Tartessos
Tartessos (Greek: Ταρτησσός) or Tartessus was a semi-mythical harbor city and the surrounding culture on the south coast of the Iberian Peninsula (in modern Andalusia, Spain), at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. It appears in sources from Greece and the Near East starting during the first millennium BC, for example Herodotus, who describes it as beyond the Pillars of Heracles (Strait of Gibraltar). Roman authors tend to echo the earlier Greek sources but from around the end of the millennium there are indications that the name Tartessos had fallen out of use and the city may have been lost to flooding, though several authors attempt to identify it with cities of other names in the area. Archaeological discoveries in the region have built up a picture of a more widespread culture, identified as Tartessian, that includes some 97 inscriptions in a Tartessian language.
The Tartessians were rich in metal. In the 4th century BC the historian Ephorus describes "a very prosperous market called Tartessos, with much tin carried by river, as well as gold and copper from Celtic lands". Trade in tin was very lucrative in the Bronze Age, since it is an essential component of true bronze and is comparatively rare. Herodotus refers to a king of Tartessos, Arganthonios, presumably named for his wealth in silver.
Podcasts:
Tartesos
ALBUMS
- Tiempo muerto released: 1975
-
by The Fall
-
by Barroquejon
TERRY WAITE SEZ
by: The FallTerry Waite Sez
Terry Waite Sez
Terry Waite Sez
Give us a ring, give us a ring kid
Mister Big
Sounding sour and frustrated
With the pressure of his own life.
Terry Waite Sez
Terry Waite Sez
What are those trees
Painted white jobs
Silvered something
Silvered something
50 plus
Out to heal provincial pus
Let the real reverend walk
He says and does
He plans but they won't let him in
Terry Waite Sez
Terry Waite!