Las Calaveras archaeological site

The archaeological site of Las Calaveras, in the municipality of Renedo de Esgueva (Valladolid), has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest with the category of Archaeological Zone. It constitutes an area of continuous occupation spanning from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages, encompassing several sites of considerable importance. Among these are a Roman peristyle villa and a basilica with two opposing apses, elements that demonstrate the enduring nature and transformation of the settlement over time.

Archaeological excavations undertaken since 2024 have also documented a Late Antique mausoleum that likely belonged to the family that owned the villa and was reused from the 6th century AD onwards. Its quadrangular plan with a Greek cross inscribed within it constitutes an exceptional architectural example in the Iberian Peninsula, with closer parallels in North African models. A large necropolis surrounds this funerary building, in which brick and tile cists, as well as simple graves, have been identified. This prolonged funerary use reveals the progressive sacralization of the site, which maintained its symbolic and religious function throughout the Early Middle Ages, establishing itself as a key example of the transformation of the Late Antique rural landscape in the middle Duero basin.