About El Carambolo
In 1958, the accidental discovery of the Treasure of El Carambolo, consisting of 21 intricate and stunning gold pieces, led to excavations on a hill near the village of Camas, revealing a sanctuary dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte.
The El Carambolo sanctuary was a combination of religious complex, economic centre and meeting place, active between the ninth and sixth century BC before its abrupt and unexplained abandonment. The intriguing Phoenician relics unearthed at the site are displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Seville.
In a world heavily dependent on the whims of nature, the El Carambolo sanctuary was a source of divine protection, and the miraculously preserved legacy of its high priests is a treasure that is fundamental to both Spanish and Western European heritage.
The Phoenician sanctuary of El Carambolo occupied a strategic location for trade and communications on a hill above a wide bay at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river facing the Atlantic Ocean.
With a navigable estuary leading far inland to the rich agricultural and mineral resources of the Lower Guadalquivir valley, El Carambolo was perfectly positioned for large ships and river boats, linking the Atlantic to the heart of the fabled Tartessos.
Debate still rages over whether El Carambolo is a Phoenician or Tartessian site, but it's hard to imagine the indigenous people of southern Spain living in relatively primitive conditions building elaborate religious sanctuaries dedicated to a foreign goddess like Astarte.
Although much remains unclear, El Carambolo appears to be a purely Phoenician construction used for ceremonies, sacrifices, feasting, socializing and trading with the local population in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
While the most important feature of the site is the bull-shaped sacrificial altar, the gold treasure hoard found at El Carambolo also has clear religious significance, with the oxhide-shaped breastplates and other ornaments likely worn by high priests or the bulls during their fatal procession.
The famous bronze statuette of Astarte is an offering inscribed by two Phoenician brothers in thanks for her divine protection. The high quality of the wheel-made pottery found at the site and the presence of a bronze incense burner (thymiaterion) also point to El Carambolo being a shrine dedicated to the Phoenician goddess.
Carambolo can be seen as an essential point of interaction between the Phoenician ‘colonisers’ and inhabitants of the legendary Tartessos - a sanctified gathering place for the merchant seafarers laden with novelties and luxuries to meet the subjects and representatives of local rulers like the ‘Silver King’ Arganthonios.
Local leaders were happy to exchange their plentiful but little valued precious metals for novelties like wine, olive oil, aromatics, fine and colourful clothing, crafted metalwork and wheel-turned ceramics, in the process enriching their culture by peaceful exchange and creating a ‘colonial’ model that is uniquely Phoenician.
Astarte of El Carambolo
This eighth century BC small bronze statue of the Phoenician goddess Astarte was found at El Carambolo in the early 1960s during excavations that resulted in the discovery of a major Phoenican religious sanctuary at the site.
The Egyptian-style sculpture shows Astarte seated on a footstool, and is inscribed with a dedication to the goddess from two brothers in thanks for her protection, most likely during a recent sea voyage across the Mediterranean. This inscription is the oldest example of the Phoenician language discovered on the Iberian Peninsula.
Astarte was the principal goddess of the Phoenician city state of Tyre, who with her partner Melqart protected its inhabitants, as well as sailors and seafarers generally. The strategic maritime location of El Carambolo and the presence of the Astarte statue suggests that the sanctuary was dedicated to the Phoenician goddess.
The Archaeological Museum of Seville houses around 60,000 pieces in a beautiful pavilion in Maria Luisa Park built for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929.
The first floor has a room dedicated to the sanctuary of El Carambolo and the findings made there, including a reproduction of the famous Treasure of Carambolo and the bronze statuette of the principal Phoenician goddess Astarte discussed above.
The museum has been closed since 2021, and is currently undertaking a multi-million-euro restoration and redevelopment project with reopening expected in 2027.
