Open Conference Systems, Kainua 2017

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The Iberian town of Ullastret (Catalonia), an Iron Age urban agglomeration reconstructed virtually
Gabriel de Prado Cordero, Ferran Codina, Isis Ruiz, Albert Sierra

Last modified: 2017-03-21

Abstract


The Iberian town of Ullastret (6th - 2nd century BC) in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula is one of the most important Iron Age archaeological sites in the north-western Mediterranean. It consists of two habitational areas, Puig de Sant Andreu and Illa d’en Reixac. Separated by only 300 m, together they make up the capital of the Iberian tribe known as the Indiketes, mentioned by classical authors such as Avienus, Ptolemy and Strabo.

Decades of continuous archaeological investigation, and especially the geophysics surveys undertaken in recent years, have given us an overall view of the urban structure of this dipolis and its immediate territory, which was occupied and exploited intensively above all from the 4th century BC. This high degree of theoretical knowledge led us to propose the creation of a virtual reconstruction of the whole complex, as well as its contextualisation in its geomorphologic and landscape surroundings.

This 3D modelling is an excellent research tool that permits the formulation/validation of hypotheses for architectural reconstruction. It is also especially useful for the creation of applications that add to our knowledge of this heritage site and aid its presentation and dissemination.