The archaeological campaigns carried out at the “moat enclosure” of El Casetón de la Era (Villalba de Los Alcores, Valladolid) have revealed the main features of these sites from the beginning of the Copper Age in the centre of the Spanish Northern Subplateau. The research provides relevant data on the work involved in the construction of this device, on the addition of the moats to a previous settlement and on the agricultural economy of its occupants. The “moat enclosures”, which involve a notable cooperative effort, are associated in the middle Douro valley with the first truly stable settlement and the consolidation of agricultural life.

