Building Death: Readings on French and Iberian Prehistoric Hypogea
Edited by Marie-Elise Porqueddu Edited by Nuria Castañeda Edited by Rosa Barroso Bermejo Edited by Primitiva Bueno Ramírez
Paperback (Published)
(August 2026)
ISBN: 9781805832898
6.85 x 9.69 inches
Price: $49.00
In stock
Exploring prehistoric hypogea across France, Iberia and the western Mediterranean, this volume examines their chronology, architecture and spatial distribution alongside funerary practices and grave goods, combining studies of individual necropolises with regional syntheses and broader perspectives.
Building Death analyses the role of hypogea within the diversity of funerary constructions employed in the Western Mediterranean since the Neolithic. Their underground nature, entirely or partially carved out rock, and their architecture, sometimes hybrid, elevates them to the status of complex tombs exhibiting a wide variety of forms and functions.
The book derives from an international conference held on 23 November 2023 at the University of Alcalá (UAH), in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain), which brought together French, Portuguese, and Spanish specialists on the subject. It offers a novel overview of the rich assemblage of hypogea in Southwestern Europe. Papers address specific studies of necropolises, regional syntheses, and broader perspectives applied to the entire Mediterranean. The range of topics covers spatial distribution, chronology, construction typologies, funerary practices and grave goods, and even the contribution that can be made by analyses of other underground features such as flint mines.
Contributors
Introduction – Marie-Elise Porqueddu, Nuria Castañeda, Rosa Barroso Bermejo, Primitiva Bueno Ramírez
The Hypogean Phenomenon in Alentejo, South Portugal (4th and 3rd Millennia BC). A Summary – António Carlos Valera
The Necropolis of Valle de las Higueras, Huecas (Toledo).Cave 3 as a Case-Study for the Characterisation of the Use of Bell Beaker Hypogea in inland Iberia – Rosa Barroso Bermejo, Primitiva Bueno Ramírez, Rodrigo de Balbín-Behrmann
Displaying power: burial structures in Humanejos cemetery (Parla, Madrid) – Rafael Garrido-Pena, Raúl Flores Fernández, Ana Mercedes Herrero-Corral, Rodrigo Paulos-Bravo
Magdalena I: Funerary aspects in the Henares River lower valley (Madrid) during Late Prehistory – César Heras Martínez, Miriam Cubas Morera, Sergio Heras Bastida
What’s the relationship between hypogea and dolmens in the south of France? The example of the Fontvieille site in Provence – Xavier Margarit
Final Neolithic ornaments and rock-cut tombs in south-eastern France – Laurine Viel
Neolithic hypogea in the south-west of the Marne (France) – Rémi Martineau
Prehistoric rock-cut tombs in the western Mediterranean: a global approach to local phenomena – Marie-Elise Porqueddu
Flint Mining Know-How in the South European Neolithic – Nuria Castañeda
Marie-Élise Porqueddu is a Doctor in Prehistory whose research focuses on the know-how and techniques involved in processing rocks. With a particular interest in rock-cut tombs, she is developing a technical approach to the chaîne opératoire involved in carving out and building these structures. She was a member of the Casa de Velázquez (École des hautes études hispaniques et ibériques) between 2022 and 2024.
Nuria Castañeda is a Doctor in Prehistory, Archaeology, and Heritage. Her research focuses on prehistoric childhood. She specialises in identifying knowledge transmission between generations by studying technical errors and skill levels in lithic production. She is currently a researcher under the Research Talent Attraction programme in the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Rosa Barroso Bermejo is a Lecturer in Prehistory in the History and Philosophy Department at the University of Alcalá, Spain. Her archaeological research focuses on the study of the funerary prehistory of inland Iberia during the fourth and second millennia BC with a special interest on the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age.
Primitiva Bueno Ramírez is Professor of Prehistory in the History and Philosophy Department at the University of Alcalá, Spain. She is an archaeologist specialising in Late Prehistory, with a long-standing research focus on Megalithism and Megalithic Art. The initial documentation of hypogean structures in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, Valle de las Higueras, was achieved through her work.
- Edited by Marie-Elise Porqueddu
- Edited by Nuria Castañeda
- Edited by Rosa Barroso Bermejo
- Edited by Primitiva Bueno Ramírez
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