Antas: Bronze Age, Archaeology and Nature Trails

Culture

Lugarico Viejo is a fortified Bronze Age settlement site protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest, with huts and burials.

El Argar and La Gerundia are designated as Assets of Cultural Interest in the category of archaeological zone within the municipality of Antas. Using a museum collection, explanatory panels and reconstructions, the Centro de Interpretación de la Cultura Argárica, or CICA for short, presents the everyday life of the Argaric communities of the Bronze Age, as well as their advanced metallurgy, characteristic pottery, complex social organisation and distinctive burial practices.

The CICA can be visited independently or as part of a tour booked in advance. Visit packages may include a guided tour, an archaeology workshop and a grain-milling workshop. The Centro de Interpretación de la Cultura Argárica is located at Calle Arrieros 2 in Antas; the nearby Paseo del Huerto, just a few metres away, is recommended for parking.

The Poblado Argárico de Antas reconstructs dwellings and aspects of the everyday life of Bronze Age communities from more than 4,000 years ago, including burials and workshops for grinding grain. Visits to the Poblado Argárico require advance booking and a guided tour and may be part of a combined tour with the CICA.

Geographical location

Cabezo María is an ancient volcano, the only volcano in the Levante almeriense with an archaeological site on its slope. Cabezo María is protected as an archaeological zone within the municipality of Antas (Almería) and includes remains dating from the Bronze Age to the Hispano-Muslim period.

At the summit of the Cabezo María archaeological zone stands the Ermita de la Virgen de la Cabeza. Guided tours of Cabezo María visit the archaeological remains and also cover the volcanology of the only volcano in the Levante almeriense, as well as the intangible cultural heritage associated with the hill.

The archaeological zone of El Argar and La Gerundia lies on the left bank of the Río Antas, on two irregularly shaped plateaus separated by a terraced area used for agriculture.

Nature

The almost 5.5-km-long nature trail between Cabezo María and La Huerta passes through Las Cañadas and El Pilarico near the Río Antas. The nature trail between Los Mosquitos and Los Raimundos is 2.8 km long and can be completed in less than half an hour.

History

The Acueducto real, also known as the “Complejo Hidráulico de El Real”, was built around 1915 and supplied water to private gardens and the local residential area.

The parish church of Antas, also known as the Iglesia de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, was built in 1505 and is distinguished externally by its tower.

El Garcel is an Early Copper Age settlement with huts, round hearths, silos and slag from copper smelting; the oldest olive stones on the Iberian Peninsula were also found there.

La Vieja is celebrated in the municipality on the day marking the division of Lent; during the celebration, a paper figure filled with sweets is smashed with stones.

Other places

Other places to explore: Líjar, Fernán Pérez, El Hijate, Villaricos, Garrucha, Taberno, La Cañada, Felix.

For the higher-level travel overview: Almeria.