Iberian settlement Cerro de la Cruz

The Iberian settlement of Cerro de la Cruz is one of the few settlements preserved from the Late Iberian Period found in Andalusia.

This Iberian settlement is located in the geographical area of the Subbetic Mountains, extending into the provinces of Granada and Jaén. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest under the Archaeological Zone typology in 2002.
 

Its area is about 50,000 square metres. On the surface, no remains of walls or other defensive structures from the Iberian period have been found.
 

The discovery of the Iberian settlement of Cerro de la Cruz dates back to the excavations carried out by Luis Maraver y Alfaro in 1867 in the Collados necropolis, located near Cerro de la Cruz. More than two hundred and fifty Iberian tombs were found, documenting with them rich grave goods composed of weapons (spears, daggers, arrowheads, etc.). It is from here that the denomination of several Iberian weapons known as “Almedinilla type” comes, such as the “falcatas” (a curved-edged sword typical of the pre-Roman Iberian civilisation).
 

According to the archaeological campaigns carried out by Maraver, Paris, Engel, Navascués, Santa-Olalla and Vaquerizo, respectively, it is a hillside Iberian settlement. It is arranged in stepped terraces dug into the rock and utilising the surface.
 

Common urban planning of the Late Iberian Period (1st to 3rd century BC) and the various rooms can be seen: storage or artisan workshops with spaces both for living and working (flour mills, amphorae storage, loom weights, water cisterns, etc.). The remains of its construction with a stone base and adobe or rammed earth bricks can be preserved. Some signs of the existence of windows, the door, and even the holes of the posts supporting a second floor of the buildings have also been found.
 

At the end of the 2nd century, the settlement suffered a violent destruction, as confirmed by archaeological studies. Additionally, this site has an emiral phase which corresponds to a small farmhouse (9th – 10th centuries). During our more recent past, such as the Spanish Civil War, this settlement served to build trenches, and several trenches and constructions of one of the positions of the Front in Almedinilla have even been found.