article_detail
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WEEKLY BULLETIN
  • Region
  • Águilas
  • Alhama de Murcia
  • Jumilla
  • Lorca
  • Los Alcázares
  • Mazarrón
  • San Javier
  • ALL AREAS & TOWNS
    • AREAS
    • SOUTH WEST
    • MAR MENOR
    • MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
    • NORTH & NORTH WEST
    • TOWNS
    • Abanilla
    • Abarán
    • Aguilas
    • Alamillo
    • Alcantarilla
    • Aledo
    • Alhama de Murcia
    • Archena
    • Balsicas
    • Blanca
    • Bolnuevo
    • Bullas
    • Cañadas del Romero
    • Cabo de Palos
    • Calasparra
    • Camping Bolnuevo
    • Campo De Ricote
    • Camposol
    • Canada De La Lena
    • Caravaca de la Cruz
    • Cartagena
    • Cehegin
    • Ceuti
    • Cieza
    • Condado de Alhama
    • Corvera
    • Costa Cálida
    • Cuevas De Almanzora
    • Cuevas de Reyllo
    • El Carmoli
    • El Mojon
    • El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
    • El Pareton / Cantareros
    • El Raso
    • El Valle Golf Resort
    • Fortuna
    • Fuente Alamo
    • Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
    • Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
    • Isla Plana
    • Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
    • Jumilla
    • La Azohia
    • La Charca
    • La Manga Club
    • La Manga del Mar Menor
    • La Pinilla
    • La Puebla
    • La Torre
    • La Torre Golf Resort
    • La Unión
    • Las Palas
    • Las Ramblas
    • Las Ramblas Golf
    • Las Torres de Cotillas
    • Leiva
    • Librilla
    • Lo Pagan
    • Lo Santiago
    • Lorca
    • Lorquí
    • Los Alcázares
    • Los Balcones
    • Los Belones
    • Los Canovas
    • Los Nietos
    • Los Perez (Tallante)
    • Los Urrutias
    • Los Ventorrillos
    • Mar De Cristal
    • Mar Menor
    • Mar Menor Golf Resort
    • Mazarrón
    • Mazarrón Country Club
    • Molina de Segura
    • Moratalla
    • Mula
    • Murcia City
    • Murcia Property
    • Pareton
    • Peraleja Golf Resort
    • Perin
    • Pilar de la Horadada
    • Pinar de Campoverde
    • Pinoso
    • Playa Honda
    • Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
    • Pliego
    • Portmán
    • Pozo Estrecho
    • Puerto de Mazarrón
    • Puerto Lumbreras
    • Puntas De Calnegre
    • Region of Murcia
    • Ricote
    • Roda
    • Roldan
    • Roldan and Lo Ferro
    • San Javier
    • San Pedro del Pinatar
    • Santiago de la Ribera
    • Sierra Espuña
    • Sucina
    • Tallante
    • Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
    • Torre Pacheco
    • Totana
    • What's On Weekly Bulletin
    • Yecla


  • Home
  • Areas
    • SOUTH WEST
    • MAR MENOR
    • MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
    • NORTH & NORTH WEST
  • Towns
    • Abanilla
    • Abarán
    • Aguilas
    • Alamillo
    • Alcantarilla
    • Aledo
    • Alhama de Murcia
    • Archena
    • Balsicas
    • Blanca
    • Bolnuevo
    • Bullas
    • Cañadas del Romero
    • Cabo de Palos
    • Calasparra
    • Camping Bolnuevo
    • Campo De Ricote
    • Camposol
    • Canada De La Lena
    • Caravaca de la Cruz
    • Cartagena
    • Cehegin
    • Ceuti
    • Cieza
    • Condado de Alhama
    • Corvera
    • Costa Cálida
    • Cuevas De Almanzora
    • Cuevas de Reyllo
    • El Carmoli
    • El Mojon
    • El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
    • El Pareton / Cantareros
    • El Raso
    • El Valle Golf Resort
    • Fortuna
    • Fuente Alamo
    • Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
    • Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
    • Isla Plana
    • Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
    • Jumilla
    • La Azohia
    • La Charca
    • La Manga Club
    • La Manga del Mar Menor
    • La Pinilla
    • La Puebla
    • La Torre
    • La Torre Golf Resort
    • La Unión
    • Las Palas
    • Las Ramblas
    • Las Ramblas Golf
    • Las Torres de Cotillas
    • Leiva
    • Librilla
    • Lo Pagan
    • Lo Santiago
    • Lorca
    • Lorquí
    • Los Alcázares
    • Los Balcones
    • Los Belones
    • Los Canovas
    • Los Nietos
    • Los Perez (Tallante)
    • Los Urrutias
    • Los Ventorrillos
    • Mar De Cristal
    • Mar Menor
    • Mar Menor Golf Resort
    • Mazarrón
    • Mazarrón Country Club
    • Molina de Segura
    • Moratalla
    • Mula
    • Murcia City
    • Murcia Property
    • Pareton
    • Peraleja Golf Resort
    • Perin
    • Pilar de la Horadada
    • Pinar de Campoverde
    • Pinoso
    • Playa Honda
    • Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
    • Pliego
    • Portmán
    • Pozo Estrecho
    • Puerto de Mazarrón
    • Puerto Lumbreras
    • Puntas De Calnegre
    • Region of Murcia
    • Ricote
    • Roda
    • Roldan
    • Roldan and Lo Ferro
    • San Javier
    • San Pedro del Pinatar
    • Santiago de la Ribera
    • Sierra Espuña
    • Sucina
    • Tallante
    • Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
    • Torre Pacheco
    • Totana
    • What's On Weekly Bulletin
    • Yecla
  • Murcia News
  • Weather &
    Climate Change
  • What's On &
    Where To Go
    • What's On
    • Where To Go
    • Daily Events Diary
  • Motoring
    & Travel
    • All Motoring & Travel News
    • Driving In Spain
    • Spanish Motoring Laws
  • Lifestyle
    • Murcia LifeStyle
    • Sporting & Leisure
    • Murcia LifeStyle
    • Sporting & Leisure
    • Tips for Expats
    • Murcia Community
    • Tips for Expats
    • Murcia Community
  • Property News
    • Murcia Property News
    • All Murcia Property
    • Murcia Property Sales
    • Murcia Property Rentals
    • Legal & Financial
    • Murcia Property News
    • All Murcia Property
    • Murcia Property Sales
    • Murcia Property Rentals
    • Legal & Financial
  • Spanish News
  • EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
article_detail

The Iberians in Begastri


The first population in Begastri

Introduction to Begastri, Click Begastri Cehegin

Part 2 The Romans in Begastri

Part 3 The Visigoths in Begastri

Part 4 The Moors in Begastri

The Iberians in BegastriThe Iberians are recorded as occupying the Iberian peninsula ( Spain) continuously between the 8th and the 1st century BC. They tended to favour locations which had a proximity to water, but gave them a strategically advantageous position, so normally chose hilltops on which to build their settlements.


The population which first built Begastri is believed to have inhabited the area in the later phases of the Iberian occupation, namely between the end of the 5th century BC until the beginning of the second century BC, by which time the Romans had invaded Cartagena and the whole area underwent a steady process of Romanisation which gradually resulted in the disappearance of the Iberians as a definable native population.
The Iberians in BegastriThere is evidence of a number of Iberian groups around the Cehegín area, one of which would have inhabited the hilltop which is known today as Begastri. Due to the more substantial nature of this settlement, it is possible that this could have been an administrative centre of the begastrense tribe, as the Iberians had a distinctive hierarchical and social structure, each area being ruled over by a chieftain or nobility.


An Iberian religious sanctuary has been discovered at the Fuente del Recuesto, dating to the 4th century BC, showing that on the other side of what is now Cehegín, there were other Iberian inhabitants, and there was certainly a large population around modern day Mula, evidenced by the site at El Cigarralejo, which has yielded a large number of grave goods, testifying to an established  population in that area.

Excavating Iberian Begastri is a laborious process, as the Romans built their town over the top of the Iberian settlement, some properties clearly showing how the Romans used exactly the same floorplan for some of the domestic dwellings which have been excavated to date. This can be clearly seen at the far end of the site, the native Iberians using the darker stone found on the natural surface of the hill, whilst the subsequent Roman and Visigoth layers used stone carried up the hill specifically for building purposes which is a different, lighter colour.


Most of the Begastri site has not yet been excavated, so there is little clear indication of the scale of the Iberian settlement which existed in this location, but the preliminary excavations have indicated that the area could have covered  5 hectares of the most elevated area of the site.
This would have made it a substantial settlement and explained why the Romans decided to occupy and amplify it for their own purposes.
The Iberians in BegastriThe settlement was clearly adapted to the geography of the terrain, the streets irregular and containing small rectangular houses. It is highly likely that there was some sort of walled enclosure and protective structure around the original settlement, although no clear evidence of this has been uncovered yet as much of the earlier settlement is still buried.

The Iberians had a clear religious structure, the priesthood holding an elevated social status within their society, and it was normal for each population concentration to have some sort of religious sanctuary.


This could take the form of a simple spring or cave, which as the population increased, could lead to the construction of a more significant structure, as occurred on the outskirts of the City of Murcia with the evolution of the sanctuary of La Luz.


The Iberians in BegastriOfferings would be made at these sanctuaries, the evidence discovered relating to this practise showing the offerings of exvotos, which can take the form of animals, such as horses, or figures. There are collections of these in most museums which have a representation of Iberian archaeological finds, a particularly good collection being in the archaeological museum in Murcia.
Other offerings could take the form of produce, and there is evidence from the Fuente del Recuesto in Cehegín, that jars containing wine were smashed at these sites, the possible inference being wine, the fruit of the earth, being returned back to the Mother earth from which it came.
Given the size of this settlement it would be realistic to expect a more structured sanctuary and burial necropolis but the location of this has not yet been identified.


The Iberians in BegastriIberian society was largely based around agriculture, although there is tantalising evidence of interaction between the Iberians and the trading nations which plied the Mediterranean coastline, so it is common to find evidence of interaction between the Phoenicians and the Greeks in Iberian sites, with ceramics and luxury goods widely traded along the Mediterranean.
A wide range of goods were traded: the Iberians mined and traded metal ores, olive oil, pelts, esparto used for rope manufacture and for a wide range of domestic uses and woven cloth.

Although the Iberians were master ceramicists and created a vast number of ceramic items for their own daily use, luxury Greek pottery was highly prized and turns up in the grave goods of what were obviously the nobility of Iberian society.
Ceramics were an important part of Iberian life, used for both eating and cooking, but also as storage vessels for grain and crops, olives and thus olive oil being an important crop for the Iberians.


The Iberians in BegastriLarge ceramic urns were also used for burials, with the cremated remains of the deceased enterred inside a large jar, together with their grave goods.
Iberian ceramics are very distinctive, created using the potters wheel which was introduced into their culture by Phoenician traders ( click Phoenicians) as far back as the 8th century BC.
Decorations on Iberian ceramics were either painted or scratched, using ferrous iron oxides to create a red design, and primarily feature geometric designs, with straight lines, semicircles and scrolls. Later on human or animal figures including dogs and horses were incorporated into the designs.


Begastri is an interesting site as it is apparent that ceramic production continued well into the Roman occupation, ceasing only when the Moorish invasion took place in the 9th century.


The Iberians were also known as warriors, many weapons amongst the grave goods found in Iberian burials, and it is documented that Iberian soldiers acted as mercenaries, participating in the Punic wars prior to the Roman invasion of Spain.


The Iberians in BegastriThey were also accomplished metallurgists, making sophisticated pieces from both iron and bronze, with weaponry, agricultural equipment, jewellery and religious offerings both cast and forged. The personal belongings of each individual were buried with their owners at death, offering a revealing and valuable source of evidence for archaeologists studying the burials, who are able to accurately identify the trade of the deceased from their grave goods: warriors buried with their swords broken into pieces to prevent them being re-used, iron tipped lances, short knives and shields, tanners, shepherds with their scissors for shearing sheep, potters, farmers and their agricultural trappings and burials containing rich grave goods, designating nobility and a clear social structure with specialised trades.

However, in 209BC the lives of these farming communities changed significantly as the Romans took Cartagena from the Carthaginians and began the slow process of Romanising the native population, introducing new farming techniques, new processes and exploiting the natural resources of the region to feed the hungry mouths of Rome.

For a full report about the Iberians within the Region of Murcia, click The Iberians.



Images: Iberian artefacts from a variety of Iberian sites. Lead photograph, ceramics from Begastri on show in the Cehegín Municipal Archaeological musuem.



 


article_detail

Begastri
Suggestions for rural tourism..

Inland destinations to get away from it all and enjoy a “real” Christmas in the Costa Cálida! It goes..

Begastri Cehegin
The Iberians in Begastri
The Romans in Begastri.
Places to visit and Tourist Info
Suggestions for rural tourism..

Inland destinations to get away from it all and enjoy a “real” Christmas in the Costa Cálida! It goes..

The Plaza del Castillo in Cehegín
Cehegín opens mansión of the Chico de Guzmán family for visits..
Cehegín Tourist Office
Historical Information
The Argarics in Murcia

The Argaric culture was present in Bronze Age Murcia between 2200 and 1550 BC The Region of Murcia is rich in archaeological..

History of Cehegin
La Dama de Cehegín
The Cross of Cehegín
Cultural and Community Venues
The Plaza Alfaro in Cehegín

The square is sometimes referred to as Plaza Cine Alfaro This is a central square in the heart of the old quarter of..

Sala Camelot, Cehegín
The Plaza del Castillo in Cehegín
Aula de Cultura de Cajamurcia in Cehegín
Churches and Hours of service
Santuario De La Santísima Virgen..

Also known as the Convent of San Esteban, el Convento de San Esteban, Cehegín. Construction work began on this..

Hours of Mass in Cehegín
Cehegín, Ermita De La Purisima Concepción
Cehegín, Iglesia Mayor De Santa María Magdalena
Fiestas and traditions
Fiestas de San Isidro in Ceheg..

 May Romería to honour the patron saint of farmers Food, drink and conviviality are the order of the day at..

Fiestas of San Sebastian in Cehegín
Fiestas in Cehegin
Semana Santa in Cehegín
Medical Information and Doctors
Understanding the Funeral Process..

In Spain, it is the norm to plan ahead for your funeral. It’s all part of making things easier for the family and..

Hospitals, Region of Murcia
Plants to be aware of if you are prone to allergies and hay..
article_detail
Find more information by AREA, TOWN or URBANISATION .....
The Mar Menor
Cabo de Palos
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
South West Murcia
Aguilas
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
North & North West Murcia
Bullas
Calasparra
Caravaca de la Cruz
Cehegin
Cieza
Fortuna
Jumilla
Moratalla
Mula
Yecla
Murcia Central
Abanilla
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Urbanisations
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig Town Page
Important Topics:

AFS WindfoilsCAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia propertyParamount Theme Park MurciaWeekly Bulletin
Contact Murcia Today: Editorial 966 260 896 / Office 968 018 268
Direct Payment | Terms And Conditons | Privacy Policy | Legal | About Us | Advertise With Us


To be listed on the CAMPOSOL TODAY MAP please call +34 968 018 268.
To be listed on the CONDADO TODAY MAP please call +34 968 018 268.
Guidelines for submitting articles to Camposol Today

Hello, and thank you for choosing CamposolToday.com to publicise your organisation’s info or event.

Camposol Today is a website set up by Murcia Today specifically for residents of the urbanisation in Southwest Murcia, providing news and information on what’s happening in the local area, which is the largest English-speaking expat area in the Region of Murcia.

When submitting text to be included on Camposol Today, please abide by the following guidelines so we can upload your article as swiftly as possible:

Send an email to editor@camposoltoday.com or contact@murciatoday.com

Attach the information in a Word Document or Google Doc

Include all relevant points, including:

Who is the organisation running the event?

Where is it happening?

When?

How much does it cost?

Is it necessary to book beforehand, or can people just show up on the day?

…but try not to exceed 300 words

Also attach a photo to illustrate your article, no more than 100kb