Only 1% of Spain's Mesas de Asta site has been excavated, and it may hide Tartessos
Just 1% of Mesas de Asta in Spain has been excavated, yet it points to the capital of Tartessos mentioned by Herodotus. Gold finds and El Turuñuelo reopen the question.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Mesas de Asta, the possible capital of Tartessos that still lies buried
Only 1% of Mesas de Asta has been excavated. That 1%, worked in the 1940s and 50s by Manuel Esteve, was enough to uncover Bronze Age pottery and, centuries later, for the Romans to found Asta Regia there. The hypothesis gaining ground is that beneath the wheat fields at the mouth of the Guadalquivir sleeps the capital of Tartessos, the political entity Herodotus described as a kingdom beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
The capital no one has found
Mesas de Asta meets the requirements expected of the Tartessic capital: it stood on the coast of the ancient Lacus Ligustinus, covers a vast area, and its chronology begins in the Bronze Age. On that foundation, Julius Caesar established a military colony in the 1st century BC under the name Asta Regia, indicating the site was already the seat of an earlier power. Even so, no systematic excavation has been promoted; the recurring argument is lack of budget, and criticism of the Andalusian management model suggests institutional interest is focused on other periods.
The gold that doesn't fit the Phoenician narrative
Goldwork is the battleground. Some argue that the treasures of El Carambolo, Lebrija or Villena are Phoenician-Carthaginian liturgical pieces, made by itinerant workshops and unrelated to an indigenous Tartessic culture. Against that reading, chemical and isotopic analyses by the isotope geochronology and geochemistry service indicate that the gold of El Carambolo comes from a mine just two kilometres from the find, and that the necklace was not made with Phoenician techniques. It is not definitive proof, but it forces a nuance into the story that everything shiny came from the East.
El Turuñuelo: ritual sacrifice or flood?
The Casas del Turuñuelo site, on the Guadiana, has entered the debate because of the remains of 17 horses, two bulls and one person. The official excavation interpreted them as a ritual sacrifice trinc by the deliberate burial of the building. Engineer Isaac Moreno Gallo argues that the sediments and the palace's position, two or three metres from the ancient riverbed, point to a sudden flood that brought down the roofs and trapped the animals. The doubt is not trivial: if the building collapsed in a flood, it would change the interpretation of several Tartessic sites.
The Doñana clue and the interior
Candidates for the capital are not limited to Mesas de Asta. One school of thought holds that Tartessos, whose main asset was mining, was organised around the Guadiana valley, with a central city equidistant from its routes between Murcia and Lisbon. Another hypothesis places the capital beneath the dunes of Doñana; finding it would be the archaeological discovery of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Mesas de Asta offers a visual clue: in aerial photographs taken after the wheat harvest, structures and walls that no one has excavated stand out clearly.
The official history maintains that Tartessos was little more than a territory colonised by the Phoenicians. The data emerging, piece by piece, say otherwise. If Mesas de Asta hides the capital Herodotus mentioned, it is still underground, waiting for an excavation that never comes. How much longer?
Only 1% of Mesas de Asta has been excavated. That 1%, worked in the 1940s and 50s by Manuel Esteve, was enough to uncover Bronze Age pottery and, centuries later, for the Romans to found Asta Regia there. The hypothesis gaining ground is that beneath the wheat fields at the mouth of the Guadalquivir sleeps the capital of Tartessos, the political entity Herodotus described as a kingdom beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
The capital no one has found
Mesas de Asta meets the requirements expected of the Tartessic capital: it stood on the coast of the ancient Lacus Ligustinus, covers a vast area, and its chronology begins in the Bronze Age. On that foundation, Julius Caesar established a military colony in the 1st century BC under the name Asta Regia, indicating the site was already the seat of an earlier power. Even so, no systematic excavation has been promoted; the recurring argument is lack of budget, and criticism of the Andalusian management model suggests institutional interest is focused on other periods.
The gold that doesn't fit the Phoenician narrative
Goldwork is the battleground. Some argue that the treasures of El Carambolo, Lebrija or Villena are Phoenician-Carthaginian liturgical pieces, made by itinerant workshops and unrelated to an indigenous Tartessic culture. Against that reading, chemical and isotopic analyses by the isotope geochronology and geochemistry service indicate that the gold of El Carambolo comes from a mine just two kilometres from the find, and that the necklace was not made with Phoenician techniques. It is not definitive proof, but it forces a nuance into the story that everything shiny came from the East.
El Turuñuelo: ritual sacrifice or flood?
The Casas del Turuñuelo site, on the Guadiana, has entered the debate because of the remains of 17 horses, two bulls and one person. The official excavation interpreted them as a ritual sacrifice trinc by the deliberate burial of the building. Engineer Isaac Moreno Gallo argues that the sediments and the palace's position, two or three metres from the ancient riverbed, point to a sudden flood that brought down the roofs and trapped the animals. The doubt is not trivial: if the building collapsed in a flood, it would change the interpretation of several Tartessic sites.
The Doñana clue and the interior
Candidates for the capital are not limited to Mesas de Asta. One school of thought holds that Tartessos, whose main asset was mining, was organised around the Guadiana valley, with a central city equidistant from its routes between Murcia and Lisbon. Another hypothesis places the capital beneath the dunes of Doñana; finding it would be the archaeological discovery of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Mesas de Asta offers a visual clue: in aerial photographs taken after the wheat harvest, structures and walls that no one has excavated stand out clearly.
The official history maintains that Tartessos was little more than a territory colonised by the Phoenicians. The data emerging, piece by piece, say otherwise. If Mesas de Asta hides the capital Herodotus mentioned, it is still underground, waiting for an excavation that never comes. How much longer?
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (78 replies).
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