The archaeology of medieval agrarian spaces in the Basque Country

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the changes undergone by medieval rural societies in the Basque Country on the basis of archaeological digs undertaken in the last few years. Three types of archaeological evidence are presented and discussed: the cultivation spaces (manuring processes, terraced spaces), the storage structures and the species cultivated. These findings allow a diachronic characterization of Basque rural landscapes, with emphasis on the region of Alava during the 5th-12th centuries. The agrarian techniques documented allow us to propose the existence of a well-structured landscape in the Early Middle Ages, which changed in the 8th century due to the creation of dense village networks. Income silos which resulted in a reorientation of production activities in the framework of a feudal-type social system, are found towards the end of the millennium.