The Archaeology of Historic and Modern Conflict in the Basque Country

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Basque Country was the setting for numerous large-scale conflicts, including the War of the Pyrenees, the Peninsular War, the Carlist Wars, and the Spanish Civil War. These conflicts deeply impacted Basque society and left an enduring legacy within the geographic and political landscape of the region. Thousands of battle casualties and large numbers of individuals summarily executed behind lines were buried in mass graves, which for the most part still remain undiscovered. This paper focuses on the archaeology of historic conflict burials in the Basque Country through a series of case studies, exploring the strategies employed in the disposal of the dead, the challenges in locating and preserving these sites (including long-standing political implications), and emerging trends that impact which sites are selected for excavation. This research not only enriches our understanding of the region’s military history but contributes to broader discussions on the ethics and responsibilities of uncovering and memorializing conflict-related burial sites. The findings underscore the importance of integrating the study of conflict burials into the wider framework of conflict archaeology, offering new perspectives on narratives of warfare during one of the region´s most intense periods of conflict.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51513