Phoenician research in the region of Torre del Mar

Phoenician research in the region of Torre del Mar

The project has been supervised by the Madrid section of the German Archaeological Institute since 1961.

Location

Phönizische Goldanhänger

The find sites of Toscanos, Alarcón and Jardín are situated on the right bank and the Cerro del Mar is situated on the left bank of the Río Vélez at its estuary zone with the Mediterranean Sea west of Torre del Mar (fig.: The Cerro del Mar at the estuary of the river Vélez). East of Torre del Mar, the sites of Trayamar (fig.: Phoenician gold pendants) and the Morro de Mezquitilla are found in the estuary zone of the river Río Algarrobo with the Mediterranean Sea.

Objectives

The investigation of the early Phoenician colonization on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and the development of this settlement zone from the 8th century onwards and during the subsequent Punic and Roman epochs.  

History of Research

Taking research by Adolf Schultens (1939 and 1941) as a starting-point, H.-G. Niemeyer and H. Schubart carried out surveys in the mentioned region in 1961. This was followed by different excavation campaigns on the sites mentioned above from 1964 to 1998.  

Previous Activities

	Cerro del Mar

The excavations in the Vélez Bay were mainly conducted by H. Schubart, H.-G. Niemeyer, and O. Arteaga, in the Algarrobo Bay by H. Schubart. The treatment of the excavation results was distributed in such a way that H.-G. Niemeyer and H. Schubart took over the excavations at Toscanos and the find sites of Peñón and Alarcón connected to this, H. Schubart together with G. Maaß-Lindemann took over the excavations in Jardín, and O. Arteaga took over the excavations on the Cerro del Mar. The Morro de Mezquitilla is analysed by H. Schubart. The last campaign so far took place from 15th Feb. to 29th March 1998 on the Cerro del Mar under the supervision of O. Arteaga. 

Current Work

	Phönizische Keramik

At present, certain topics and groups of find material are being analysed by different specialists: Phoenician pottery (fig.: Trayamar: Phoenician pottery of the 7th century B. C.) of the 8th to 5th century B. C.: G. Maaß-Lindemann; vessels with a wide mouth from Toscanos: A. Peserico; Phoenician amphorae from Toscanos: R. Docter; Phoenician amphorae from the Morro de Mezquitilla: D. Marzoli; Punic pottery from the Morro de Mezquitilla: K. Mansel; metal finds from the Morro de Mezquitilla: K. Mansel and S. Rovira; handmade pottery of the total region: S. Puch. A monograph on the excavations at Toscanos and on the Alarcón as well as on the burials from Jardín is presently being prepared for publication in Madrider Forschungen 6, 2. 

Results

	Cerro del Mar 1998

The results of the most recent excavations on the Cerro del Mar (fig.: Cerro del Mar 1998) were the following: On the outcropping slate rock some pottery fragments of the Late Neolithic were found. A probably Late Punic wall foundation was placed immediately on the outcropping rock. The imported pottery (e. g. Campana A ware) indicates an approximate dating into the 2nd/1st cent. B. C. The accompanying building was obviously torn down during the time of Caesar (Late Campana ware in the levelling layer). Immediately after the demolition of this Late Republican structure, walls with a slightly different orientation were constructed. This therefore probably Augustan building phase was identifiable in the excavation trench as house complexes with several rooms on both sides of a small street directed east-west. This meaningful stratigraphy is very well documented through Samian ware of Julio-Claudian times and attests a lively occupation during the reigns of Tiberius/Claudius and Nero. During Flavian times, the imperial occupation of the Cerro del Mar experienced a last peak. At the same time, the building substance originating in Augustan times was altered only marginally. The end of the occupation is defined by some pottery finds from post-Flavian times and a terracotta of the epoch of Hadrian. O. Arteaga interprets the features as Roman Maenoba already looked for by A. Schulten.  

Cooperation

The most recent excavations on the Cerro del Mar were actively supported by the city of Vélez Málaga which is presently planning the establishment of an archaeological park there. It was in this context, that a cooperation with Emilio Martín Córdoba, the district archaeologist of Vélez Málaga, arose. The numerous other cooperations in the course of the project are described in the publications and in the section on current work above. 

Contact

PD Dr. Michael Kunst

Vor- und Frühgeschichte
Telefon: + 34 - 91 - 561 09 04-29
Telefax: +34 - 91 - 564 00 54
Email: kunst@madrid.dainst.org
Further Email Addresses: fotothek@madrid.dainst.org

Further Contact Partners

Prof. Dr. H. Schubart, Gickelhof 7, D-35282 Rauschenberg. Prof. Dr. O. Arteaga, Dpto. de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, C/. María de Padilla s/n, E-41004 Sevilla, tel.: +34/95/455 14 12, fax: +34/95/455 14 11

Bibliography

Apart from numerous articles in Madrider Mitteilungen and Spanish journals, particularly the following monographs have been published: R. F. Docter, Archaische Amphoren aus Karthago und Toscanos. Fundspektrum und Formentwicklung. Ein Beitrag zur phönizischen Wirtschaftsgeschichte (Amsterdam 1997); H.-G. Niemeyer - H. Schubart, Toscanos. Die altpunische Faktorei an der Mündung des Río Vélez. Lieferung 1: Grabungskampagne 1964, in: Madrider Forschungen 6, 1 (Berlin 1969); H.-G. Niemeyer - H. Schubart, Trayamar. Die phönizischen Kammergräber und die Niederlassung an der Algarrobo-Mündung, Madrider Beiträge 4 (Mainz 1975); H.-G. Niemeyer (ed.), Phönizier im Westen. Die Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums über "Die phönizische Expansion im westlichen Mittelmeerraum" in Köln vom 24. bis 27. April 1979, Madrider Beiträge 8 (Mainz 1982); H. Schubart - G. Maaß-Lindemann, La necrópolis de Jardín, Cuadernos de Arqueología Mediterránea 1, 1995, 55-213.