CASAS DEL TURUÑUELO, SPAIN—A fragment of marble column dating to the fifth century b.c. unearthed at the site of Casas del Turuñuelo in southwestern Spain is believed to be part of the oldest Greek altar ever found in the western Mediterranean, according to the Greek Reporter. First discovered a decade ago, Turuñuelo was founded by the enigmatic Iron Age Tartessian culture, which flourished in southern Iberia between the eighth and fifth centuries b.c. Analysis of the marble stone indicated that it was quarried from the island of Maramara, in present-day Turkey. Lead archaeologists Esther Rodríguez González and Sebastián Celestino Pérez said that while other Greek marble pieces have been found in coastal areas, this is the only known example made from Asian marble found so far inland in Spain. The marble column, which would have originally stood around five feet high, was found alongside Greek drinking cups made in Athens, suggesting that the Tartessians not only had trade contacts with the Greek world but were also influenced by Greek culture. To read about a necropolis near Granada where people were interred more than 7,000 years ago, go to "Iberian Gender Imbalance."
