Tartessos

Tartessos was an ancient city located in southwestern Iberia, modern-day Spain, on the Guadalquivir River. Archaeological evidence suggests that the city existed from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC, with possible connections to the eastern Mediterranean cultures.

The Tartessians were a pre-Roman people who established a complex urban center, with evidence of trade and cultural exchange with various civilizations including the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians. Archaeological findings indicate a sophisticated society, with advanced metalworking, including bronze and gold, and a monetary system based on electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.

Excavations have revealed a well-planned city, with stone buildings, and evidence of a currency system based on discrete metalworking. The importance of the Tartessians lies in their role as a hub of cultural and commercial exchange between the eastern Mediterranean and the western edge of the Roman Empire. Their city was known for its gold, bronze, and electrum wealth, which attracted traders andGreco-Punic colonization.

Little is known about the city's political organization or the cultural practices of the people due to lack of written sources. It was conquered by the Carthaginians in 550 BC and later became an important stronghold in the Claudius's colony. The parent site of Tartessos remains a popular topic of study and is particularly interesting due to its complexity and extensive marine port.

Excavations by Silius Italicus and others at modern-day Doñana National Park, have confirmed the presence of platform homes, temples, palaces, and a majestic town characterized by columns, corridors, and evidence of astronomical observations in this intense commercial center.