The investigation of the Phoenician necropolis of Cortijo de Acebedo discovered in this site continues with its phase of anthropological study, where so far 18 tombs from between the 7th and 6th centuries BC have been discovered, making it possible to recompose the funeral ritual of those who lived in this area of Mijas, as reported this Thursday by the mayor, Josele Gonzalez
“We continue to unravel the treasures that the Cortijo de Acebedo keeps, a site that little by little is becoming a benchmark not only in the province, but throughout Andalusia”, stated the councilor, who has advanced that “advances continue in he anthropological study of the 18 tombs that have been found to date and for this we once again have in Mijas the presence of one of the most prepared archaeo-anthropologists in the country, Victoria Peña”.
In this sense, the Councilor for Historical Heritage, Nicolás Cruz, explained that this anthropological study “reconstructs the body of the deceased to know their gender, age of death, diseases or any other particularity that allows us to recompose how these people lived in Mijas between the VII and VI centuries BC”, and has advanced that it is yielding “surprising results, given that funeral rituals are being found that differ from other settlements in Málaga, Cádiz or Huelva”.
This meticulous and detailed work is carried out by the archaeo-anthropologist Victoria Peña Romo who, fragment by fragment, reconstructs the body of the deceased and delves into the knowledge of the individual. “What is perhaps not so common in this type of study is analyze how they have been buriedif there is a ritual gesture that differentiates them, and we are seeing interesting things that mean that, either this necropolis differs from others with the same chronology and culturally similar, or they have not been studied to the point that we are doing us”, added Peña, who stressed that “we are working to make Cortijo de Acebedo a reference site in terms of study”.
During the investigation phase of the results obtained in the excavations that have been carried out by the Department of Historical Heritage at the Cortijo de Acebedo site, the stilltolysis of bone remains of the different individuals that have appeared in the different tombs of his Phoenician necropolis, in order to collect a whole series of data that will reveal details about their customs, beliefs, daily life, social status, etc.
Study of funeral rituals
With respect to funeral ritual, fifteen of the burials are of primary cremation, in which it occurs in the grave itself and that is how they have been found. On the other hand, four of these burial spaces are for secondary cremation, that is, it has occurred on a pyre or ustrinum, whose skeletal remains have been displaced to be deposited in an urn or in a grave.
“In the process of excavating the tombs, we are further refining the bone remains collection protocol of the different individuals. This type of procedure is of great importance, since this technique allows us to obtain a greater amount of data”, assured Desirée Piñero, co-director of the research project, who stresses that the Acebedo de Mijas research project “is multidisciplinary because it involves the collaboration and the work of different specialists”.