Image of a sandy terrain with circular holes dug into the ground

Archaeological site Camino de las Yeseras

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Located in San Fernando de Henares

The site known as Camino de las Yeseras, in the municipality of San Fernando de Henares, was once an important settlement during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages. It was inhabited for nearly 3.000 years, between 4500 and 1700 BCE. Its strategic location allowed for extensive visual control of the surroundings. It also had an elaborate defensive system of ditches that was vital to the longevity of the settlement. The site is notable for the funerary symbolism of its burials, both individual and collective.

The first reports of the Camino de las Yeseras site date back to 1924 (Pérez de Barradas, 1926). Later, other discoveries were mentioned near kilometer 3 of the road from Puente de San Fernando to Rivas del Jarama (Pérez de Barradas and Fuidio, 1927). Beginning in the 80s, with the creation of the Archaeological Charter of the Community of Madrid, the site was listed as a site.

Image of a sandy terrain with holes dug into the ground

Archaeological work on the Camino de las Yeseras

This project is one of several that have excavated part of the Camino de las Yeseras archaeological site, Los Estragales, which covers more than 20 hectares and spans various periods of occupation, from recent prehistory to historical times.

The archaeological work carried out on the plot located at 14 Calle Cerrajeros was part of a project to construct a building for permanent industrial use. The primary objective was to safeguard the cultural heritage of the Community of Madrid. The excavation work was based on the results obtained in previous phases. The sedimentary deposits corresponding to the area of work are Quaternary in age.

image of the layout on a plan of the site

Intervention phases

During the various phases of the archaeological intervention, a total of 51 negative structures were documented, excavated in the geological surface of the plot, the vast majority of which correspond to "hole"-type structures.

They appear as patches of varying shapes and sizes, although there is a clear tendency toward oval and circular shapes. The geological layer is composed of orange clays and silts with carbonate veins. In contrast, the archaeological fills appear as strata of ashy, clayey, or sandy-silt matrix of varying consistency and gray or brown color. They are generally simple structures, formed by a single pit.

Basins are the most frequently represented elements; however, a wide range of structures has been documented, including abundant postholes. Some siliform structures have also been documented. Structure 33, a pit with an irregular layout in the central area of the plot, stands out. It appears to be shaped like a sunken-floor hut.

The work has also allowed the documentation of a structure intended for funerary use: structure 41. Located in the southern corner of the plot, it is presented as a large negative structure with a series of associated substructures. Specifically, a first pit containing human bone remains, which would correspond to a cave-type funerary structure (41A), and a second associated substructure (41B), with a circular plan and cylindrical section, which has an interesting deer antler deposit, possibly related to ritual practices.

The uniqueness of this element lies in the fact that a Bell Beaker burial has been found within its context. Archaeological excavation and osteological studies conducted on the recovered human remains have confirmed that this is a secondary burial of at least three individuals: two adults and a juvenile, the former being male, while the remains of the third individual have not allowed a clear determination of his sex.

image of an excavated hole with bone remains

The great pit in the northern area

Also of great interest are the results obtained in the northern part of the site. During the archaeological stripping work, a large dark brown stain was discovered, revealing hand-cut ceramic material on the surface. This feature has been designated Structure 51 or the Horizontal Stratification Zone (HSZ). It is the largest excavation area documented in this project, covering 387 square meters.

image of circular structures excavated in the ground

This is a large pit excavated in the geological terrain, containing several substructures and depositional levels. The pit's perimeter is notable, where a hut-like structure has been documented, possibly with a portico, judging by the evidence of documented postholes.