Aproximación al taller artesanal metalúrgico del castillo de Gauzón (Castrillón, Asturias). Arqueología de la producción en el reino de Asturias

Abstract

The archaeological excavation of the castle of Gauzón (Castrillón, Asturias) has allowed to identify an artisan workshop dedicated to metallurgy operating between the 9th and 10th centuries AD. The study of this area has been planned from a mi-cro-spatial perspective, almost as an archaeological site within the site itself, with a specific nature of work inside the fortress, and deepening in this way in an analytical framework little known until now. This approach has allowed us to portray for the first time a transcendent productive episode, framed in the period in which the kings of Asturias reconstruct and monumentalize the Late Antiquity settlement, turning it into a symbol of the prestige of the monarchy, and the site where the Victory Cross was elaborated. In this study, an approach is made from a research perspective that combines the archaeological records and contextual analysis, in regard to the spa-tial articulation of the artisan workshop and its relationship with other areas of the castle, the metallurgical works performed on it and the palatial environment that su-rrounds it, and gives it meaning, all this within the framework of a society and a way of life where functionality and sumptuousness come together.