Lobo, Antonio

At the start of the 20th century, many European researchers settled in southern Spain as they wanted to be pioneers in the most fashionable science at the time: Archaeology. It was Jorge Bonsor who best embodied this bohemian spirit, passing from trafficker to protector and disseminator of heritage. Following in his steps, we will visit some of the most important sites in Andalusia, such as the Roman necropolis of Carmona, the site of Baelo Claudia, and Mairena Castle.

In the first decades of the 20th century, the search for Tartessos became an obsession for a young German historian who was set on discovering a new civilisation at the origin of Europe. Spain had become the El Dorado for Archaeology practitioners and Adolf Schulten was hoping to find below the sands of the Coto de Doñana his own particular Troy, a city that he embellished with the aura of Atlantis. Beyond the risk of such an adventure, this determination would mark Schulten’s career and Science’s perception of Tartessos for many decades.