c. 1100–500 BC
Phoenicians & Tartessians
Around three thousand years ago, eastern Mediterranean merchants arrived on the Iberian coast seeking silver and copper. Their arrival sparked a cultural collision that transformed local chiefdoms into the legendary civilisation of Tartessos.
Around three thousand years ago, eastern Mediterranean merchants arrived on the Iberian coast seeking silver and copper. Their arrival sparked a cultural collision that transformed local chiefdoms into the legendary civilisation of Tartessos.
4 chapters in this era
Punic Andalucía: Carthage, Hannibal and the Struggle for the Ancient South
Discover how the trading outposts of southern Spain transformed into a heavily fortified Carthaginian empire. From the silver mines of the Sierra Morena to Hannibal's legendary oath in Cádiz, explore the sites that fuelled antiquity's greatest conflicts.
8 min read
Gadir: Founding the Western Mediterranean
At the edge of the known world, Phoenician sailors established a fortified trading post on a small Atlantic archipelago. Known as Gadir, this settlement anchored a vast maritime network and laid the foundations for the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe.
7 min read
Phoenician Religion in the South: The Sanctuaries of Melqart and Astarte
At the extreme edge of the known world, Phoenician mariners raised monumental sanctuaries to Melqart and Astarte, transforming the coast of Andalucía.
7 min read
Tartessos and the Silver Trade
Ancient Greek historians wrote of a legendary kingdom in the far west ruled by a monarch of impossible age and wealth. Modern archaeology has stripped away the myth to reveal an indigenous Iberian society transformed by an insatiable Mediterranean demand for silver.
8 min read