2250-750 BC Bronze Age

South-west Europe is a large outlying area of land known as the Iberian Peninsula that faces west into the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, south to the mountains and deserts of North Africa, and east to the Mediterranean world. It encompasses a diversity of landscapes from the mountains in the interior rich in copper, gold, tin and silver ores to the fertile lowland plains. Although in some respects the region is marked by cultural isolation, the archaeological evidence also indicates frequent and intense communication and trade with other regions especially in coastal areas and along rivers.

Certain Bronze Age phenomena from this area have captured the imagination of generations of scholars: the origins and meaning of the ‘Bell Beaker’ rite, the nature of society in south-east Spain during the Argaric ‘culture’, the purpose of ‘fortified’ settlements, the significance of the spectacular gold objects and the messages being conveyed by the elaborate carvings on stone blocks or stelae. However, it is perhaps too easy with this perspective to lose sight of the farmers, craftsmen and warriors who lived and died during this long period.