dossier labastida

8/13/2019 Dossier LaBastida

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LA BASTIDATHE GREATEST

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE OF

THE WESTERN WORLD

II milenio b.c.e. Early Bronze Age.Totana - Murcia - Spain


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LA BASTIDATHE GREATEST ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE OF THE WESTERN WORLD

The Troy of Western Europe

There are numerous archeological sites inthe world of great value whether by itsaesthetical beauty, size, location, degreeof conservation, scientific importance, orby its capability to change the course ofhistory since they were discovered.

The later is the case of La Bastida, currentlyconsidered as the mother of all westernarcheological sites. Recent excavations

confirm that is the oldest city of the westernworld and the first European capital withpolitical and economic inequalities that usedviolence to maintain a centralized politicalpower. In other words, the first societypresenting the social stratification modelfollowed for more than 40 centuries.

Popularly known as the Troy of WesternEurope, La Bastida amazes (puzzles) thearcheologists because it meant breakingwith the world known at the beginning ofthe Bronze Age. La Bastida emerges from

its burying centuries as a powerful cityprotected by an imposing (impressive) wall.It was the capital of a domain that stretchedthrough the Guadalentn River Valley andwas inhabited between 2200 and 1550 b.c.e.Prior to the latest excavation works, we hadto look at the East to find something similar,but from what it is revealed now we candare to affirm that the cradle of the

Western civilization, the origin of its ownmatrix, is located within its own boundaries.

The excavations have unveiled one of theonly three existing burial sites of two men,the largest dagger of the El Argar culture,the first and biggest reservoir of theEuropean prehistoric times (over 300,000liters of water capacity), an unparalleledcomplex urban development plan in Europe,

an extensive graveyard with single anddouble tombs, a vast asset on furnishingfindings and, the most impressive, a defensewall with a surprising complexity and withoutany precedent in the western world. Themonumental fortification system discoveredin April 2012 has a design and specificfeatures that unveil the intervention of amilitary group that may have had links withthe Eastern Mediterranean. Similar militaryconstructions have been found in Palestine,Israel and Jordan in addition to the city ofTroy.

Circa 2200 b.c.e., the decline hung over theancient Egyptian empire. The same occurredto the Mesopotamia which had gone througha golden age since the foundation of theAkkadian empire. But thousands ofkilometers away, in the South East of theIberian Peninsula, a new society bloomedperched up on a hill between the Lbor

watercourse and the Salado ravine.Previously there were other complexsettlements, but not as monumental or withsuch specialization in military architecture.

The previous model of coexistence basedon the principle that all individualscollaborate to the common good and to thecommunity prosperity under equal conditionsdisappears. That philosophy of mutual

cooperation breaks down and is replacedby a system of inequalities in which theruling class holds privileges throughout (byusing) force, violence and exploitation.


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A unique defense wall in Europe

It is not about one more fortified enclosurelike the many known until then in this partof the continent. In the Cabezo del Plomo,for instance, its inhabitants formed adomestic society that hid behind some walls.But La Bastida is something very different.It is about a spectacular fortification with

a strong wall endowed with square and solidtowers. Its builders proved mastery on theart of defending and attacking strongholds.The archeologists have found many noveltiesfor the Early Bronze Age such as a bent-entrance gateway (designed to make theenemy entry difficult in case of an invasion)or a camouflaged secondary door in the

defense wall to attack the invaders bysurprise. This postern gate is absolutelyunique and unprecedented in Europe.The burial offerings found are telltale signs(indicadores clave) of the violent societythat inhabited this Argaric capital. Manyobjects that could cause harm, such asknifes or punches were found in otherarcheological sites belonging to the same

historical period. But La Bastida is the placewhere the first weapons of prehistoric timeslike halberds and swords were specificallydesigned and manufactured to kill.

The enigma of tomb number 18

To this date, 83 burial sites have beenexcavated underneath several houses.What was found inside the cistsor clay urns have providedvaluable information. Mostare individual burial sites.Inside those that are double,archeologists generallyfound two adults of differentsex, an adult and a child, ortwo children. The mostintriguing tomb is the onemarked with number 18. It isan only case as it contains the

bodies of two warriors. The DNA tests couldnot reveal if the two men were brothers orheld any family tie. The experts do not ruleout the possibility of a homosexualrelationship. They base this hypothesis inthe fact that a cenotaph (an empty tomb)was found very close to the clay urn thatcontained the bodies of the two men, whichmay symbolize a sterile relationship.

An unknown ending

Tomb number 18 is just one of La Bastidamysteries. There are many more. It is notclear at all how this great city disappeared.About a thousand people lived in its fourhectares. The hill was terraced to buildhouses that were separated by very narrow

alleys.

In that society stratified in classes,women played an important rolein the transfer of rights and inthe towns management. It wasa matrilocal community inwhich women were born andraised in the city by theirfemale relatives while menwere the ones who left the

family after getting married.This social scheme did not undergo


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many changes during the six centuries LaBastida existed. Research suggests that itwas a rigid, centralized, and highlystandardized society. The few differentmodels and sizes of pottery found duringexcavations show no variation throughoutsix hundred years. The strict controlexercised by domineering leaders reachedthat extreme.

What that privileged powerful caste couldnot control was the decline and the end ofLa Bastida. Circa 1600 b.c.e. the city wasabandoned. So far, scientists did not findtraces of houses destroyed by fire, implyinga violent ending caused by a turbulentaction such an invasion. Its inhabitants fledwith nothing but the clothes on their backs;utensils, belongings and easy to carryobjects. The depopulation occurred in ashort period of time. Some point out thatLa Bastida grew so much to the point ofdepleting the sparse surrounding naturalresources. That environmental crisistogether with a social upheaval could causethe ultimate collapse. The entire territorialand organization system plummeted. People

scattered going back to the previous modelof subsistence. La Bastida never flourishedagain. Up until now, when its extraordinarylegacy begins to emerge.

Many enigmas and unanswered questionsthat scientists hope to resolve still hangover La Bastida.

Writing is the only missing puzzlepiece to have La Bastida entering theclub of great civilizations, and thatmight be the next revelation thisarcheological site bring to us.


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Images gallery


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Contact:

Daniel RolleriProject [email protected]+34 698 555 081

More information:

la-bastida.com

Juan GocaDirector of Communications

[email protected]+34 968 344 960

This document is based on testimonies and writings by Rafael Mic, professor of thePrehistory Department at the Universidad Autonmica de Barcelona and co-director ofLa Bastida project, as well as on excerpts from the article The mystery of Tomb 18by journalist Miguel Rubio.

Impulsa seeks to support La Bastida project by developing a privateinitiative to contribute to the enhancement, development andpromotion of this amazing historic and cultural patrimony of theMurcia Region.

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