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The lost kingdom of Tartessos.
Was it an Atlantean colony?
Just beyond the ancient Pillars of Hercules beyond Gibraltar on the Spanish mainland is reputed to be the location of the vanished kingdom of Tartessos. This was thought to
lie at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River or the vicinity of where it once reached the ocean. Rich in mineral deposits Tartessos is said to have been captured by the Carthaginians in 533 BC who
subsequently isolated it from the rest of the world.
Venice of the West.
Excavations by German archaeologists set to show that Tartessos the so called ‘Venice of the West’ was the blueprint for Plato’s Atlantis. While no precise location
can be set for the existence of Tartessos huge building blocks uncovered close to sea level testify to the enormous workings of some prehistoric culture.
Tartessos in Seville.
In his book The mystery of Atlantis author Charles Berlitz makes the following comments: “Mrs E.M Wishaw, directress of the Anglo-Spanish-American School of
Archaeology and author of Atlantis in Andalusia studied the area for 25 years. She believes, because of her discovery of a ‘sun temple’ 27 feet beneath the streets of Seville, that Tartessos may
be buried under the present day city.”
Prehistoric mining.
This whole region of Spain is believed to have been rich in prehistoric mining activity. Says Berlitz: “Certain other remains connected with the culture of Tartessos can be
observed in the Rio Tinto copper mines, estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 years old, as well as in the hydraulic engineering works near Ronda and an inland harbour at Niebla (which reminds one again of
Plato’s description of the hydraulic works of Atlantis).
Atlantean colony.
Far from agreeing with the German researchers that Tartessos itself gave rise to the Atlantis legend, Mrs Wishaw believed that Tartessos was simply a colony of the real
Atlantis. She wrote: ‘My theory to sum it up concisely is that Plato’s story is corroborated from first to last by what we find here, even the Atlantean name of its son Gadir who inherited that part of
Poseidon’s kingdom beyond the Pillars of Hercules and ruled at Gades (Cadiz) See map.
Written language.
According to Charles Berlitz “Tartessos was reputed to have written records going back 6000 years. What is thought to be an excellent example of the written language is the
inscription on a ring found in a Spanish fishing village near Tartessos...Whether or not this proves the existence of Atlantis it does seem to establish the existence of a little known Western
Mediterranean civilisation of a very early period.
Links to yet more topics of interest.
Click here to see more on the gradual sinking of Atlantis?
Click here to see more on the likelihood of survivors from that Atlantis Disaster?
Click here to read about the vanished island of Antilles?
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