The Age of the Copper
One of the characteristics of this period,
which dates from the 3.000 to 2.000 years
before Christ, it is the appearance of the
metallurgy of the copper,
although the generalized use of the tools
of stone was still kept.
Among the different towns
of the region in Lorca, we find some located
in the proximities of the quarries of copper
of the saws Tercia and that of Enmedio;
there were others far away which dedicated
to the transformation of this mineral. Remains
of founding have appeared in the ‘Cerro
de las Viñas’ in Coy and excerpts
of crucibles or oven vessels in the town
‘Agua Amarga’ in Zarcilla de
Ramos.
These towns are situated in places with
natural resources, in a lateral or small
elevations near courses of water and feed
areas for the cattle. We found houses of
circular plant, as have been verified in
the small towns of Xiquena in Fontanares,
and ‘El Chorrillo’ in Barranco
Honde, wasted for the agriculture, or settings
of great importance , as the site of ‘El
Capitán’ in Zarcilla the Ramos.
This last one was despoiled.
It has also been documented towns
setting in height, as La Parrilla,
La Salud, La Quinquilla, La Greda, La Encantada,
Las Hermanillas and Los Viveros. Near these
nucleuses of population, there were also
towns of a major importance such as El Cerro
de las Viñas, Cabezo Lirón,
El Cimbre, Peñas de Béjar,
Murviedro and the urban centre of Lorca,
those which dominant positions practiced
a control of the roads in passing and the
agricultural areas and feed.
The burials are characterized
for being collective and
for taking place in distant necropolis of
the towns. Near the natural caves, the man
used as sepulchres the megaliths and the
artificial caves. Sometimes a funeral trousseau
consisted of personal objects or of those
of prestige was placed near the corpses.
The burial of the so called ‘Cueva
Sagrada’, dating form the 2.216 before
Christ, is located in the saw Tercia. There
have been found remains of two tunics and
a stole, dyed originally of red, which constitute
the ruins of linen tissue the most
important and ancient of Europe.
The site of ‘El
Capitán’ located in
Zarcilla de Ramos is one of the towns with
circular huts more important in Lorca. It
was declared place of cultural interest
in November 1985.
