In 1958 , a grammatical construction worker in the Spanish city of Seville saw a mite of gold glistening in the broken flat coat . These discovery come to be do it as the Treasure of El Carambolo , an extravagant collection of 21 impressive piece of gold jewelry and ornament with a mysterious backstory dating back 2,700 years .
Archaeologists cluster to the scene and have been study the gem ever since , yet the root of the ornament remained unclear for the next 60 years . Were they craft in the nearby loaded , semi - mythical harbour city ofTartessos , whose fabled civilization predominate the area from the 9th to the sixth century BCE before mysteriously disappearing , or by the first groovy western civilisation , the Phoenicians of the Eastern Mediterranean ? Some have even give out as far to propose the artifacts could be a treasure from the lost island of Atlantis , mainly due tocrackpot theorieslinking Tartessos to the mythic city .
Now , chemical and isotopic depth psychology of the amber has consider in on their origins . It turns out , the gold is not from Atlantis – lamentable to disappoint . As per the new study publish in theJournal of Archaeological Science , the psychoanalysis revealed that the Au was most in all probability collected in the Ossa - Morena zone of southern Spain . The fabric also shows some glower geochemical similarities with gold found around the nearby ancient township of Valencina de la Concepción , once again hinting that the gold was locally sourced in current - day Spain .
“ Some people think that the Carambolo Treasure make out from the East , from the Phoenicians , ” report generator Ana Navarro , the director of the Archaeological Museum of Seville , toldNational Geographic . “ With this work , we now bang that the gold was taken from mine in Spain . ”
The gem is made up of 21 ornamental plan objects , including 16 rectangular plaques that each weigh over 2 kg ( 5 pounds ) , a pair of heavy , extremely decorated wristband , and a pendant necklace . Most of the objects have been dated back to around the eighth century BCE , except for the necklace which go out to the 6th one C BCE , which is when archaeologist think the gem was by choice buried .
While the Tartessos people certainly lived closer to the site of discovery , the panache is very much of the Phoenicians ’ ornaments . The researchers conceive that this Phoenician - infused vogue accounts for the mixing of civilization , a blend of local mass of the Iberian Peninsula and Eastern Mediterranean . After all , the Phoenicians notoriously pore themselves around the Mediterranean larboard and build their conglomerate through shipping trade larboard across modern - mean solar day Spain , Portugal , Cyprus , Sardinia , Malta , Sicily , Turkey , and North Africa .
This incredibly arresting bent of jewelry looks like , in no small-scale part , thanks to this ancient blending of cultures , musical theme , and material .
