French against british on the Marialba bridge. History and archeology of an episode of the peninsular war in Gallegos de Argañán, Salamanca
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/gladius.2020.07Keywords:
Battlefield archaeology, metal detector, Peninsular War, Salamanca, Ciudad RodrigoAbstract
In 2018, the II Phase of the research project Battle Fields in Gallegos de Argañán, Salamanca, ss XVII - XIX, based on intensive prospecting of large areas through a metal detector was executed. Several thousand metal objects have been documented and in particular, a large concentration of spherical lead balls around the Marialba bridge. Historical research has allowed linking these findings with an episode between British and French troops, on April 23, 1811, shortly before the battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. The concentrations of shots of different calibers allow to identify the locations of the troops on both banks. At the same time, the different degrees of deformation that the projectiles present could be indicators of the distance at which the shots were made and, consequently, of the intensity of the fight in each place.
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