2009-10666) and ‘Paisaje, territorio y cambio social en el suroeste peninsular: De la protohistoria al mundo romano’ (HAR 2008-1973).Peer Reviewe