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This paper summarizes the most relevant results of a thorough archaeoastronomical study conducted since 1997 in several tens of Iberian archaeological sites, most of them located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. We found that a substantial fraction of the sanctuaries studied, all of them dedicated to a feminine goddess, shows a marker of the sunrise or sunset on conspicuous elements of the horizon at the equinoxes or a date very close to it, possibly the temporal midpoint between solstices. This result suggests the existence among the Iberians of rituals associated with seasonality, agrarian festivities of fecundity similar to other well-known ones of the ancient Mediterranean. The earliest chronology of the sanctuaries related to the equinoxes indicates that they became operational around mid-IV BCE, coincident with a period of major ideological changes in the Iberian society and increased Punic influence in the area. The analysis of the results suggests a possible influence of Greco-Punic beliefs on the astronomical aspects of Iberian ritual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present archaeoastronomical results of an interdisciplinary project to study Bronze Age sites of the socalled Cultura de las Motillas in the Spanish region of La Mancha. We find that winter solstice sunrise was of special importance in the funerary - and perhaps religious - practises of these peoples. The impressive megalithic monumental complex of Castillejo del Bonete shows a remarkable marker of the winter solstice sunrise on the most peculiar mountain of its horizon as well as alignments with this and other singular solar events as equinox and summer solstice. There seems to be a correspondence between the orientations of some of the main architectural structures of the monument and the general arrangement of two of the main galleries of a natural cave that lies just beneath it. Markers and orientations to the winter solstice sunrise seem to be present in other nearby contemporary sites such as the necropolis of Cerro Ortega and the motilla of El Azuer. Castillejo del Bonete stands as the first evidence of a clear solar marker in a megalithic site of the Iberian Peninsula, indicating that the precise location of the monument was carefully chosen. The alignments defined by several of its structures further reinforce its astronomical symbolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a compilation of orientations of seven temples dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte across the Mediterranean. The chronology of the earliest temple corresponds to the Early Bronze Age - temple of Baalat Gebal at Byblos, 2800 BCE - but the rest dating back to the Iron Age, from IX to IV BCE. We find that most temples follow a sun-rising or moon-rising orientation pattern but three of them show westerly orientations in the range of azimuth between 232° and 239°. These values are consistent with the orientation custom found by Esteban & Escacena (2013a, b) in a sample of Iron Age sanctuaries of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula that show direct influence by Phoenician colonisation. One of the potential targets of these westerly orientations is the setting of Venus at its extreme southerly position. This possibility can be related to the well-known ties between the Phoenician goddess Astarte and planet Venus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results of an archaeoastronomical study of the Iberian cave-sanctuary of La Cueva de la Lobera in Castellar (Jaén, Spain), whose foundation has been dated to the second half of the fourth century BCE. The sanctuary consists of several terraces, a cave and a rock shelter that have been artificially modified. The main axis of the cave is oriented along the east-west direction. A small niche at the innermost part of the cave is illuminated at sunset around the equinoxes through an opening located at the western edge of the cavity. We have photographically documented the evolution of the illumination pattern inside the cave, and have found that the shapes of the niche and the patch of light show the maximum coincidence at the temporal mid-point between the solstices, one or two days from the exact date of the astronomical equinox. Finally, we speculate about the similarity between the shape of the patch of light just before sunset and the side face of one of the most common kinds of votive figurines found in this and other contemporary Iberian sanctuaries, which represent schematically an aristocratic female image, which is sometimes assimilated with the image of a feminine deity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]