Relief of ritual offering. Cueva de la Lobera, Altos del Sotillo (Castellar, Jaén, Spain)

It is a unique piece in the iconography of the sanctuary of Castellar. Deposited in the Museum of Jaén (no. 965), it is defined as a high relief made by printing a previous matrix on the fresh ceramic material and, once dry, engobado. The central theme is a ritual scene, related to the offering of the vessel. Two characters (it seems that masculine) represented in profile and faced, approach, having as element union a globular vessel. They do not touch each other, the individual on the left carries the vessel, supporting the base on the palm of his hand, while the other character approaches and touches this element with his right hand. The type of vessel in this image is one of the most common in the Iberian imaginary, a globular type, which appears quantitatively in ritual records. Chronology: Third Century B.C. Dimensions: Preserved height: 6 cm. The archeological settlement of the Altos del Sotillo (Castellar, Jaén) presents occupation from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, highlighting the existence of the Iberian sanctuary of the fourth and third century B.C. The Iberian sanctuary is integrated in a rocky cliff with a North oriented type and part of a strong slope in which four superimposed terraces have been conditioned. Five caves open at the foot of these rocky walls. The main one, Cueva de la Lobera, is presented on the so-called first terrace that, in all probability, one day was covered by the mound of the offerings. This terrace, about forty meters long, was partially carved in the dolomy and had to be surrounded by rocks and large blocks arranged as parapet, of which some evidences remain and that would form a real retaining wall. The access was made by the East from the second terrace and through a ramp oriented NE-SO, which ascended to the immediate space of the cave and where the offerings would be made in front of the artificial cavity, center of the cult. The foundation of the sanctuaries of the Cueva de la Lobera and also of the Collado de los Jardines is fixed at the beginning of the fourth century B.C., when in the archeological record a new process of appropriation of the political territory is observed at the hands of one of the great oppida of the Alto Guadalquivir: Cástulo. This Iberian city leads a project of expansion and control of the easternmost area of the province of Jaén, in which the sanctuaries of Collado de los Jardines and Cueva de la Lobera become key pieces: ideological delimiters and physical borders, at the same time as pilgrimage spaces, in which the important rites were developed for the communities that integrated this political territory. Both are sanctuaries that are located on terraces, and for which well defined areas are created. Bibliography: Nicolini, G., Rísquez, C., Ruiz, A. and Zafra, N. (2004): “The Iberian sanctuary of Castellar. Jaén. Archaeological investigations 1966-1991.” Archaeology Monographies, Junta de Andalucía. Consejería de Cultura. Rísquez, C., Rueda, C., Nicolini, G., Ruiz, A. and Zafra, N. and Esteban, C. (2015): “El Santuario de Cueva de la Lobera de Castellar,” in A. Ruiz and M. Molinos (coords.): Jaén, ibera land. 40 Years of Research and Transfer. University of Jaén. 203-218. Wheel, C. (2011): Territory, worship and iconography in the Iberian sanctuaries of Alto Guadalquivir (ss. IV a.n.e.-I d.n.e.), CAAI texts no. 3, University of Jaén.