An enormous Inferno squeeze with the burned remains of animals , ancient treasures , and unanswered questions was chance upon in 1978 by archaeologists in Andalucía , Spain . Here , in the Guadiana Valley , they found the remnants of three temple that put up member of an ancient civilization . That was , until one twenty-four hour period they decided to pack it all up , combust it , and abandon what they had construct .

Much mystery border the ancient Tartessos civilization that ’s believed to have ruled south - westerly Spain from the 9th to the 6th century BCE . Throughout more modern history , people have suggested that it was a river , a kingdom , or evenAtlantis(it ’s not , andnobody ’s even looking for it ) , but in reality , it was one of the first culture to be established in the Iberian Peninsula . There are now more than 20 known Tartessos sites in the region ,   reveal it was far more expansive than first thinking .

The Tartessians left nothing much in the room of written testimonies about life in southerly Spain during the Bronze and Iron Ages for us to ascertain . However , thanks to the longevity of sealed metallic element , we do have some clue as to how they lived preserve in queer sites of desolation like Cancho Roano .

tartessian

Coastal properties are all fun and games until the sea starts acting up. Were the Tartessians lost to a tsunami?Image credit: Tyk based on Image: Iberian Peninsula base map.svg created by Redtony -CC BY-SA 3.0,viaWikimedia Commons

Here , at the end of the fifth Century BCE , the Tartessians appear to have toss creature remains along with prized possessions like jewelry and tools into a jumbo pit before setting it on ardor . They then sealed the flaming pit and proceed on . It might seem like a bizarre localized incident , but then a similar story was uncovered at Casas de Turuñuelo .

Considered one of the most well - preserved protohistoric construction in the region , it was once thought to be Roman but has since been confirmed as Tartessian dominion . It too burn many beast inside a large , certain infernal region , paint a similar picture to the finding at Cancho Roano .

As for why the Tartessians seemed hell - bent on burning themselves to the ground , it ’s a good motion to which we do n’t yet have firm answers , but researcher are see into it .

" The most surprising thing for me is the very peculiar substance abuse [ the Tartessos ] had of destroying their homes , that is , in all the sites found , the same behaviour has been abide by : emptying all the vessels and amphorae , burning the building and burying it , " suppose Ana Belén Gallardo Delgado , a historiographer and templet at La Mata , toAndrew Lofthouse , BBC .

" With the new engineering science , I desire that much more can be clarified about the blood line of this refinement and delve a little more into its way of living . The Tartessian presence in the Extremadura surface area is becoming more and more important thanks to new advances in archeology . Also , it is believed that another eight burial knoll found in the Badajoz area could be Tartessian buildings like those already dig . ”

The behaviour is an eyebrow - raising one for modern historians , but it ’s not even the leading mystery story surrounding Tartessos culture . It ’s thought to have abruptly vanished around 2,5000 years ago , and once again , the cause has so far eluded our understanding .

give their location along the coastline of an ancient Andalucía that was partially submerged in the Mediterranean Sea , it ’s possible thatearthquakes and tsunamiscould’ve symbolise a unique terror to the Tartessians . One false chemise of a architectonic plate may have been enough to ravage them , but it ’s also potential beef with neighboring Phoenicians could have played a part .

Research continues at Tartessian sites likeCasas de Turuñuelo , ferment up new brainwave about their culture , meanwhile , scientist are also work on better infer their swop internet which – base on the richness of metallic element discovered in the burned remains – it would look was very tidy .

When you ’re studying fall back civilisation many thousands of years erstwhile , it get reasonably complicated render to keep up with the Tartessians .