Tartessos was an ancient civilization that developed in the Iberian Peninsula during the 9th and 6th centuries BC at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, in what is now southern Spain and part of Portugal.
It is considered one of the first urban cultures in Western Europe and one of the most enigmatic and mysterious in the region.
Tartessos is our real Atlantis
The importance of Tartessos lies in the fact that it was a very advanced culture for its time, which maintained commercial relations with other cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and had a great influence on later Iberian culture. Tartessos stood out for its sophistication and wealth, and its cultural legacy can be seen in architecture, metallurgy, ceramics and writing.
However, knowledge about Tartessos is limited, as no historical text has been found that speaks of this civilization. Most of the information comes from Greek and Roman sources, which mention Tartessos as a region rich in minerals and with a very advanced culture.
The discovery of the faces at the Casas de Turuñuelo site has been a great advance in the understanding of the culture and history of Tartessos, as it offers new clues about their religion and funerary rituals. In addition, the finding reinforces the idea that Tartessos was a very advanced civilization for its time, capable of creating works of art of great beauty and technical complexity.
In short, Tartessos is important because it represents an early example of an urban and sophisticated culture in the Iberian Peninsula, and because its cultural legacy has left its mark on the region for centuries. The discovery of new archaeological finds may help to better understand this civilization and shed light on its cultural legacy.
The faces of Tarsessos are almost 3,000 years old
The ancient civilization of Tartessos has returned to the spotlight of the archaeological community thanks to the recent discovery of the first faces unearthed at the site of Casas de Turuñuelo, in the province of Badajoz, Spain.
The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) led by Sebastián Celestino Pérez, who said that these faces are “the most palpable expression” of the identity and culture of Tartessos.
The discovered faces, which date from more than 2,500 years ago, are in a good state of preservation and have been found in three different rooms of a large building, which has led researchers to consider that they could be related to funerary or religious rituals.
According to experts, the faces are life-size and are made of limestone with a great level of detail and realism, indicating that they were made by highly skilled artists. In addition, each one of them has a different expression, suggesting that they could represent different people or gods.
This discovery has been possible thanks to the use of cutting-edge technologies such as photogrammetry, thermography and geo-radar, which have allowed researchers to create a 3D model of the structure where the faces were found and analyze it with a high degree of accuracy.
A civilization far ahead of Europe
The discovery of these faces represents a great advance in the understanding of the culture and history of Tartessos, which still holds many secrets to be discovered. The Tartessian civilization was characterized by its sophistication and wealth, and is considered one of the first urban cultures in Western Europe.
This discovery not only provides new clues about their religion and funerary rituals, but also reinforces the idea that Tartessos was a very advanced civilization for its time, capable of creating works of art of great beauty and technical complexity.
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