Date Published: 05/02/2020
ARCHIVED - 2,200-year-old Iberian home to be reconstructed in Jumilla
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The dwelling is one of those at the Coimbra del Barranco Ancho site in the mountains outside Jumilla
The Town Hall of Jumilla has given its approval to a project to re-construct one of the homes of which the remains can be found at the Iberian settlement of Coimbra del Barranco Ancho, in the mountains outside the modern-day town close to the monastery of Santa Ana.
The work will be undertaken on the dwelling known by archaeologists as “House M”, which has been excavated by teams from the University of Murcia. Existing structures will be maintained and when the re-creation is complete visitors will be able to see an approximation of how a real Iberian home would have looked, as well as appreciating this particular one’s importance within the layout of the settlement.
All of the household goods found in the excavation will be left in the place where they were discovered, and the total budget for the project amounts to precisely 97,504.22 euros to be funded by the regional government and the Town Hall.
The settlement of Coimbra del Barranco Ancho dates from well over 2,000 years ago and was populated between the 4th and the 2nd century BC, consisting of a main walled residential area, a sanctuary or place of worship and three burial grounds. It is surrounded by stretches of defensive wall and natural protection, making it clear that the location was chosen with defence in mind, and an idea of the scale of the site is given by the fact that the perimeter measures around 3,000 metres in total. As well as the remains of some houses and rooms, the site is littered with ceramic shards.
The 90 or so dwellings are thought to have been home to approximately 500 inhabitants and were terraced up the hillside in a criss-cross street pattern. Individual homes were generally rectangular and made out of adobe walls on a stone base, with rooves made from straw, mud and branches and an ingenious rudimentary drainage system was used to ensure that rain was carried out of the buildings through small channels on the floor.
The site is permanently open to the public (without guided tours or explanations) and is accessible on foot on a path which was repaired, restored and improved in 2018. In addition, open days are held every year during the annual excavation (generally in early September), and the tourist office runs free guided tours, the next of which are on 14th and 21st March.
For more information about visiting Jumilla, including what's on, local news and all of the bodegas on the Jumilla wine route, visit the home page of Jumilla Today.