Mosque and Settlement of CuatrovitasArchaeological and architectural exploration of a mosque and deserted site of the Almohad period in the Aljarafe (Seville, Spain)

通过该项目，目前对Cuatrovitas定居点的考古研究将在第二阶段得到完善和扩大。在项目结束时，所有信息都将通过地理信息系统数据库和网络版本向广大公众提供（见“Öffentlichkeitsarbeit”模块）。他们详细描绘了清真寺的改造和基督教征服之后继续进行的定居活动。在前清真寺周围，出现了进一步的问题，鼓励应用进一步的研究方法，重点是自然科学。这样，将修改原来的2 + 1年项目设计，以便系统地完成Cuatrovitas的考古勘探。虽然前清真寺的文献可以被认为是完整的，但关于该遗址的形态，功能和重要性的更基本的问题证明了进一步深入的考古实地研究。这也是因为事实证明，阿尔莫哈德时期的定居点核心比以前预期的要大得多（7.5公顷和10公顷）。为了更好地了解村庄核心的相互关系、它们与清真寺的关系以及它们的年代发展，应扩大和加强已证明成功的网格调查和地球物理调查。对伊斯兰墓地的探索将是另一个研究重点。它的定位将试图加强地面调查和地质考古方法（钻探，地磁）。随后，对坟墓的（部分）挖掘将大大扩大迄今为止从清真寺周围发现的骨架中收集的数据。第三个重点将放在文化景观的重建和区域气候的潜在变化，通过分析花粉和宏观残留的植物。在过去的田间活动中，这些方法只能应用于很少的个体样本。这种科学方法将产生该地区中世纪晚期的第一批考古植物学数据。Cuatrovitas的研究将继续与塞维利亚大学（Magdalena Valor Piechotta教授）密切合作。通过这种方式，也可以继续研究关于Aljarafe历史的书面资料，并实现对Aljarafe邻近中世纪遗址的更大调查（25平方公里）。

With this project, current archaeological research on the settlement of Cuatrovitas is to be refined and widened in a second phase. At the end of the project, all information will be accessible through a GIS database and in a web-based version for a wider public (see module Öffentlichkeitsarbeit).The settlement has hitherto been examined in four campaigns of fieldwork. They have resulted in a detailed picture of the transformation of the mosque and of settlement activities that continued beyond the Christian conquest. Around the former mosque, further questions have arisen that encourage the application of further research methods, with a focus on natural sciences. This way, the original project design of 2 + 1 years will be modified, in order to systematically complete the archaeological exploration of Cuatrovitas. While the documentation of the former mosque can be considered complete, more fundamental questions about the morphology, functionality and importance of the site justify further thorough research with archaeological fieldwork. This is also a due to the fact that the settlement nuclei of the Almohad period have proved to be considerably larger than previously expected (7.5 ha and 10 ha). In order to better understand the interrelationship of the village nuclei, their relation to the mosque, as well as their chronological development, grid surveys and geophysical surveys that have proved successful should be expanded an intensified. The exploration of the Islamic cemetery will be another focus of research. Its localization will be attempted with intensified ground surveys and geo-archaeological methods (drilling, geomagnetics). Subsequently, a (partial) excavation of the tombs will significantly expand the data that have hitherto been gathered from skeleton finds around the mosque. A third focus will be put on the reconstruction of the cultural landscape and potential changes in regional climate, through the analysis of pollen and macroscopic remnants of plants. In the past field campaigns, these methods could only be applied with few individual samples. This scientific approach will yield the first archaeo-botanical data for the higher middle ages in the region. Research in Cuatrovitas will continue to be conducted in close cooperation with the University of Seville (Prof. Dr. Magdalena Valor Piechotta). This way, it will also be possible to continue work on written sources on the history of the Aljarafe, and to realize the larger survey (25 sq km) on neighboring medieval sites of the Aljarafe.