An Advanced Ancient Civilization Burned Itself To The Ground Before Disappearing 2,500 Years Ago

The Tartessos ruled what’s now Andalucía before mysteriously disappearing. Were tectonic plates to blame?

author
RACHAEL FUNNELL
Digital Content Producer

Published
June 8, 2023



Cancho Roano revealed a weird barbecue took place before the Tartessians packed up and moved on.

Image credit: By Ángel M. Felicísimo - Own work, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An enormous pit stuffed with the burned remains of animals, ancient treasures, and unanswered questions was discovered in 1978 by archaeologists in Andalucía, Spain. Here, in the Guadiana Valley, they found the remnants of three temples that housed members of an ancient civilization. That was, until one day they decided to pack it all up, burn it, and abandon what they had built.



Much mystery surrounds the ancient Tartessos civilization that’s believed to have ruled south-western Spain from the 9th to the 6th century BCE. Throughout more modern history, people have suggested that it was a river, a kingdom, or even Atlantis (it’s not, and nobody’s even looking for it), but in reality, it was one of the first cultures to be established in the Iberian Peninsula. There are now more than 20 known Tartessos sites in the region, revealing it was far more expansive than first thought.

The Tartessians left nothing much in the way of written testimonies about life in southern Spain during the Bronze and Iron Ages for us to find. However, thanks to the longevity of certain metals, we do have some clues as to how they lived preserved in curious sites of devastation like Cancho Roano.

Here, at the end of the 5th Century BCE, the Tartessians appear to have tossed animal remains along with prized possessions like jewelry and tools into a giant pit before setting it on fire. They then sealed the flaming pit and moved on. It might seem like a bizarre localized incident, but then a similar story was uncovered at Casas de Turuñuelo.

Considered one of the most well-preserved protohistoric buildings in the region, it was once thought to be Roman but has since been confirmed as Tartessian territory. It too burned many animals inside a large, sealed pit, painting a similar picture to the findings at Cancho Roano.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/an-advanced-ancient-civilization-burned-itself-to-the-ground-before-disappearing-2500-years-ago-69310