Archaeologica.org

Workers discover ‘unprecedented’ Phoenician necropolis in southern Spain

Preliminary surveys in Osuna have turned up eight burial vaults as well as staircases

Archaeologists exploring the site – which was discovered amid the Roman ruins in the town of Osuna, 55 miles (90km) east of Seville – say the Phoenician-Carthaginian cemetery dates back to the fourth or fifth century BC and is highly unusual as such sites are normally found in coastal areas rather than so far inland.

Although the local ruins of the Roman city of Urso are well known, the discovery of the Phoenician necropolis has stunned archaeologists and locals. The only similar finds have been made around the coast of Cádiz, which was founded by the Phoenicians in 1100BC and which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe.