Epigraphy and rural landscape in the upper countryside of Córdoba: the case of Monte Horquera (Nueva Carteya, Córdoba)

Abstract

Located in the southeast of the current province of Córdoba, Monte Horquera is an area of rugged terrain that, during Roman times, had a dense network of settlements, some of which endured notably over time. It has also been the site of discovery for around twenty Latin inscriptions, mostly epitaphs. The article proposes an approach to the sites that have provided this type of evidence from a dual perspective: archaeological and epigraphic, comparing the information that both types of records can offer regarding aspects such as their functionality and chronology. Within the framework of this dual analysis, new unpublished fragmentary inscriptions preserved in the Historical Museum of Nueva Carteya are presented, along with the results of preliminary surveys at some of these sites previously unknown until now.