most important deposits
found from
argaric culture
The archaeological site of Cerro de la Encina was a Bronze Age settlement between 2000 and 900 BC. Surely one of the main population centers of the province of Granada at that time. Those settlers dominated the Monachil valley and the fertile plains of Granada and exploited all the natural resources of the fertile lands and the ungovernable Sierra Nevada.
Recreation of the ancient settlement
The structures found, awaiting a global consolidation project, are mostly covered with canvases to prevent their deterioration, except for the bastion in Zone A, which was the object of restitution and conservation work.
The Argaric settlement of Cerro de la Encina occupied most of the hill on which it is located, including the hillside to the north, around the central depression, although only a small part has been excavated.
Among the structures found inside the dwellings are hearths, cobblestones, stone benches, slate or schist slab containers and grinding benches. The mills were made of schist, with a slightly curved surface, on which a mill hand of the same material or quartzite was slid, crushing the grain that was then poured into a ceramic container placed at its end. From the deformation of certain joints of the skeletons discovered, it can be deduced that this task was the responsibility of the women of the village.
As is characteristic of the Argaric Culture, the burials were made inside the dwellings, under the floor of the room. They may consist of simple pits dug in the ground, caves closed by stone slabs or masonry walls, or cists built with stone slabs.
The body is accompanied by a trousseau of personal objects and ceramic vessels, sometimes with food offerings. The grave goods show differences in wealth, surely reflecting the social inequalities that individuals had in life, which tells us of a hierarchical society.