A model of the prehistoric town of Los Millares, with its walls.

Reproduction of a Millarense bowl with the typical eyes motiff of the chalcolithic of SE Iberia.

Los Millares is the name of a Chalcolithic occupation site 17 km north of Almería, in the municipality of Santa Fe de Mondújar, Andalusia, Spain. The complex was in use from the end of the fourth millennium to the end of the second millennium BC and probably supported somewhere around 1000 people.^[1][2] It was discovered in 1891 during the course of the construction of a railway and was first excavated by Luis Siret in the succeeding years. Further excavation work continues today.

Site description[link]

The 5 acre (2ha) site consists of three concentric lines of stone walls, the outer ring the largest, running more than 650 feet with nineteen 'bastions' and a gate guarded by foreworks.^[1] The road to the site is guarded by four smaller outlying stone forts.^[1] There is an extensive cemetery of eighty passage grave tombs.^[1] Radiocarbon dating has established that one wall collapsed and was rebuilt around 3025 BC.

A cluster of simple dwellings lay inside the walls as well as one large building containing evidence of copper smelting. Pottery excavated from the site included plain and decorated wares including symbolkeramik bowls bearing oculus motifs. Similar designs appear on various carved stone idols found at the site. Although primarily farmers, the inhabitants of Los Millares had crucially also learned metal working, especially the smelting and forming of copper, and the site is considered highly important in understanding the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.^[3] The Los Millares culture eventually came to dominate the Iberian peninsula.

The population of Los Millares has been estimated at approximately 1000.^[2]

Relationship to other prehistoric cultures[link]

Los Millares participated in the continental trends of Megalithism and the Beaker culture. Analysis of occupation material and grave goods from the Los Millares cemetery of 70 tholos tombs with port-hole slabs has led archaeologists to suggest that the people who lived at Los Millares were part of a stratified, unequal society which was often at war with its neighbours. The Los Millares civilisation was replaced circa 1800 BC, with the arrival of Bronze by the El Argar civilisation, whose successor culture is embodied in the contemporary culture of Vila Nova de Sao Pedro in nearby Portugal.

Other Iberian settlements in this region of a similar age to Los Millares include the settlement of Los Silillos and Neolithic finds at Cabrera.^[4]

Similarities between Los Millares architecture and the step pyramid at Monte d'Accoddi in Sardinia have been noticed.

See also[link]

• European Megalithic Culture

References[link]

External links[link]

• (English) Smart Insider Guide to Los Millares
• (Spanish) Virtual visit to the archaeological place of Los Millares
• (Spanish) Los Millares

Coordinates: 36°57′53″N 2°31′20″W / 36.96472°N 2.52222°W / 36.96472; -2.52222

Millares
—  Municipality  —
Millares Location in Spain
Coordinates: 39°14′15″N 0°46′21″W / 39.2375°N 0.7725°W / 39.2375; -0.7725Coordinates: 39°14′15″N 0°46′21″W / 39.2375°N 0.7725°W / 39.2375; -0.7725
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	22x20px Valencian Community
Province	Valencia
Comarca	Canal de Navarrés
Judicial district	Requena
Government
• Alcalde	Higinio Pérez Pla (2007) (PP)
Area
• Total	105.5 km2 (40.7 sq mi)
Elevation	344 m (1,129 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	503
• Density	4.8/km2 (12/sq mi)
Demonym	Millarense
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	46198
Official language(s)	Spanish
Website	Official website

Millares (Catalan: Millars) is a municipality in the comarca of Canal de Navarrés in the Valencian Community, Spain.

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