Diachrony and synchrony at the site of Espina C (Tàrrega, Urgell): occupations from the 5th, 3rd and 2nd millennium cal BC

This article refers to the study of the archaeological site of Espina C consisting exclusively of pits dug into the subsoil. The pits are usually dispersed and unconnected, offering the possibility of carrying out a horizontal stratigraphy study as they all, regardless of their chronology, are located in the same plane. This type of site is differs from that of settlements and caves with vertical stratigraphy allowing a sequencing of the different contexts. The horizontal stratigraphy of Espina C is not the result of a single human occupation, but corresponds to different settlement phases separated by long intervals of time occupying the same space. Although this situation can occur at open air settlements of any chronology, the current paper focuses on the Prehistoric period.

Keywords: Recent Prehistory, pits, horizontal stratigraphy.