La Bastida - an Argaric Fortress in SE Spain from 2,200 BC

[Samra]

Dear All,

I thought some of you here would find this interesting. La Bastida, a quite large ancient hilltop fortress/town near the southeastern coast of Spain just west of the modern town of Totana in Murcia has been considered for many years as an archaeological site from the 3rd or 4th centuries BC, but within the last couple of years Vicente Lull from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and his colleagues have unearthed it's true origin.

La Bastida Unearths 4,200-Year-Old Fortification, Unique in Continental Europe

Best Regards,
Sheppard Baird

[Minimalist]

One of the most relevant architectural elements discovered is the ogival arched postern gate, or secondary door, located near the main entrance. The arch is in very good conditions and is the first one to be found in Prehistoric Europe. Precedents can be found in the second city of Troy (Turkey) and in the urban world of the Middle East (Palestine, Israel and Jordan), influenced by the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. This indicates that people from the East participated in the construction of the fortification. These people would have reached La Bastida after the crisis which devastated their region 4,300 years ago.

Suggesting that refugees from the drought which devastated Old Kingdom Egypt and Mesopotamia sailed all the way to Spain? Certainly not impossible but those people were literate. Shouldn't there be some Akkadian cuneiform or Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions around somewhere? What about pottery? Styles or decorations related to ANE pottery would be a significant coup for this idea.

I'd like to read more if you find anything.

(In English.)

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Sheppard -

Thanks very much - a mot interesting site.

I am sure that you have already noted the elevations, including water supply source.

[Ernie L]

http://www.la-bastida.com/LaBastida/?__locale=en
more information

[Samra]

Dear Min,

You may well be correct in that refugees from the Egyptian Old Kingdom drought made their way to Spain in around 2200 BC. I think many different people from the eastern Mediterranean (the Aegean, Anatolia, the Levant, etc.) may have gone to the west at this time but given the overwhelming Minoan maritime dominance of the Mediterranean throughout this period they almost certainly would have done this on the large Minoan ships.

Another thing to consider is that this was a time of great innovation on Minoan Crete. The first true palaces were built and institutionalized writing (Cretan Hieroglyphics) suddenly appears in the archaeology along with the establishment of their so called “peak sanctuaries”. There is some disagreement about this given the fog in the dating evidence but I believe this was the true beginning of the Minoan Protopalatial period.

I think the crisis they are referring to in your quote is the final destruction of the Aegean Los Millares civilization in Spain. The Argaric civilization blossomed soon after on the ashes of the Millarens. Another small point is about the “ogival arched” postern gate from the quote. An ogival arch generally refers to the much later medieval Gothic arch. This is simply a pointed version of a catenary arch which is the strongest form of arch known to physics and was very well known to the tholos builders of the Bronze Age. I go into great detail about this in the article – “The Garlo Well Temple and Tholos Structural Mechanics”.

For reference material you might want to look at the publications – “The Early Minoan Colonization of Spain” and “The Origin of the Sea Peoples”. Also I think you can find some good information and imagery, etc. in English and Spanish by searching keywords like El Argar, Argaric, Los Millares, etc. Here's a link to an El Argar site in English - “El Argar”.

Best.
Sheppard Baird

[Minimalist]

Thanks, Samra.

Appreciate it.

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Sheppard -

Absolutely fascinating.
Are the winter temperatures on the east end of Crete/ SW Turkey warmer?