Medieval spaces of Veranes (Asturias, Spain). Analysis of a domestic structure found in the northern courtyard of a Roman villa

The Roman villa of Veranes (Gijón, Asturias, Spain) is located about 800 meters from the road that connected the Roman enclave of Gijón with Asturica Augusta (Astorga), capital of the Conventus Asturum. Archaeological excavations here in 2002 and 2003
excavated a wooden Medieval house, which is the subject of this study. The associated ceramic material has allowed us to trace the continuities and breakages between Roman and distinctly Medieval horizons.

Veranes has a long historical trajectory, beginning with a first rural nucleus built during the second half of the 1st century A.D. Between the end of the 3rd century A.D. and the second half of the 4th century A.D., the enclave underwent a total remodeling that transformed it into a luxurious Late Antique rural site. It functioned in this capacity throughout the 5th century A.D. and the first half of the 6th century A.D. The Medieval phase is first defined by the reuse of some of its outbuildings as a religious center during the second half of the 6th century.

The north courtyard of the villa contains the remains of wooden structures associated with habitation spaces. These elements are the negatives of post holes of a cabin made of wood and clay, which has a circular shape and a central hearth. The radiocarbon dating carried out on these remains places the structure’s use between the end of the 7th century and the last quarter of the 9th century. The study of the ceramic material has allowed us to observe some characteristics of the Early Medieval domestic assemblage. The technological and technical analysis of 2306 fragments identified 12 groups with a very limited number of forms. Although these forms did contain some characteristics of the preceding periods, it clearly comprised an Early Medieval repertoire.