roman house – la casa romana

ruin from the southeast – la ruina como visto del sureste

lower ridge formation – linea de sierra abajo

foundation – base

foundation – base

foundation – base

location map – mapa de colocacion

Site coordinates: 38.415253, -6.444951

Description: While walking one day on the ridge I met an old man who told me that “somewhere down there” was a “Roman house”. Now I can’t say certainly whether this structure was indeed inhabited by an Italian, but I did find this and this directly below it on the mountain slope.

The structure appears to be circular and is situated on a lower, minor ridge on the southeast mountainside. There’s a heavy concentration of pottery sherds along this lower ridge. The structure appears in a photo dated 2001 in Patromonio Oculto de Zafra by Jose Antonio Amador Redondo. In this photo, portions of walls remain; today, the structure is ruined to its foundation and was difficult for me to identify at all.

subcircular whorl/weight – huso o peso subcircular

1. top profile - perfil de arriba

2. detail - detalle

3. rotation

4. rear - atras

5. rotation

6. profile - perfil

7. angle - angulo

8. angle - angulo

Find coordinates (within a 5-meter radius): 38.415203, -6.445040

Description: This is a sub-circular granite stone featuring a 1.1cm hole bored through its center. On what I’m calling its “top” there is a 1.7cm (in diameter) depression supported by a bulb visible in the first photo. On the same surface narrow and shallow indentations run from the stone’s edge to the hole in its center; these indentations appear to have been worn into the stone by a cord or string. One trough runs toward the 1.7cm depression and the other runs the opposite direction.

The opposite surface is plain save for a companion wear-mark to the trough which runs away from the 1.7cm depression (image 8). In total there are three of these so-called troughs. Image 6 tries to show how these troughs meet (beneath the lichen) and how over its use-life the stone had become distorted.

Speculation:I’ve come to support three possibilities in respect to this object’s use-life utility. They are:

Net Weight: Support Images: one two three four

Loom Whorl/Weight: Support Images: one  two

Pump drills also sport stones of this shape. None of the examples I’ve seen explain the extra off-center hole/depression on this piece.

ruined moorish structure – estructura morisca en ruinas

moorish house ruin (materials) - materiales de las ruinas del pilar de moro

pilar de moro - moorish fountain basin

terrace corner - esquina de la terraza (del colina)

southwest foundation line - linea del cimiento (suroueste)

southwest inside corner - rincón suroueste

lower level southeast corner - rincón suroeste primera planta

terrace retaining wall - muro de contención del terraza (de colina)

Site coordinates:38.418305, -6.441641

Description: According to local writer Jose Antonio Amador Redondo, this is an old Moorish fountain basin. The bi-level house is ruined to its foundations. The basin is now a place where farm animals drink. It’s roughly 24 meters along its long side by 10 meters wide.

mapa - map