172
known since long ago, and had their own proper name usually connected with
Basque mythological figures. The name of the site, Chabola de la Hechicera
(Sorginaren Txabola in Basque) or Sorceress’ Shack, connects this site to a commonplace in Basque folklore, the Sorceress (Gordón Peral, 2008; Vegas Aramburu,
1991). In particular, the legend of Hechicera, which could be traced back at least to
the beginning of the nineteenth century (Vegas Aramburu, 1991), says that this was
the shack of a Sorceress who at night on Saint John’s day (June 24th) turned into
stone anybody that came along her way.
As indicated above, the orientation of the main axis of Hechicera is far from any
solar orientation looking out from the interior of the structure. The reverse orientation, looking from the outer extreme of the corridor towards the chamber, faces the
high parts of the Sierra de Cantabria to the north (see Fig. 2a) and is thus also far
from the summer solstice sunset.
However, the northern horizon is extremely interesting, as in the northeast
appears the shape of the Lapoblación Mountain with a prominent figure. The peak
of this mountain has an azimuth of 58° and declination near +25° and thus is nearly
perpendicular to the corridor entrance, as mentioned above. Interestingly, the summer solstice sunrise would be visible on the slopes of this prominent peak as seen
from Hechicera.
Fig. 2 The landscape surrounding Chabola de la Hechicera. (a) General panorama centred in the
northern horizon. The northern part of the horizon is dominated by the imposing view of Sierra de
Cantabria mountain range. The picture was taken from a position close to the megalithic chamber.
The capstone can be observed in the lower right. (b) The summer solstice sunset as seen from
Hechicera’s location happens on the NW extreme of the Sierra (at a position close to that of the car
in the upper image). At this moment, the last part of the surrounding landscape to be still lit by
sunlight is the peak of the Lapoblación mountain (c), seen on the NE extreme of the Sierra. (d) The
chamber and corridor open towards SE, facing the gentle slopes going towards the Ebro valley. The
river is not directly observable from this site. Images: A. César González-García
A. C. González-García
known since long ago, and had their own proper name usually connected with
Basque mythological figures. The name of the site, Chabola de la Hechicera
(Sorginaren Txabola in Basque) or Sorceress’ Shack, connects this site to a commonplace in Basque folklore, the Sorceress (Gordón Peral, 2008; Vegas Aramburu,
1991). In particular, the legend of Hechicera, which could be traced back at least to
the beginning of the nineteenth century (Vegas Aramburu, 1991), says that this was
the shack of a Sorceress who at night on Saint John’s day (June 24th) turned into
stone anybody that came along her way.
As indicated above, the orientation of the main axis of Hechicera is far from any
solar orientation looking out from the interior of the structure. The reverse orientation, looking from the outer extreme of the corridor towards the chamber, faces the
high parts of the Sierra de Cantabria to the north (see Fig. 2a) and is thus also far
from the summer solstice sunset.
However, the northern horizon is extremely interesting, as in the northeast
appears the shape of the Lapoblación Mountain with a prominent figure. The peak
of this mountain has an azimuth of 58° and declination near +25° and thus is nearly
perpendicular to the corridor entrance, as mentioned above. Interestingly, the summer solstice sunrise would be visible on the slopes of this prominent peak as seen
from Hechicera.
Fig. 2 The landscape surrounding Chabola de la Hechicera. (a) General panorama centred in the
northern horizon. The northern part of the horizon is dominated by the imposing view of Sierra de
Cantabria mountain range. The picture was taken from a position close to the megalithic chamber.
The capstone can be observed in the lower right. (b) The summer solstice sunset as seen from
Hechicera’s location happens on the NW extreme of the Sierra (at a position close to that of the car
in the upper image). At this moment, the last part of the surrounding landscape to be still lit by
sunlight is the peak of the Lapoblación mountain (c), seen on the NE extreme of the Sierra. (d) The
chamber and corridor open towards SE, facing the gentle slopes going towards the Ebro valley. The
river is not directly observable from this site. Images: A. César González-García
A. C. González-García