Baetyl

Los Millares Society

The Millares tombs - as mentioned above - were outside the settlement. However, nearby there were circular graves with a false dome (tholoi or beehive tombs). This shape is achieved by superimposing successively smaller rings of stones until they meet at the top. Access was via a corridor in which sections were often separated using large port-hole slabs to allow passage from one tomb to the other. These were collective tombs for the remains of members of the same clan, a sort of extended family that shared a distant forefather who was venerated by the clan members. At the graves entrance there used to be located use baetyls, stone cylinders which may have symbolised the clan's ancestors, a numeric representation of the buried individuals. Beside them, they held banquets as part of the burial ritual.

Material: Limestone
Dimensions: Height 28 cm; Maximum width 13 cm; Maximum thickness 7 cm
Provenance: Los Millares, Santa Fe de Mondújar (Almería):Necropolis/Unknown