The use of mudbricks in Early Iron Age ramparts is an uneven feature of defensive architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. The use of mudbricks as a building material has been linked to the arrival of Levantine building traditions with the Phoenicians, and its appearance among local societies varies between the eighth and sixth centuries BC according to the public or domestic nature of the structures. In this article, we present the geoarchaeological analyses of the mudbricks used in constructing one of the defensive towers or bastions at Villares de la Encarnación (Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain). This site, endowed with two complex fortification lines and towers, is one of the main settlements for understanding the development of the Early Iron Age among the inland and mountain communities of the region. The analytical program includes wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence, CHN elemental analysis, and thin-section petrography and provides new data about soil procurement and manufacturing choices. These results highlight the technical and social complexity behind mudbrick constructions and the adoption of new earthen practices among Early Iron Age communities in order to build more imposing and elevated towers that might convey an image of the power and strength of these inland settlements.

中文翻译：

---

早期铁器时代城墙的土质建筑和工艺实践：伊比利亚东南部 Villares de la Encarnación 的地质考古分析

早期铁器时代城墙中泥砖的使用是伊比利亚半岛防御建筑的一个不均匀的特征。泥砖作为建筑材料的使用与腓尼基人黎凡特建筑传统的到来有关，并且根据建筑的公共或家庭性质，其在公元前八世纪至六世纪之间在当地社会中的出现有所不同。在本文中，我们对维拉雷斯德拉恩卡纳西翁（西班牙卡拉瓦卡德拉克鲁斯）建造一座防御塔或堡垒所用的泥砖进行了地质考古分析。该遗址拥有两条复杂的防御线和塔楼，是了解该地区内陆和山区社区早期铁器时代发展的主要定居点之一。该分析程序包括波长色散 X 射线荧光、CHN 元素分析和薄片岩相学，并提供有关土壤采购和制造选择的新数据。这些结果凸显了泥砖建筑背后的技术和社会复杂性，以及早期铁器时代社区采用新的土制做法，以建造更雄伟和高架的塔楼，以传达这些内陆定居点的权力和力量的形象。