A relief from Structure 2 at El Cerrón, shown side-by-side as a digital photo (A) and an enhanced image (B).
Photo: J. Blánquez Pérez / Museo de Santa Cruz de Toledo; Ministry of Culture and Sport
A team of archaeologists revisited the finds from the El Cerrón archaeological site in Illescas, a town in the province of Toledo within the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. Their research revealed that the local elite of ancient Carpetania, located on the southern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula and historically the territory of the Carpetani people, was not a marginal community as previously thought.
The terracotta relief decorated with Mediterranean motifs discovered at the site shows that these communities actively participated in the cultural and commercial networks of the Mediterranean during the Iron Age (4th–1st century BCE).
Challenging Traditional Views of Carpetania
Published in the journal Antiquity, the study refutes the long-held view that Carpetania was a peripheral, passive region.
Cultural Evidence of Active Participation in Mediterranean Networks
The pediment was found in a building archaeologists call Structure 2. It depicts a scene sculpted in terracotta showing a gryphon—a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle—two charioteers with horse-drawn chariots, and a human figure holding a scepter, symbolizing power or a spear.
Researchers note that this type of iconography is characteristic of Mediterranean art and has parallels both along the Iberian coast and in other regions such as northern Italy.
What makes El Cerrón exceptional is its inland location, over 300 kilometers from the coast, suggesting that the elites of Carpetania were connected to Mediterranean cultural currents.
The relief from El Cerrón may be the most distinctive example found so far of the “Mediterraneanization” of the Iberian Peninsula’s interior, the study reveals.
At 1.35 meters tall, the pediment was part of a larger installation embedded in a brick retaining wall or shrine inside a building which archaeologists believe was likely a sanctuary.
Colored and black-and-white photos of the relief shortly after its discovery in 1979.
Photo: Valiente Cánovas & Balmaseda Muncharaz 1981
A Major Social Transition
Dating to the 4th century BCE, a time of power struggles and significant social changes in Carpetania, the relief coincides with the relocation of early settlements from river plains to more defensible elevated sites like fortified hills. This transition is linked to population growth, increased agricultural production, and intensified competition for resources.
Traditionally, Carpetania was seen as a peripheral area culturally influenced by stronger neighbors such as the Celtiberians. However, the new analysis shows that the Carpetani were not mere imitators but active participants in cultural and commercial exchanges.
Through their connections, they consciously “Mediterraneanized,” adopting Iberian customs and goods, which the local elite used primarily to legitimize and consolidate their power and status, the authors explain. The study also highlights that the relief and other imported artifacts found at the site—such as Attic pottery and a bronze buckle from northern Italy—demonstrate the elite’s access to Mediterranean markets, likely via trade routes linking the interior to the coast through the Tagus and Guadiana rivers, the Iberian Peninsula’s most important waterways during the Late Iron Age.
The Meaning of the Relief: Religious Scene or Display of Power?
Experts disagree on the exact meaning of the scene depicted in the relief. Some interpret it as a ritual procession or even a funerary scene, where the gryphon acts as a guide for the deceased accompanying them into the afterlife.
However, since the relief was discovered inside a building thought to be sacred, other analysts see it as representing heroes or deities connected to ancestor worship, which the elites exploited to reinforce their authority.
What the Preservation of the Fragment Suggests
The preservation of a fragment of the relief within the retaining wall or temple at the entrance of Structure 2—possibly a shrine—indicates that although the relief was not kept intact, it continued to hold significant importance for the community living there, researchers observe.
Overturning Established Academic Assumptions
Finally, the researchers conclude that the findings underscore the urgent need to challenge old assumptions and biases shaping studies of Mediterranean interactions, especially regarding areas traditionally labeled as “marginal.”
