Idol

Earliest Agricultural and Stock-Rearing Societies

This idol is one of the fews objects from the Siret Collection on display at the museum following a deposit made to the Museum of Almería by the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.

Different burial rites coexisted in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, both inside and outside the caves.

The first finding of collective graves, consisting in round burial mounds, date from this period. They were built next to the villages, and in some cases, are real cementeries.

The collective burial in a round chamber of Loma Almanzora 15, made of médium-sized stones, is an interesting example of tomb mounds outside of the village.

The varied and rich grave goods are comprised of working tools and symbolic elements such as idols., which are characteristic of the transition period leading to sedentary rural societies.

This new type of burial, which arose as a result of the social changes, was one of the main features of the traditional Culture of Almeria.

Material: Beige limestone
Dimensions:Length 5,20 cm; Maximum width 3,70 cm; Thickness 0,60 cm
Provenance: Loma de Almanzora, Cantoria (Almería): Necrópolis: grave 15/Unknown
Excavation, Siret, Louis