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Date Published: 15/06/2020

ARCHIVED - Visits to la Bastida Argaric archaeological site resume at weekends

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

This was once an important Argaric settlement

In spite of the Covid crisis visits to the La Bastida Argaric site in Totana have resumed at 09:00 and 19:00 on Saturdays and Sundays during July and August.

The site can only be visited via a guided tour and these are in Spanish. However, information boards are in dual languages and are very good.

Tickets can be purchased via turismo.totana.es

Masks are obligatory.

This is a tantalising site for archaeologists as just 15% of the total surface area covered by this Bronze Age settlement has been excavated to date, the remainder of what would once have been home to nearly 1,000 people still buried beneath three and a half thousand years of soil and vegetation.

The Argaric culture is one of the great mysteries of Bronze Age Europe and archaeologists working at the site admit that the more they learn about this intriguing culture, the more questions they have.

The site was first discovered back in 1869 and although civil engineer Rogelio de Inchaurrandieta uncovered 20 graves, its significance was not fully understood until 1886 when two Belgian brothers, Henri and Louis Seret undertook investigative work on the site as there appeared to be a link to other sites they were investigating in the province of Almería, over the border in Andalucía. Artefacts had a uniformity which indicated a cultural parity between a number of sites and finally the culture was designated the “Argaric Culture”following the excavation of a first major settlement at El Algar.

Since then further sites have come to light and it is now known that the Argaric Culture covered all of Almería, much of Murcia, parts of Granada and Jaén and along the coast into Alicante province in the Comunidad Valenciana.

Click for more information about La Bastida which can be printed off using the icons in the header bar.

Click for more information about the Totana municipality

Reservations for all visits can be made at the Totana tourist office in person, by telephone on 968 418153, by email at turismo@totana.es