Portus and stationes along the Southwest Iberian Peninsula: Anchorages of the Huelva coast

Abstract Research into what is known as the Atlantic Europe of Southwest Spain has highlighted an important network of fluvial coastal anchorages that, in a diachronic way, mark the coastline from the mouth of the Baetis River to the Anas. Most are associated with fishing factories, coastal population settlements, or the port of Onoba itself, and all have meaningful commercial traffic in products that show extensive Mediterranean and Atlantic commercial networks. Based on this context, the aim of this article is to demonstrate that these stationes, besides developing and keeping trade networks, provided a place for boats to shelter as they moved along the southwest coast. To do this, various terrestrial and subaquatic archaeological testimonies will be analyzed, which support the existence and development of a group of ports and anchorage areas with different port and commercial maritime models.