A Valley in La Rioja: The Najerilla Project

Seeking a favorable site to continue their investigation of the relationship of nucleated settlements to their landscape in Spain during the crucial transition period of the first millennium BC, a team of archaeologists found La Rioja in the upper reaches of the Ebro Valley, straddling the interface between the Celtiberian heartland of central Iberia and the Atlantic zone of the Bay of Biscay. A survey was made in 2000, and excavations conducted over three seasons 2001-2003. The 2004 death of Maria Cruz Fernandez Castro, a pillar of the project, delayed publication of the results until now. The reports cover the landscape and people; Castillo Antiguo, Najera; Cerro Molino, Hormilleja; and the pottery kilns of Bobadilla. Detailed extensions of the articles are on the associated web site. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)