The models in the museum
Houses in the village of El Castillar
The Iron Age village of El Castillar in Mendavia is nestled on top of a hill. It was investigated by Amparo Castiella between 1977 and 1982. Her excavation floor plan was used to make a scale model of two adjoining houses, built on a gypsum stone base with adobe walls and thatched roofs. The reproduction of the interior of the houses, the paving in the street, furniture and belongings (from the entire period of the Iron Age) is an interpretation.
Castro of Galtzarra
The Castro of Galtzarra (Lana Valley) – a castro is a fortified village at a naturally defendable site, usually on a hill – is located on a crag delimited by steep limestone escarpments, 125 m above the Galbarra river. The archaeological excavation carried out by Javier Armendáriz in 1999 made it possible to define the fortification system of the most accessible part of the construction, formed by a moat and a 3-metre thick wall made of local limestone ashlar. The angled entrance is located next to the rocky escarpment. The reproduction of the topography of the crag and the defensive structure of the castro is faithful. The layout of the houses and the different areas of economic activity in the model is hypothetical.
The archaeological excavation
This model reproduces the archaeological fire layer of a village from the First Iron Age under excavation, based on the stratigraphy and volumetric recreation in section of the village of La Hoya, Álava (according to Armando Llanos).
