Los Millares

Los Millares

Spain · Andalusia, Almería, Santa Fe de Mondújar

SettlementExcavation ongoing
Approximate period3,200 BCE — 2,200 BCEChalcolithic See on the map ↓

In brief

Los Millares is a Chalcolithic settlement with walls, outlying forts and a collective cemetery. Current excavations are providing new information on the architecture of the elevated inner area and social differentiation.

What was found?

  • 1Four lines of defensive walls

    The four nested lines of walls surrounding the settlement are the remains of an extensive defensive arrangement. They show that large-scale construction work could be organized.

  • 2Collective tombs

    Various grave goods were found in monumental tombs in which multiple people were buried. According to researchers, differences between the tombs and their goods shed light on social distinctions.

  • 3Outlying defensive forts

    13 small forts positioned on nearby elevations complemented the settlement's defensive system. They show that the protective arrangement extended into the terrain beyond the walls.

  • 4Cistern in the inner settlement

    There is a cistern in the innermost part of the settlement. This structure, dedicated to collecting water, is one of the tangible components of the settlement's infrastructure.

  • 5Tubular gold bead

    According to researchers, the gold piece found after being moved into the cistern may have belonged to an ornament. The interpretation that it belonged to a high-status individual remains a hypothesis.

What does it point to?

The defensive structures and monumental tombs indicate a community with advanced architectural knowledge and the ability to organize collective labor. According to researchers, the grave goods and the gold find also bear traces of differences in social status.

What did it teach us?

  1. It showed that in the Chalcolithic period, defenses could extend to surrounding elevations rather than being confined to settlement walls.
  2. It documented the practice of collective burial together with complex tomb architecture.
  3. The gold find expanded the known examples of precious materials used at Los Millares.

Images

Los Millares recreacion cuadro
Jose Mª Yuste, de la fotografía (Tuor123). Miguel Salvatierr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

Results of the 2024 excavation announced in 2025 included a tubular bead, the site's first known gold find.

Record

Culture
Los Millares
Team / historical
Alberto Dorado Alejos; project director Juan Antonio Cámara Serrano / University of Granada
Coordinates
36.9647°, -2.5222°

Sources

  1. juntadeandalucia.es
  2. canal.ugr.es
  3. en.wikipedia.org
  4. Junta de Andalucía — Los Millares

Nearby excavations


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12.000

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