The Tartessian Tumuli of the Guadiana

Abstract

This article presents a new approach towards the territorial model in the central Guadiana valley during the Early Iron Age. The main focus is an analysis of the so-called Tartessian buildings hidden under tumuli. These buildings are large constructions which bear a certain resemblance to the Phoenician architecture of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. A settlement pattern can be discussed which is unique to the period, and which gives personality to the geographical sphere in which it is found.