This is the only Phoenician funerary urn found in perfect condition in the province of Malaga, dating from the 7th century BC, says the Mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE). The Councillor adds that "the Cortijo de Acebedo is, once again, a reference in the province with this study, which analyses, for the first time in Malaga, a Phoenician urn of these characteristics. It is undoubtedly an important step towards getting to know our archaeological site better".

To know the content of this chest, the Town Hall has contacted the University of Malaga and the Xanit Clinic, which have not hesitated to collaborate with the Historical Heritage Department.  "Right now, the UMA (University of Malaga) is doing a report on the urn's content by using a CAT scan. Metallic elements have been seen inside", says the Councillor for Historical Heritage, Laura Moreno (PSOE), who has announced the steps to be taken by the Department she coordinates. "Now, in meticulous work, they will have to clean it stratum by stratum until they find what is inside it. We have seen, in the CAT scan, metallic elements that we believe may be the trousseau of the person who died," said Moreno.

The Historical Heritage Department is focusing all its efforts on enhancing the value of the Cortijo de Acebedo archaeological site and all the remains that have come to light.  We are promoting and using all the resources to obtain the best results both for the site and for the future interpretation centre in the area," Moreno emphasised.

Finally, the Mayor assures that it is "a historical heritage that we have under us. The City Council continues to add value to make it an icon from the historical, archaeological and tourist point of view".

The study

The study has been carried out at the Vithas Xanit International hospital, using GE LightSpeed VCT equipment. The images obtained have been studied by the X-Ray Diffraction unit of the University of Malaga. It has allowed a 3D urn reconstruction, and the location inside it with the bone remains. Apart from the remains of the corpse cremation, there seem to be some metallic objects that could correspond to part of the deceased's trousseau.

 

This cremation urn known in archaeology as Cruz del Negro, is named after the site in Carmona (Seville) where they first located one at the end of the 19th century. Another one has been found in the Phoenician necropolis, recently located in the Cortijo de Acebedo archaeological site. It happened during the first excavation phase that the Mijas Town Hall General Research Project is carrying out in this site and its surroundings, through its Historical Heritage Department. This is the first urn of this type to undergo this study in the province of Malaga.

These urns served as containers for the skeletal remains that remained after the cremation process of the corpse and part of the ashes and, in many cases, objects belonging to the trousseau of the deceased, such as combs, rings, pendants, necklace beads, etc..., were placed in them. This is the westernmost Phoenician necropolis in the province of Malaga. It is located at the ancient marine estuary foot currently occupied by the river Fuengirola and extends the structures found to date at the Acebedo site. It confirms the chronology site data which dates it back to the 7th-6th centuries BC and covers up to the 6th century AC, more than a thousand years of the Mijas history.

The data obtained from this study will allow a more precise and directed excavation of the urn's interior. It may allow us to obtain information about the deceased person, such as sex, age of death, possible pathologies, etc..., and recover possible objects from the deceased grave goods.

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