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nal shapes. The archaeological findings include human remains plus the material
record composed of lithic material, ceramics and beads (Narvarte Sanz, 2005). It is
interesting that in several cases there are some figurines in bone, identified as idols
(notably in San Martín; Fernández-Eraso, Mujika-Alustiza, & Fernández-Crespo,
2015) by the archaeologists who excavated the different sites.
The dating of the human remains from sites indicate that the construction of
these megaliths started at the end of the local Middle Neolithic or early late Neolithic
(i.e. end of the V and mid IV millennium cal BC; Fernández-Eraso & MujikaAlustiza, 2013). They seem to be contemporaneous to other megalithic monuments
in nearby regions such as the north of Burgos or the Basque Country to the north
(Fernández-Eraso, 2007–2008). It must be noted that, in general, two phases of use
have been identified. The first one would be from mid-fourth millennium cal BC,
during the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic, and the second at the end of the third
millennium BC, during the fist Bronze Age. It is interesting that some of the megalithic sepulchres continued to be used until the end of the second millennium BC
(e.g. El Sotillo; Fernández-Eraso & Mujika-Alustiza, 2013).
The orientation of all these monuments is towards the southern part of the horizon, with clearly two main directions (see Table 1; Fig. 4). One seems to be quite
similar to that of Hechicera, with declination −36°, while the second is very close
to due south, and declination −47° (see Fig. 4). The consistency of the orientation
Fig. 4 The nine megalithic chambers in the vicinity of Chabola de la Hechicera. A yellow pin
marks the locations of the passage graves. The arrows indicate the orientation of each chamber and
corridor, the orange color indicates that Lapoblación Mountain (Pico León in the figure) is visible
from the site of the megalithic chamber. If this mountain is not visible it is indicated in Green. The
red line connects each site with the mountain. Top left inset: orientation diagram for the megalithc
chambers in the Rioja Alavesa. They all appear to cluster in two narrow directions. The first is similar to the orientation of Hechicera. The second scatters slightly from due south. Image by the author
from a photograph courtesy of GoogleEarth
A. C. González-García
nal shapes. The archaeological findings include human remains plus the material
record composed of lithic material, ceramics and beads (Narvarte Sanz, 2005). It is
interesting that in several cases there are some figurines in bone, identified as idols
(notably in San Martín; Fernández-Eraso, Mujika-Alustiza, & Fernández-Crespo,
2015) by the archaeologists who excavated the different sites.
The dating of the human remains from sites indicate that the construction of
these megaliths started at the end of the local Middle Neolithic or early late Neolithic
(i.e. end of the V and mid IV millennium cal BC; Fernández-Eraso & MujikaAlustiza, 2013). They seem to be contemporaneous to other megalithic monuments
in nearby regions such as the north of Burgos or the Basque Country to the north
(Fernández-Eraso, 2007–2008). It must be noted that, in general, two phases of use
have been identified. The first one would be from mid-fourth millennium cal BC,
during the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic, and the second at the end of the third
millennium BC, during the fist Bronze Age. It is interesting that some of the megalithic sepulchres continued to be used until the end of the second millennium BC
(e.g. El Sotillo; Fernández-Eraso & Mujika-Alustiza, 2013).
The orientation of all these monuments is towards the southern part of the horizon, with clearly two main directions (see Table 1; Fig. 4). One seems to be quite
similar to that of Hechicera, with declination −36°, while the second is very close
to due south, and declination −47° (see Fig. 4). The consistency of the orientation
Fig. 4 The nine megalithic chambers in the vicinity of Chabola de la Hechicera. A yellow pin
marks the locations of the passage graves. The arrows indicate the orientation of each chamber and
corridor, the orange color indicates that Lapoblación Mountain (Pico León in the figure) is visible
from the site of the megalithic chamber. If this mountain is not visible it is indicated in Green. The
red line connects each site with the mountain. Top left inset: orientation diagram for the megalithc
chambers in the Rioja Alavesa. They all appear to cluster in two narrow directions. The first is similar to the orientation of Hechicera. The second scatters slightly from due south. Image by the author
from a photograph courtesy of GoogleEarth
A. C. González-García