The Order of Things

Saunas as Performative Places in Northwestern Iberia during the Late Iron Age

Bibliographic Data

ID6044572
AuthorsJavier Rodríguez-Corral (0000-0002-6727-8029, Universidad de Sevilla, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume36
Issue1
Pages1-15
Publication date2025-11-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0959774325100231
OpenAlexW4415904421
LanguageEN
References cited20

Northwestern Iberia was inhabited by communities whose only settlement model was the hillfort throughout the Iron Age. In archaeological terms, these people are included in the so-called ‘Castro Culture’. These communities experienced social and material changes at the end of the Iron Age. From the second century bc onwards, a more hierarchical and complex social system, together with a process of monumentalization and sophistication of the architecture of the settlements, was adopted. More specifically, in the region between the Douro and Miño rivers, a series of highly original subterranean constructions have been documented. Unique in the archaeological record of the European Iron Age, the function of sites has been much debated, with the most accepted use as steam bath. In this article, these buildings are analysed from a performative approach, to understand their meaning and function in the context of the landscape of the hillforts

Archaeological record · Iron Age · Performative utterance · Sophistication · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeological and Historical Studies · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology

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