La construcción secular de un espacio funerario mediante distintas arquitecturas monumentales: primeras consideraciones tras las investigaciones en la Cobertoria (Salas, Asturias)

Abstract

The archaeological Project of la Cobertoria has developed two main lines of research since 2015. One of these lines focuses on updating the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) of Salas’ council with excavations and LiDAR analysis, in order to gather more information about unknown barrows or to find new data about the sites already included in the SMR. The second line focuses on how the excavations of remarkable barrows are a key point to understand the degree of implementation of the first prehistoric farming societies in central-western Asturias. With this purpose in mind, barrow number five of the San Juan cemetery, called la Cobertoria, has been excavated since 2016. This paper gathers the first results of this research, based on the analysis of the stratigraphies and the radiocarbon and TL datings. Several hiatus, as well as different architectural projects, had been found in la Cobertoria. They were carried out in a short prehistoric time frame: five centuries. The importance of the site goes beyond the prehistoric horizon and plunderers have been sacked the tomb since post Medieval times attracted by the legends and unique names concentrated in the area.