Necropolis of Puente de Noy: A Phoenician-Punic Burial Ground in Spain
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Iron Age, Classical
- Civilizations
- Carthaginian, Phoenician
- Site type
- Burial
- Remains
- Necropolis
On this page8 sections
History
The Necropolis of Puente de Noy in Almuñécar, Spain, is a Phoenician-Punic burial ground associated with the ancient settlement of Sexi. The Phoenicians were maritime trading communities from the eastern Mediterranean that established settlements and commercial networks along the Iberian coast. Used from the second half of the seventh century BC until the first century BC, the necropolis predates the Roman settlement and, together with the Laurita Necropolis, forms one of Almuñécar’s principal surviving remains from this period.
Phoenician-Punic burial ground
The necropolis contains 132 tombs and more than a hundred burials. Its funerary practices changed during the third century BC, when cremation replaced inhumation, the burial of an intact body. Grave goods were placed with the deceased, including symbolic personal belongings, jewelry, pottery, and other artifacts. Many tombs were looted in antiquity, but the surviving evidence still reveals the range of objects associated with burial.
Excavation and protection
In 1979, a local secondary-school teacher discovered and excavated three tombs. Systematic archaeological work began that same year under Federico Molina Fajardo, a local archaeologist, and continued until 1993. Spain’s Ministry of Culture declared the site a national historic site in 1980, during the period of its continuing investigation.
Remains
The necropolis occupies a rocky hillside above Almuñécar, on both sides of the road near Calle el Tesoro and behind IES Antigua Sexi, a secondary-education institute. Its burial areas are protected by large metal structures that cover the grounds and shield the tombs from the elements.
Burial structures
Rectangular graves
Most tombs are large rectangular graves cut into the hillside, generally measuring about 2 by 3 metres. A narrow ledge ran along one or both long sides of each grave. Wooden planks rested on these ledges and were sealed with red clay before the burial pit was filled with earth. In some examples, horizontal stone slabs replaced the planks; some of these slabs were arranged at an angle to form a pitched, roof-like cover. Nearly all the graves were covered with adobe, while several had stone coverings.
Chamber tombs
Two underground chamber tombs, known as hypogea, are preserved at the necropolis. Grave 4 in Zone C is a masonry-built chamber dating from the end of the seventh century BC. It is reached by a restored stepped corridor and was among the most notable tombs in that area.
Burials and grave goods
Excavation has recovered pottery, human burials, jewelry, and other archaeological artifacts. The best-known discovery was a burial accompanied by jewelry at the bottom of a tomb cut into the rock. These objects belong to the funerary deposits placed with the dead and provide material evidence of the practices associated with the necropolis.
