Discovered human representations of ancient and mythical Tartessos
Archaeologists excavating the Casas del Turunuelo site have discovered the first human representations of the ancient people of Tartessos.
This is a news that last year I somehow missed, so here it is.
In April 2023 archaeologists from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIS) conducting excavations at the Casas del Turunuelo site have discovered the first human representations of the ancient Tartessian people.
The Tartessians, who are believed to have lived in the southern Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Andalusia and Extremadura), are considered one of the oldest civilizations in Western Europe and perhaps the first to prosper on the Iberian Peninsula. In the southwestern Iberian Peninsula of Spain, the Tartessian culture first appeared in the Late Bronze Age. The culture is distinguished by a mix of local Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits, as well as the use of a now-extinct language known as Tartessian. The Tartessian people were skilled in metallurgy and metalworking, creating ornate and decorative objects.
The archaeologists from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIS) presented the extraordinary results of the excavations at Casas de Turunuelo in Badajoz, southwestern Spain, as well as the findings of the excavations themselves. Five busts, damaged but two of which retain a high degree of detail, are the first human and facial representations of the Tartessian people that the modern world has ever seen.
These "extraordinary findings" represent a "profound paradigm shift" in the interpretation of Tartessian culture, said excavation leaders Celestino Pérez and Esther Rodríguez during the press conference. Given the scarcity of Tartessian archaeological finds so far, this ancient society is shrouded in mystery.
The port of Tartessos was located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in what is today Cadiz, according to historical documents. In the 4th century BC, the Greek historian Ephorus described it as a thriving civilization centered on the production and trade of tin, gold, and other metals. What is not known is where the Tartessians came from, whether they were an indigenous tribe with eastern influences or a Phoenician colony settled beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar).
The team from the Mérida Institute of Archaeology believes that two of the busts discovered in what is thought to be a sanctuary or pantheon represent Tartessian goddesses, despite previous beliefs that Tartessian religion was aniconic (opposed to the use of idols or images). The depiction of faces on the stone busts, as well as the inclusion of jewelry (hoop earrings) and their distinctive hairstyles, recall ancient sculptures from the Middle East and Asia.
Probably these two goddesses, along with three other significantly more damaged sculptures, were part of a stone fresco depicting four deities watching over a Tartessian warrior, as one of the damaged busts features a helmet. The elaborate effigies, believed to date back about 2,500 years, are also significant for art historians, as ancient Greece and Etruria (an ancient civilization in what is now central Italy) had already been recognized as the epicenters of sculpture during this period.
