Die Meerenge östlich von Gibraltar am Übergang von der Bronze- zur Eisenzeit (9.–8. Jh. v. Chr.). Zum Forschungsstand

Abstract

The German-Spanish joint project at Los Castillejos de Alcorrín (Manilva, Málaga), together with emergency excavations and prospections, has supplied new information about the importance of the coastal region east of Gibraltar. There has emerged the image of an area of contact between maritime and mainland cultures, between locals and foreigners, whose dynamic evolution is connected, by a significant measure, to the exploitation of hitherto unknown, rich ore deposits in the region. The indigenous fortress of Alcorrín, which extended over more than 11 hectares, founded at the turn of the 9th to the 8th centuries B.C., and abandoned at the beginning of the 7th century, provides an impressive example of the effects of early Phoenician contacts. These contacts contributed to the formation of a concentration of power, to the development of new forms of communication, such as writing script, and to the introduction of formerly unknown technologies, forms of economy, trade, and habitation.

Hill settlements of the 2nd millenium B.C. were situated to overlook connection routes and facilitate exchange. Thus began the settlement of the immediate hinterland, as well as the exploitation of local metal resources. Moreover, evidence of eastern mediterranean contacts is to be found here. At the end of the 9th century B.C., the foundation of a settlement near Casa Montilla, then at the mouth of the river Guadiaro, established a link to the maritime routes of commerce. The site of the harbour is only 5 km (as the crow flies) from Los Castillejos de Alcorrín, and the archaeological findings suggest that they stood in direct relation with each other. In the course of the 8th century, the hub turned into an import place into local regions. Phoenician influences extended deeply into the hinterland by way of the connection route which followed the course of the Guadiaro, and caused changes in the local environment. The abandonment of Los Castillejos de Alcorrín falls in a time of change: on the one hand, the Phoenician settlements in the South of the Iberian Peninsula experience population growth, and, on the other hand, fortresses are being erected in the indigenous hinterland. The causes that triggered this development cannot be determined as yet.

The history of settlement of the region east of Gibraltar has its very own characteristics. It differs from that of other territories of the western Phoenician oikumene, even geographically close ones. It seems that the differences derive, above all, from local traditions of the indigenous cultures, which led to special developments at the encounter with the heterogeneous Phoenicians.