Between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic: nautical iconography in the south‐west Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

This study presents two new representations of ships, recently found in Casas del Turuñuelo, Spain, and dated to the end of the 5th century BC. They depict river barges, which supports the importance of river navigation in structuring the central Guadiana region in the Tartessian era. The systematization of all known ship iconography found in the area from the Early Iron Age makes it possible to highlight their homogeneity, and their Mediterranean hallmark. This serves to emphasize the interconnectivity that existed in Iberia's south-west, fostering a process of cultural hybridization of which the vessels were both result and vehicle.

Lost Landscape: A Combination of LiDAR and APSFR Data to Locate and Contextualize Archaeological Sites in River Environments

“…In previous works, we defended the importance of the Guadiana as the backbone of the territory on which the main trade of this region would have been based [2] (p. 256). This hypothesis has been supported by the appearance of the first images of boats found at the site of Casas del Turuñuelo [41], as well as in the analysis of the amphorae documented in each of the excavated sites. The analysis of the clays made it possible to verify the existence of small-scale commerce that connected these sites along the Guadiana [42].…”