The contribution of Bayesian analysis to the chronology of Iron Age north-western Iberia: New data from San Cibrán de Las (Galicia, Spain)

This paper presents a series of 25 previously unpublished radiocarbon dates from the oppidum of San Cibrán de Las, one of the most important and thoroughly excavated Iron Age sites in the NW Iberian Peninsula. These 14C dates are discussed on the basis of a Bayesian analysis. The results reveal a much longer occupation history of the site than previously thought. Moreover, the data offer new light into the much-debated question of the origin of the large fortified sites known as oppida in the region. The evidence from San Cibrán de Las clearly suggests a pre-Roman origin for at least some of the oppida, thus challenging traditional interpretations about the origins of urbanism in northern Iberia.