Cabezo Redondo
View of excavations | |
Interactive map of Cabezo Redondo | |
| Region | Alicante, Spain |
|---|---|
| Type | Settlement and necropolis |
| History | |
| Material | Cabezo Redondo treasure Bronze Age Loom |
| Founded | 16th century BC |
| Abandoned | 12th century BC |
| Periods | Bronze Age |
| Cultures | Argaric culture |
| Site notes | |
| Discovered | Juan Vilanova i Piera (1870) |
| Archaeologists | José María Soler García, Mauro S. Hernández Pérez |
Cabezo Redondo is a Bronze Age archaeological site located on a hill 2 km from Villena, Alicante. It was not a mere village but a true regional center inhabited between 1500 and 1100 BC, likely belonging to the Argaric culture. It is speculated that the first investigations were conducted by Juan Vilanova i Piera around 1870, although it was the archaeologist José María Soler who began systematic studies in 1959 after discovering several metal objects (gold, silver, copper, etc.). In the spring of 1963, he unearthed the Cabezo Redondo treasure, now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Villena.[1] By then, much of the site had been lost due to local gypsum quarries, but since that year, the remaining area has been protected and studied.
In recent years, the University of Alicante, along with the University of Valencia and University of Granada, has conducted annual excavation campaigns led by Mauro S. Hernández Pérez, assisted by Gabriel García Atiénzar and Virginia Barciela. In 1968, the site was included in Villena's Historic-Artistic Complex and declared public-use land.[1] In 2020, Cabezo Redondo was formally designated as an independent Cultural Heritage Site.[2]
Features
Originally, the site was significantly larger, extending across the entire hill. It is believed that populations from smaller nearby settlements around the ancient Villena Lagoon may have concentrated here, as its characteristics indicate a regional capital due to its central location, extensive size, developed urban planning, population density, and intense agricultural, livestock, metallurgical, and textile activities.[3]
Major finds
- Cabezo Redondo treasure: A collection of 35 personal adornments (a diadem, rings, bracelets, pendants, beads, spirals, bands, and a small gold ingot) totaling 150 grams in weight.
- Bronze Age Loom: A loom and 48 weights were recovered during the 2008 excavation campaign, along with fragments indicating that prehistoric looms were vertical, with weights used for tensioning.[4]
In March 2026, archaeologists detailed the discovery of a Bronze Age warp-weighted loom. Organic components of textile machinery, such as wooden frames and plant-fiber ropes, seldom survive the archaeological record, however, carbonized remains at this Mediterranean location provided structural evidence alongside traditional clay loom weights. By analyzing the spatial distribution and charred timber fragments, researchers were able to reconstruct the technical morphology of the loom, offering insights into second-millennium BC weaving techniques and the complexity of prehistoric textile economies in the Iberian Peninsula.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Soler García, José María (1969). El oro de los tesoros de Villena. Digital edition: Alicante: Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library, 2005. Valencia: Servicio de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de la Diputación Provincial de Valencia (Serie de trabajos varios; 36). Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ "Resolution of March 20, 2020, from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, initiating proceedings to declare Cabezo Redondo in Villena (Alicante) as an archaeological zone of cultural interest". Official State Gazette (BOE). June 4, 2020. pp. 37521–37540.
- ^ Soler García, José María (1967). El tesoro de Villena: memoria redactada por José María Soler. Madrid.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Discovery of a loom with forty-eight weights at the Cabezo Redondo site". El Periódico de Villena. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Rial, Ricardo E. Basso; Atiénzar, Gabriel García; Marco, Yolanda Carrión; Pareja, Paula Martín de la Sierra; González, Virginia Barciela; Pérez, Mauro S. Hernández (2026-03-16). "Evidence of a warp-weighted loom in the Bronze Age settlement of Cabezo Redondo (south-east Spain)". Antiquity: 1–18. doi:10.15184/aqy.2026.10312. ISSN 0003-598X.
- ^ Carvajal, Guillermo (2026-03-17). "A complete Bronze Age loom with carbonized wood found in Alicante reveals how textiles were made 3,500 years ago". LBV Magazine English Edition. Retrieved 2026-03-22.