City and state in pre-Roman Spain: the example of Ilici.

City and state in pre-Roman Spain: the example of Ilici. What is the nature of the cities and chiefdoms, the states orproto-states or would-be states that fringe the Roman Empire? ModernSpain, like other regions that were first outside and then insideEmpire, shows social transformations that were as important as they arenow hard to judge from enigmatic evidence.The concepts of chiefdom, state and city have become the centre of agreat historiographic debate in European and American archaeology in thelast two decades, resulting from the need to describe and define thesocial structures and the ways power was exercised in certainproto-historical communities.The meaning of these concepts changes from one historiographicaltradition to another; even within the same tradition fairly substantialdivergences can appear. For this reason, I dedicate a few lines todefining the terms used in this article.For decades, at least in Spain, we have been accustomed tocentrist-classical models, dominated by the archaic and classicalcity-state as a territorial and political entity, only acceptingalternative forms of urban and state development in particular casesfrom the East or America. In Europe a clear line of demarcation line of demarcationn.A zone of inflammatory reaction separating gangrenous from healthy tissue. followedpatterns set by Greece and Rome, whose historical circumstances werefirmly differentiated from other, 'barbarian' patterns thatwere, at best, absorbed by the imperial thrust of Rome, whose culturalsuperiority imposed an urban landscape on the west.Our increasing knowledge of European pre-history is enabling us tobroaden these narrow margins, to evaluate the transformations of'barbarian' communities in European protohistory pro��to��his��to��ry?n.The study of a culture just before the time of its earliest recorded history.pro , not onlyfrom the exclusive viewpoint of the archaic and classical polis, butalso by a definition of urban culture not based on that model.In this new definition the concept of 'Transition' plays anessential role, since we find a series of socio-cultural and economicchanges that, in the medium and long term, heralded the end of a villagesociety and the genesis of urban life, accompanied by the end of tribalorganization and the emergence of a class-based society and the state.Spanish research has considered criteria such as the size ofsettlements, number of inhabitants, public places, writing, a moneyeconomy. All these features, from our present point of view, belong tothe past; we now see the urban phenomenon as a complex process, withnumerous variations in time (archaic and classical polis, Hellenistic,medieval, industrial, post-industrial city) and in place (Mediterraneanor 'barbarian' Europe, Near and Far East, America). We seeconcepts of state and city as determined historically in differentsituations (see Ruiz 1986: 12) by processes of social change which tookdifferent forms depending on where and when they occurred, the differentlevel of development of the productive forces and the various ways inwhich the internal contradictions of each social group were resolved, ina particular place at a particular time in history.In the following pages, two basic criteria are distinguished for thehistorical-archaeological definition of the city and the state. Thetraditional criterion uses the classical Graeco-Italic model as ameasure of urban and state development. This model, developed only incertain Mediterranean parts of Europe, is not applicable to thecontinent as a whole, since its consolidation was the result of theorganization of a particular rather than universal model: the polis. Itis based on the appearance of super-structural phenomena such aswriting, citizenship, the temple, the agora, and a long etcetera. A newcriterion based on socio-economic arguments relates to fundamentalstructure of the communities we are studying.Socio-economic structure: criteria for defining the city and thestateThese criteria of a structural nature are the economic foundationsand the fabric of social relations that support the basic structure ofthe city and the state, and not the later epiphenomena of the politicalsuperstructure superstructure/su��per��struc��ture/ (soo��per-struk?chur) the overlying or visible portion of a structure. su��per��struc��turen.A structure above the surface. , in which they become manifest.We can enumerate To count or list one by one. For example, an enumerated data type defines a list of all possible values for a variable, and no other value can then be placed into it. See device enumeration and ENUM. essential points:a There is a necessary country/city dichotomy, with its twocomplementary elements in a dialectical relationship, which hasdifferent features in each historical period (for instance, the Greekpolis/countryside; medieval city/countryside).An urban phenomenon requires that rural centres should exist and alsoa category of larger centres, capable of undertaking functions that theformer cannot, which can include political-administrative, religious,economic, defensive aspects, etc. (Burillo 1986: 3).b In the particular social groups we are considering, thecountryside-city dichotomy is associated with other dichotomies that areresolved at the same time, such as the appearance of the state, aclass-based society and private ownership of the means of production Means Of Production is a compilation of Aim's early 12" and EP releases, recorded between 1995 and 1998. Track listing"Loop Dreams" – 5:30 "Diggin' Dizzy" – 5:33 "Let the Funk Ride" – 5:11 "Original Stuntmaster" – 6:33 .The way in which these estructural elements and subsidiary dichotomiesare resolved determines the particular and unique character of theTransition in each community.c The dichotomies of each system are resolved in the long term,during which time a multitude of intermediate and hybrid forms occur,combining city forms with forms of their dialectical opposite, thenon-city (Andreev 1989: 169).During this transitional period, certain features show us the patternof an urban community, at least in a proto-urban state (Andreev 1989:172): * A relatively high level of production * Specialized agriculture that produces a surplus * Advanced social stratification Noun 1. social stratification - the condition of being arranged in social strata or classes within a groupstratificationcondition - a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing; "the human condition" defined by status or property * Mechanisms for integrating villages, to form a primitive state * Specialization of labour * Complex hierarchies of settlements * Plurality of functions and a heterogeneous populationWe find all these features appear in the Iberian world of thepre-Roman era, in practically all its cultural areas: the Ebro valley(Burillo 1986), eastern Andalusia (Ruiz Rodriguez 1986), the southeast(Santos Velasco 1989) and the Levant Levant(ləvănt`)[Ital.,=east], collective name for the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean from Egypt to, and including, Turkey. (Guerin et al. 1989).These criteria are being used, not just for 'barbarian'Europe but also for the gestation period Gestation periodIn mammals, the interval between fertilization and birth. It covers the total period of development of the offspring, which consists of a preimplantation phase (from fertilization to implantation in the mother's womb), an embryonic phase of the classical Graeco-Italiccultures. Some scholars see a long historical process, which begins whenthe parent community breaks up and the archaic aristocracies assertthemselves.(1)When considering urban and state development in that early period,the distinction between the socio-economic and the political definitionof the city must be understood. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Torelli (1974-75: 11 &ff, 1987), the first urban phase in Etruria can be traced to the 9thcentury BC, when the settlements of Caere, Tarquinia, Vulci or Vetuloniaalready existed, which would in time become the great Etruscan cities Etruscan cities flourished over most of Italy during the Roman Iron Age, marking the farthest extent of Etruscan civilization. They were gradually assimilated first by Italics in the south, then by Celts in the north and finally in Etruria itself by the growing Roman Republic. .They are cities in the process of formation, in which a profound networkof economic relations has already been structured, but where thepolitical system has not yet been resolved.In Etruria from the 2nd Villanovan period (approximately 775 BC)onwards, the population is concentrated, there are fewer but largertownships. As the settlements grow, ostensible Apparent; visible; exhibited.Ostensible authority is power that a principal, either by design or through the absence of ordinary care, permits others to believe his or her agent possesses. divisions of the socialbody into groups, some wealthier than others, can be observed; a greaterdevelopment of productive forces is clearly seen archaeologicaly, in theincrease of bronze and iron metallurgy, in the introduction of thepotter's wheel, and in the beginning of Etruscan thalassocracy.These developments marks the initial development of an urban structure,parallel with the appearance, in embryonic form, of a regionalaristocracy. In Torelli's opinion, the long road towards an urbanstate does not begin, but ends, at the beginning of the 7th century BC,when aristocratic power is asserted and the large Etruscan and Latinprincely tombs of the first orientalizing period The Orientalizing Period is a cultural and art historical period, informed by the art of Syria and Phoenicia, which started during the later part of the 8th century BCE in Ancient Greece. (710-630 BC) arerecorded.Classical criteria for the political definition of city and stateThese criteria, taken from the archaic and classical polis, consistof a large series of requisites considered essential for an urban andstate culture to exist. Here we find one of the basic reasons whysectors of Spanish scholarship are reluctant, even today, to acceptIberian culture as a culture that possessed an embryonic state, based ona system of proto-urban settlement.We can enumerate some criteria, although a complete list would belonger: a money economy, written records, public works public workspl.n.Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public.Noun 1. and places,temples and architecturally defined sacred places, differentneighbourhoods, size and number of inhabitants, public courts.If we briefly review the situation in Greece, Etruria and Latium wefind the following situations:In the Greek sphere, Selinus covered an area of 29 ha in the Archaicera, and Smyrna only 8.5 ha, its huge walls a great contrast to thepoverty of its dwellings (Coldstream 1977: 303). In the Acropolis acropolis(əkrŏp`əlĭs)[Gr.,=high point of the city], elevated, fortified section of various ancient Greek cities.TheAcropolis of Athens, a hill c.260 ft (80 m) high, with a flat oval top c. ofAthens there is no archaeological evidence of public buildings ortemples until the Archaic period The name Archaic Period is given by archaeologists to the earliest periods of a culture. In particular, it may refer to: the Archaic period in the Americas (8000 BC–1000 BC) the Archaic period in Greece (1000 BC–500 BC) (Collis 1984: 105). The existence ofthe Agora in Dedros cannot be discerned until the beginning of the 7thcentury BC, and the first public building is the bouleuterion of theOlympian sanctuary, dated around 600 BC (Strom 1984: 357). Coinageappears in Asia Minor between 650 and 600 BC, and Athens struck itsfirst coins in the first half of the 6th century BC (Collis 1984: 107).In Italy, Capena covers an area of 4.6 ha, which does not preventhistorical tradition attributing to it an important role as an ally ofVeii against Rome (Judson & Hemphill 1983: 200). There is no recordof Etruscan temples as architectonic ar��chi��tec��ton��ic? also ar��chi��tec��ton��i��caladj.1. Of or relating to architecture or design.2. Having qualities, such as design and structure, that are characteristic of architecture: structures until the end of the 7thcentury BC. Before then there were probably only open-air sanctuaries(Hus 1976). In Rome the Forum was first paved in 625-600 BC, and apre-monetary system, the Aes signature, was introduced around 570 BC,attributed to Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the sixth legendary king of ancient Rome, and the second king of the Etruscan dynasty. The traditional dates of his reign are 578-535 BC. Biography (Cristofani 1985). The dwellings on thePalatine Hill prop. n. 1. One of the "seven hills" of Rome, situated southeast of the Capitoline and north-northeast of the Aventine. It borders on the Roman Forum; is the traditional seat of the city founded by Romulus; was the seat of private and later of imperial residences; and , the Forum and the Boarius Forum were of wattle and daub wattle and daubn.A building material consisting of interwoven rods and laths or twigs plastered with mud or clay, used especially in the construction of simple dwellings or as an infill between members of a timber-framed wall. in the orientalizing period (720-630 BC). And in places like Ficana thistype of settlement survived until the end of the 6th century BC,although rectangular buildings on a stone base started to be built inthe second half of the 7th century BC (Bietti-Sestieri 1985: 196). Wehave a similar problem with the religious architecture. In Satricum,below the stone temple built in the 6th century BC, wattle wattle,in botany: see acacia. imprintscould relate to ancient places of worship, dating back to the 9thcentury BC (Bietti-Sestieri 1985: 155). In Rome, the votive vo��tive?adj.1. Given or dedicated in fulfillment of a vow or pledge: a votive offering.2. hoards ofthe Quirinal and the Capitoline from the end of the 7th century BCprovide evidence of the first material forms of worship that replacedthe ancient open-air worship and pre-dated the construction of thetemples to the civic gods (Quilici 1990: 37).We have seen, in these brief lines, that the superstructuralindicators of urban and state development, in the 'highcultures' of Mediterranean Europe, are detected archaeologically atan advanced stage, between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, when the cityand the state had not only been shaped as a social and economic entity,but also as a political entity, on the basis of a broad body of freecitizens, who did not belong to the ancient aristocratic lineagesdominant, during the 9th and 8th centuries BC.So, if we consider the definition of urban and state development, notat the time of its full political form, but when it originated, when itssocio-economic structural elements Structural elements are used in structural analysis to simplify the structure which is to be analysed.Structural elements can be linear, surfaces or volumes.Linear elements: Rod - axial loads Beam - axial and bending loads were defined, a broad concept of theterms 'city' and 'state' emerges, which does notderive from the nature of the political superstructure. City and statecease to be phenomena exclusively associated with the Mediterranean'high cultures', instead, with geographical and historicalvariations, they can be observed in certain protohistoric culturesformerly classified as 'barbarian'. The archaic Greek andEtruscan-Italic polis is not the onset of the urbanization process, butthe end result of particular, typically Greek and Italian forms oftransition, that began with the appearance of primitive aristocraticcities and states as far back as the 9th-8th centuries BC.The case of the Iberian southeastIn this region of pre-Roman Iberia we have the following data:a)Urban settlements and public places are found at a very early stageof development. So far we can cite little more than the walls, althoughrecent excavations are uncovering a more complex situation. El Oral, awalled enclosure dating to the 5th century BC, is built on a squareplan, with streets that cross almost at right angles so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly.See also: Right and a largerectangular open area (Abad 1985-87: 60).The excavations of Saguntum have demonstrated a maritimeneighbourhood in the Grau Vell area which would have been the old port,created by trade, that Pliny alludes to when he calls Saguntum 'amost opulent city' (Historia Natural XXI: 7: 1-3, in Aranegui 1980:62). In Castulo there is an 'industrial quarter' withpotters' workshops, kilns and smelting smelting,in metallurgy, any process of melting or fusion, especially to extract a metal from its ore. Smelting processes vary in detail depending on the nature of the ore and the metal involved, but they are typified in the use of the blast furnace. slag (Blazquez & GarciaGelabert 1986-87).We also know that settlements could be organized as a hierarchy ofdifferent functions, many habitats specializing in particularactivities. Examples include the Andalusian towers (Ruiz 1978), orplaces like Puntal dels Llops (Olocau, Valencia), a complex functionalunit built in a single construction phase, to a pre-established plan(Bernabeu et al. 1986: 321). And, amongst recent discoveries, theinteresting site of Alt de Benimaquia (Denia, Valencia) should not beoverlooked. Here places for producing wine have been discovered,interpreted as belonging to a residence of a member of the elite. Thissettlement, covering barely half a hectare, has a fortification fortification,system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily constructed in the field in time of war. with sixbastions, built ex novo Ex novo means from scratch. It is a latin phrase and is often used as a synonym of de novo,a very similar phrase. novo is the ablative case of "new/fresh" while ex in the first half of the 6th century BC; it wasoccupied for only 50 years. There, at an early date, was produced anitem of consumption clearly associated with the social and ideologicalimplications of the acculturation acculturation,culture changes resulting from contact among various societies over time. Contact may have distinct results, such as the borrowing of certain traits by one culture from another, or the relative fusion of separate cultures. of the indigenous elites through wine(Gomez Bellard & Guerin forthcoming).As better excavation methods provide excellent results, topicsrelated to urban settlements amongst the Iberians should makesignificant headway in years to come.b)The different functions of the habitat and their sociologicalconsequences are most evident in the location of sanctuaries. In thesoutheast, around the river Segura, these are found next to importanthabitats in a three-way association, sanctuary/oppidum/funerarymonuments, which alerts us to the presence of an elite that lived onlyin particular places associated with worship and religious life (SantosVelasco 1989). In the Spanish Levant, the situation is similar; Aranegui(forthcoming) proposes that figurative art Figurative art describes artwork - particularly paintings - which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational. The term "figurative art" is often taken to mean art which represents the human figure, or even an animal figure, and, , in this area, moved from theancient necropoleis (6th-5th centuries BC) to the sanctuaries of the 4thcentury BC, sanctuaries she calls 'peri-urban'.Of particular interest is the recent reinterpretation re��in��ter��pret?tr.v. re��in��ter��pret��ed, re��in��ter��pret��ing, re��in��ter��pretsTo interpret again or anew.re of the Liriafinds, especially of sections 12, 13 and 14, as a possible sacredenclosure, reminiscent of certain Phoenician models (Bonet 1992: 233).From the written sources we also know that cities had temples; thatat Saguntum was dedicated to Diana (Pliny the Elder Pliny the Elder(Caius Plinius Secundus) (plĭ`nē), c.A.D. 23–A.D. 79, Roman naturalist, b. Cisalpine Gaul. He was a friend and fellow soldier of Vespasian, and he dedicated his great work to Titus. Natural History XXI:216, in Aranegui 1988: 60).Structures recently discovered on the Illeta de Campello that date tothe 4th century BC were initially interpreted as temples (Llobregat1988: 141). A new work reinterprets them as a possible palace-mansion(Almagro & Dominguez de la Concha concha/con��cha/ (kong��kah) pl. con��chae ? [L.] a shell-shaped structure.concha of auricle 1990).The sites of worship are clearly linked with the origins of the cityand the state in the ancient Mediterranean world. In Spain, allarchaeological evidence dates these places in the mid or late Iberianperiod, from the end of the 5th to the 1st century BC. The sanctuariesof El Cigarralejo, Cerro de los Santos De Los Santos is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning of the saints. Epifanio de los Santos (1871–1928), Filipino historian Gonzalo de los Santos (born 1976), Uruguayan football player Jaime de los Santos (born 1946), Filipino general , La Luz, Collado de los Jardines,etc. date from these centuries. We exclude remains of other, earlier,places of worship, although certain rites associated with Nature mayhave existed, and others, around the hero, as the monuments of Porcunaand Pozo Moro attest, both dating to about 500 BC. We pass frompersonality cults, in the early period, that deified de��i��fy?tr.v. dei��fied, dei��fy��ing, dei��fies1. To make a god of; raise to the condition of a god.2. To worship or revere as a god: deify a leader.3. the figure of thewarrior and the hero, to local cults in places built specifically forthem, linked with an important settlement, that we can regard asproto-urban. This is the precursor of civic cults.Similar phenomena can be seen in other parts of the Mediterranean. InGreece the cult of hero ancestors emerges during the dark age. TheHeroon reached their peak in the 8th century BC; according to Berard,they were places of communal worship that served to promote ideologicalcontrol by the aristocracy, whereas Polignac considers this type of cultas central to the emergence of the polis (see Morris 1987: 193).In Etruria, highly significant changes between the 7th and 6thcenturies BC were detrimental to the ancestor cult, typical of a localcult that takes place in the tombs. From 600 BC, the cult of the civicgod is developed in large votive hoards and in the temple (Cristofani1985).Ruano (1987: 208), examining the extremely important sanctuary ofCerro de los Santos, not only suggests that the Iberian images in stonerepresent the image of the dominant class, but argues this is atrans-national sanctuary, situated on the edge of two pentapoleis, inthe style of those in Etruria and Greece.c)The Iberian settlements are small and medium in size (Coimbra delBarranco Barranco is a district in Lima, Peru. The current mayor is Felipe Antonio Mezarina Tong and the district's postal code is 04.It is considered to be the city's most important romantic and bohemian district. Ancho an��cho?n. pl. an��chosA dried poblano pepper.[American Spanish (chile) ancho, wide (chili), from Spanish, from Old Spanish, from Latin amplus; see ample.] 1.6 ha; Ilici 9.8 ha). But let us remember that Ampurias,including the Palaiopolis, covered 4.5 ha, and that there were otherindigenous centres such as Castulo with an area of 44 ha (Almagro 1986:26).However, two significant phenomena can be observed: * A large-scale restructuring of the habitat in the mid or late 5thcentury BC(2) was very probably accompanied by an increase in thepopulation, to judge by the great many sites dating from the 4th centuryBC in comparison with those of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Bothcoincide with increased production and cultural consolidation at theheight of the Iberian period, which is precisely the time when thearchaic aristocracies asserted themselves, as can be seen in theprincely tombs recorded by archaeology (Santos Velasco 1989b).The habitat was organized in a rigidly hierarchical fashion, as weknow from the studies of the Ebro valley (Burillo 1986), easternAndalusia (Ruiz 1978), the Levant (Guerin et al. 1989) and the Southeast(Santos Velasco 1989); and the literary sources provide abundant datathat support this interpretation, such as references to the kinglet kinglet,common name for members of a subfamily of five species of Old and New World warblers, similar to the thrushes and the Old World flycatchers. Kinglets are small birds (4 in./10 cm) with soft, fluffy, olive or grayish green plumage and bright crown patches. Culchas who ruled over 28 cities, in 207 BC.Criteria for defining the early formation of a city-state in Ilici,and its territoryHaving formulated the basic propositions and elements we can dealwith the central problem: how to identify those economic and politicalproto-urban centres that, in the Iberian period, regulated theorganization of the territory.Guerin et al. (1989) have identified the settlement of S. Miguel deLiria, with an area of more than 10 ha, as the centre of a large areathat includes small settlements scattered over the plain and hill-fortssituated along the Calderona mountains, which acted as a boundary or'frontier' to the territory controlled that the literarysources refer to as Edetania.In eastern Andalusia, Obulco, Castulo and Toya, have been identifiedas three large oppida, that acted as administrative centres for the area(Ruiz et al. 1985-87).This latter case is of the utmost interest because it gives us abetter understanding of the Segura basin, where we are still a long wayfrom constructing very precise hypotheses, but where some data can beoutlined. Centres such as El Cigarralejo, Verdolay, Coimbra del BarrancoAncho and others are of similar importance because of their size, thenature of their necropoleis (all of which have funerary fu��ner��ar��y?adj.Of or suitable for a funeral or burial.[Latin fner monuments),because they are all associated with sanctuaries, and all appear tocontrol an extensive region of countryside (Santos Velasco 1989). Werethey autonomous townships, or dependent on a larger centre, which couldbe Elche, ancient Ilici, the only place sufficiently large In mathematics, the phrase sufficiently large is used in contexts such as: is true for sufficiently large in the middleand lower basins of the Segura?Research is unanimous in attributing a more than purely localimportance to Elche, suggesting it controlled the southern part of whatthe written sources refer to as Contestania (Domingez Monedero 1984 orGil Mascarell 1980).The archaeological data concerning the settlement, the necropoleis,and so on, enable us to reconsider this idea, and to propose newboundaries for the economic and political territory of ancient Ilici.Elche is important for various reasons. At 9.8 ha. (Almagro 1988), itis much larger than other important regional centres, such as ElCigarralejo, La Escuera “La Escuera” is an early Iberian settlement located close to camino del Convenio in La Marina. It contains an Iberian temple sanctuary dating back to the third century BC, originally investigated by Swedish archaeologist Solveig Nordstr?m in 1960. or El Tossal de Manises. It was occupied withoutinterruption from the 6th century BC to the Roman era. The importance ofthis settlement in the Early Iberian Period (550-525/450-425 BC) isshown by various funerary monuments in the shape of towers (Chapa 1986:246); it is the only place where all the iconographic types ofzoomorphic zo��o��mor��phism?n.1. Attribution of animal characteristics or qualities to a god.2. Use of animal forms in symbolism, literature, or graphic representation. sculpture have been recorded.Similarly, Chapa (1986: 260) maintains that there may have been asculpture workshop in the Vinalopo area that served the region, sincethe lions of Sax, Monforte del Cid and Elche, and to a lesser extentthose of La Albufereta and Villajoyosa, are very probably pieces fromthe same workshop, which served an area between the river Vinalopo andthe south coast of what is now the province of Alicante. Furthermore,the distribution of the zoomorphic sculpture shows areas that are betterdefined if we select certain types: bulls in group B; lions of the earlyperiod; horses; wolves; sphinxes and griffins (Chapa 1986). These arefound mainly between the Jucar and the Vinalopo, over an area known asIberian Contestania (Llobregat 1972).The mountain ranges of Alicante naturally divide Contestania, to thenorth is the mountain area, around Bocairente, and to the south theplain, with its centre in Elche (Dominguez Monedero 1984).However, the sculptures cross the line of the Vinalopo and we findthem in the lowlands of the Segura, as far as El Cigarralejo. From thesefacts it can be deduced that in the Early Period Contestania was apoorly defined territory; the name Contestania only appears in the laterwritten sources, while the earlier ones refer to the'Mastiens' in this area (Abad forthcoming).Even at this time Elche was an important point of reference, whoseinfluence would extend along the southern coast of Alicante, Vinalopoand lower basin of the Segura. Lack of further information prevents usknowing if this influence was economic, political, or both.The archaeological evidence offers a better-defined geographical areafor more recent times.The distribution of coins from the Ilici mint at the height of theimperial era (reigns of Augustus and Tiberius) shows that thiscity's area of economic expansion extends from the south coast ofAlicante to the middle and lower Segura basins (Murcia region; FIGURE 6,see Llorens 1987). This evidence, from a later period, agrees with thedistribution of important vases painted in the well-known Elche style,between the end of the 3rd century BC and the beginning of the 1stcentury BC. From the nerve centre of Ilici, the greatest concentrationis found along the Vinalopo and the Segura basin as far as Archena.This fact, in turn, agrees with the distribution of the kalathoi ofthe type found at Cabecico del Tesoro. Amongst the 13 pieces recentlystudied, eight are of full Ilician style, or similar, dating between thefirst half of the 2nd century BC and 100 BC (Conde 1990).Another study recognizes a gold- and silver-working tradition orworkshop, represented by the El Cigarralejo and La Albuferetaproductions, crescent-shaped pendant ear-rings being made there duringthe 4th century BC (Perea 1992: 255).Evidence of writing in the Ionian alphabet that we know asGraeco-Iberian is found in the same area and takes us, as in theprevious case, to archaeological contexts in the 4th century BC duringthe mid Iberian Period.Finally, between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, a series of cultobjects offers new information: incense holders in the shape of a femalehead and others made of terracotta are associated with the Punic goddessTanit or with a local goddess of death and fertility, which may havebecome one. Marin Ceballos (1987) considers there was a high degree ofassimilation of the Tanit cult in southeast Spain, because in this partlarge numbers have been recorded, particularly in sanctuaries andnecropoleis.Important sets are found, once again, along the southern Alicantecoast and in the Vinalopo and lower Segura basins. This region comprisesa central area, surrounded in turn by a series of related finds, such asthe figure of the El Cigarralejo necropolis necropolis:see cemetery. necropolis(Greek: “city of the dead”) Extensive and elaborate burial place serving an ancient city. The locations of these cemeteries varied. (Cuadrado 1987), the locallymade figure of a seated woman suckling a child from Alcoy, and thosefrom the sanctuary of Coimbra del Barranco Ancho (Jumilla, Murcia).DiscussionWe see that, between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, the southern partof Contestania was defined as an area around Elche (Ilici) that took inthe southern coast of Alicante and the Segura basin, as far as Archena,surrounded by an area of influence directly or indirectly associatedwith Ilici.The criteria for establishing the extent of Ilician territory are themanifestations of a high culture: money, writing and images linked to anideological superstructure (incense holders in the shape of a femalehead, sitting or standing suckling mothers, motifs on the paintedpottery. The latter should not surprise us, since we know that its mostcharacteristic iconic elements are related to each other. Olmos (1990:20) has noticed that the figurative representations always present thesame elements: bust (anodos), forward-facing, birds and ears of wheat.Probably a local deity of fertility and death was absorbed into thePunic Tanit, which, moreover, we know can be identified with the RomanJuno. And let us remember that the Ilici semises of 13-12 BC bear afour-columned temple with the inscription IUNONI (Marin Ceballos 1987:68).A homogeneous economic, cultural and probably political area wasbuilt on the religious cohesion deriving from adherence to a civic cult,which centred on Elche and its territory. City and state, in the Iliciancase, are seen in embryonic form, and with a high degree of Hellenisticand Punic acculturation. This element is one whose role in the formationand development of the Iberian culture of southeast Spain must berestored.1 In Etruria and Latium between the end of the 8th century andbeginning of the 7th century BC (Cristofani 1985: 138 & ff.); inGreece, during the 8th century BC, since researchers such as Morris(1987) believe that the polis emerges in mid 8th century.2 As in the case of the population of El Oral's move to LaEscuera (Abad 1987).ReferencesABAD CASAL, L. 1987. El poblamiento iberico en la provincia deAlicante, I Jornadas sabre Mundo Iberico (Jaen): 243-56.ALMAGRO, M. & A. DOMINGUEZ DE LA CONCHA, 1986-89, El palacio deCancho Roano y sus paralelos arquitectonicos y funcionales, Zephyrus:41-2.ANDREEV, Y. 1989, Urbanization as a phenomenon of social history,Oxford Journal of Archaeology 8: 167-78.ARANEGUI, C. 1980. Industria y comercio de la ceramica ibericovalenciana, in, I Congreso de Historia del Pais Valenciano, Valencia1971 vol. 2: 279-86.1988. Algunes questions entorn de la historia de Sagunt, Fonaments 7:45-57.BERNABEU, J., H. BONET, P. GUERIN & C. MATA MATA Mobilization Against Terrorism Act (now called Anti-Terrorism Act)MATA Missouri Association of Trial AttorneysMATA Workshop on Mobile Agents for Telecommunications Applications (International Workshop). 1986. Analisismicroespacial del poblado iberico del Puntal dels Llops (Olocau,Valencia) Arqueologia Espacial 9: 321-39.BIETTI-SESTIERI, A.M. 1985, The Iron Age cemetery of Osteriadell'Osa (Rome): evidence of social change in Lazio in the 8thcentury BC, in C. Malone & S. Stoddart (ed.), Papers in Italianarchaeology 4: Patterns in proto-history,: 11-44. Oxford: BritishArchaeological Reports. International series S245.BLAZQUEZ, J.M. & M.P. GARCIA GELABERT. 1987. La necropolis deEstacar de Robarinas, Castulo: tipologia de los enterramientos, Archivode Prehistoria Levantina 17: 63-89.BONET, H. 1992. La ceramica de S. Miguel de Liria: su contextoarqueologico, in La sociedad iberico a traves de la imagen (exhibitioncatalogue): 224-36. Madrid: Mo de Cultura.BURILLO, F. 1986. Aproximacion diacronica a las ciudades antiguas delvalle medio del Ebro. Teruel: Colegio Universitario de Teruel.CHAPA BRUNET, T. 1986. Influjos griegos en la escultura zoomorfaiberico. Madrid: C.S.I.C.COLDSTREAM, J.N. 1977. Geometric Greece. London: Ernest Benn Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, 2nd Baronet (25 June, 1875 - 17 January, 1954) was a prolific British publicist. He was an uncle of the Labour politician Tony Benn.Benn was born in Oxted, Surrey. .COLLIS, J. 1976. Town and market in Iron Age Europe, in B. Cunliffe& T. Rowley (ed.), The beginnings of urbanisation in barbarianEurope: 3-24. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. Internationalseries 2.1984. Oppida. Earliest towns north of the Alps. Sheffield: SheffieldAcademic Press.CONDE, M.J. 1990. Los kalathoi 'sombrero de copa' de lanecropolis del Cabecico del Tesoro (Verdolay, Murcia), Verdolay 2:49-62.CRISTOFANI, M. (ed.). 1985. La civilta degli etruschi. Rome: RegioneToscana Electa.CUADRADO, E. 1987. La necropolis iberico de El Cigarralejo (Mula,Murcia), Madrid: Bibliotheca bib��li��o��the��ca?n.1. A collection of books; a library.2. A catalog of books.[Latin biblioth Praehistorica Hispana.CUNLIFFE, B. 1976. The origins of urbanisation in Britain, in B.Cunliffe & T. Rowley, Oppida in barbarian Europe. Oxford: BAR. BAR2.DOMINGUEZ MONEDERO, A. 1984. La escultura animalistica ibericacontestana como exponente del proceso de helenizacion del territorio,Arqueologia espacial 4: 123-45.GIL MASCARELL, M. 1980. Notas acerca del poblamiento iberico en elPais Valenciano, in I Congreso de Historia del Pais Valenciano 2:345-57. Valencia: Comunidad Autonoma Valenciana.GOMEZ BELLARD, C. & P. Guerin. Forthcoming. L'Alt deBenimaquia (Denia, Valencia), in Griegos e Iberos. Coloquio de Ampurias1991.GUERIN, P., H. BONET & C. MATA. 1989. La deuxieme guerre puniquedans l'est iberique a travers les donnees archeologiques, StudioPhoenicia 10: 193-204.Hus, A. 1976. LES SIECLES D'or de l'histoire etrusque(675-475 a.C.), Brussels. Collection Latomus 146.JUDSON, S. & P. Hemphill 1983. Size of settlements in southernEtruria, Studi Etruschi 49: 65-77.LLOBREGAT, E. 1972. Contestania iberico. Alicante: Instituto deEstudios Alicantinos.LLORENS, M.M. 1987. La ceca de Ilici. Valencia: Diputacion deValencia.MARIN CEBALLOS, M.C. 1987. ?Tanit en Espana?, Lucentum 6: 125-42.MENENDEZ, M. 1988. La ceramica iberico del llamado estiloElche-Archena. Madrid: Universidad Complutense.MORRIS, I. 1987. Burial and ancient society. The rise of the greekcity-state. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). .NEGUERUELA, I. 1990. Los monumentas escultoricos ibericos delCerrillo Blanco de Porcuna (Jaen). Madrid: Mo de Cultura.OLMOS, R. 1990. Original elements and mediterranean stimuli iniberian pottery, Mediterranean Archaeology 3: 38-46.PEREA, A. 1992. Orfebreria e imagen, in, La sociedad iberica a travesde la imagen (exhibition catalogue): 250-58. Madrid: Mo de Cultura.QUILICI, F. 1990. Forma e urbanistica di Roma arcaica, in M.Cristofani (ed). Grande Roma dei Tarquini: 306-32. Rome.RUIZ RODRIGUEZ, A. 1978. Los pueblos ibericos del alto Guadalquivir.Analisis de un proceso de transicion, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de laUniversidad de Granada 3: 245-68.1986. Ciudad y territorio en el poblamiento iberico del AltoGuadalquivir, in, Los asentamientos ibericos ante la romanizacion:86-94. Madrid: Casa de Velazquez y Mo de Cultura.RUIZ, A. & M. MOLINOS. 1987. El poblamiento iberico en el alto El Alto(ĕl äl`tō), city (2001 pop. 649,958), La Paz dept., W Bolivia. A burgeoning suburb of La Paz, El Alto is on a plateau overlooking the capital from the west. Guadalquivir, in I Jornadas sabre Cultura Iberica: 257-77. Jaen.SANTOS VELASCO, J.A. 1989a. The transition to a society with a statein the southeast of the Iberian peninsula Iberian Peninsula,c.230,400 sq mi (596,740 sq km), SW Europe, separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees. Comprising Spain and Portugal, it is washed on the N and W by the Atlantic Ocean and on the S and E by the Mediterranean Sea; the Strait of Gibraltar (6th-3rd centuries BC). OxfordJournal of Archaeology 8: 213-27.1989b. Analisis social de la necropolis iberica de El Cigarralejo yotros contextos funerarios de su entorno, Archivo Espanol de Arqueologia62: 71-100.STROM, I. 1984. Aspetti delle aristocrazie fra VIII-VII se. a.C.Problemi guardanti l'ingresso dei paesi mediterranei nellaformazione della citta etrusche e il ruolo delle aristocrazie. Opus 3:242-63.TORELLI, M. 1974-75. Tre studi di storia etrusca, Dialoghi diArcheologia 8: 3-78.1987. La societa etrusca. Rome: La Terza.