The neolithic settlement of Limoneros (Elche, Alicante)

This paper shows the results of rescue archaeology campaigns undertaken on the site of Limoneros, an open-air settlement located to the south of Elche (Alicante), in the alluvial plain of the Vinalopo river and dated on the first half of the 5th millennium cal BC. The settlement entails different negative structures, including two stretches of ditch, silos and basins, structures finally reused as a waste area. The analysis of the recovered evidences allows the characterization of the activities developed by a farming community in a territory articulated by the river Vinalopo, where other settlements dated back to the same period have been documented. Therefore, Limoneros supplies relevant information in order to explain the expansion and consolidation of Neolithic societies within the southern limits of Eastern Iberia.