Archaeological site · Pajaroncillo
Hoyas del Castillo settlement
Hoyas del Castillo is a crag in Pajaroncillo with an intermittently occupied settlement excavated in four field seasons from 1984 to 1990. According to the excavators, it was occupied and abandoned four times between the end of the Copper Age and medieval Islamic times. Beside it is the Las Hoyas del Castillo burial mound field.
- Municipality
- Pajaroncillo
- Hoyas del Castillo
- Pajaroncillo
- Iron Age
- Archaeological excavation
- Pottery
A crag occupied at intervals
Iberian pottery appearing on the surface south-west of the crag led to excavation. The field seasons of 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990 showed that the site was occupied and abandoned four times, from the end of the Copper Age to Islamic times.
North of the crag, a one-metre section reached bedrock: the pottery was mainly from the early Iron Age, and there were three Iberian cremation graves and two burials that appear medieval. There is little soil because the slope has been heavily eroded.
The neighbouring burial mounds
The settlement is studied alongside the Pajaroncillo burial mound fields, the Iron Age cemetery excavated by Almagro Gorbea. The Museo Arqueológico Nacional has a model of burial mound 82 at Las Hoyas del Castillo.
Plan your visit
Before you travel
This is an archaeological site: do not disturb the soil or collect anything. Do not confuse it with the Las Hoyas fossil site in La Cierva.
Combine with
The village of Pajaroncillo.
Frequently asked questions
What was excavated at Hoyas del Castillo?
The settlement on the crag, in field seasons in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990, after abundant Iberian pottery was found on the surface south-west of the crag.
How long was it inhabited?
Intermittently, from the end of the Copper Age to medieval Islamic times; according to the authors' stratigraphic reading, it was occupied and abandoned on four occasions.
Carry on from here
Lands and landscapes
From here, follow the memory of the land
These readings connect Hoyas del Castillo settlement with the stories, the work and the villages around it.
This place through time
Which eras you can read here
A single place can keep traces of several periods. These layers connect what you see with the atlas's stories.
Where it is
Where the data on this page come from
- Name
- Municipality (INE code)
- theme
- Ulreich y colaboradores (1994): campañas del poblado de Hoyas del Castillo source consulted, 9 October 2026
- tags
- Ulreich y colaboradores (1994): campañas del poblado de Hoyas del Castillo source consulted, 9 October 2026
«Source consulted»: the primary source has been read. «Reference located»: the source has been identified but not yet read. «Open question»: the figure needs confirmation.