Cabezo Lucero: A Balcony Overlooking Iberian Life and Death in Guardamar
In the lands bathed by the sun and caressed by the breeze from the Segura River, Guardamar del Segura guards treasures that tell us of a vibrant past. One of the most eloquent is the Iberian site of Cabezo Lucero, a strategic enclave that flourished between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC.
Located between Guardamar and Rojales, this settlement overlooked an ancient coastal lagoon, a landscape transformed today but which in its time was a hive of life and commerce. Cabezo Lucero was not just a place to live; it was also a place to honor those who passed on. The site is divided into two souls: the settlement, whose walls and streets we can only glimpse, and the necropolis, the sacred space destined for eternal rest.
It is in the necropolis, situated on higher ground as if watching over the horizon, where Cabezo Lucero reveals its deepest secrets to us. Here, the Iberians practiced the rite of cremation. The deceased were incinerated along with their most prized possessions: sumptuous grave goods, weapons like the fearsome falcatas, pottery arriving from Greece that tells us of distant travels and trade, and jewelry that reflected their status and beliefs.
The tombs, some richer than others, depict a complex and hierarchical society. But they also tell us of a change, a moment in history, perhaps at the end of the 5th century BC, when something led to the destruction or fragmentation of some of its most sacred sculptures.
Excavating at Cabezo Lucero is like shifting the sands of time, finding not only objects but the echoes of a people who chose the mouth of the Segura to live, trade, and look towards eternity. And it was here, among the remains of their funeral rituals, where its most iconic face emerged.
