More than two thousand years ago, Tartessos became one of the most mysterious civilisations associated with the ancient lands of southern Iberia. A Sevillian legend connects its kings, its wars against the Phoenicians and a hidden royal treasure with one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries ever made near Seville: the Treasure of El Carambolo.
THE ILLUSTRATED LEGEND
Discover the story through our illustrated audiovisual version.
THE LEGEND OF THE TREASURE OF EL CARAMBOLO
A lost kingdom, a hidden treasure and a secret buried for centuries.
According to the Sevillian tradition collected by José María de Mena, the ancient Tartessians inhabited the lands surrounding the lower Guadalquivir long before Roman Hispalis existed. Tartessos is presented as a prosperous kingdom whose inhabitants maintained important commercial relations with the Phoenicians, exchanging copper, animal hides, leather and purple dye through trading centres such as Seville and Cádiz. This commerce brought wealth to the region and helped its settlements grow and prosper.
According to the legend, however, relations eventually deteriorated. Once the Phoenicians had secured their commercial power, they began to reduce the prices paid for Tartessian products. The king of Tartessos, Argantonio, warned that these conditions threatened his people and threatened to end the Phoenician monopoly and seek other buyers. When negotiations failed and the Phoenicians refused to leave, the dispute became an armed conflict.
Argantonio divided his army in two. He commanded one force himself and entrusted the other to his son, Terion, intending to attack the main Phoenician centres at Cádiz and Seville. But the Phoenicians anticipated their plans. While the Tartessian armies were away, their ships sailed up the Guadalquivir under cover of darkness and attacked Tartessos itself, which had been left almost undefended.
The legend describes a terrible night. Burning projectiles fell upon the city and Tartessos was engulfed in flames. From a distance, Argantonio and his soldiers saw the sky illuminated by the fire and desperately turned back, but the forced march exhausted and scattered them. When they finally approached the ruined city, the Phoenician forces attacked. Argantonio and his army were defeated, and the king died with his warriors.
Only one man escaped the disaster. He fled towards Seville to find Terion and tell him what had happened, carrying with him the royal insignia that had been saved from the destruction: the sacred gold collar, bracelets and ornaments of the king of Tartessos. His father dead and his family lost, Terion took the insignia and became the new king. He then led his warriors towards Seville, determined to take revenge.
Near what is today Castilleja de la Cuesta, Terion hid his army and waited for the victorious Phoenician fleet to return to Seville. Before attacking, however, he faced a problem. According to the custom described in the legend, a Tartessian king could not enter battle wearing the sacred royal jewels. They would normally have been entrusted to the queen, but Terion no longer had a wife or family to guard them.
Terion therefore placed the jewels inside a pottery vessel and buried them in a hidden place, covering the spot carefully so that he could recover them after the battle. At dawn, the Tartessians launched their surprise attack. The Phoenicians were defeated and their ships burned on the Guadalquivir, but Terion was struck by an arrow and died before he could reveal where he had hidden the royal treasure.
According to the tradition, the Tartessian army later conquered Cádiz, but the old city of Tartessos was never rebuilt and Seville became the new centre of the Tartessian people. The royal jewels remained hidden somewhere between Seville and the Aljarafe, their location lost with the death of Terion.
More than two thousand years later, on 30 September 1958, workers carrying out alterations at the Real Sociedad de Tiro de Pichón on the hill of El Carambolo, in Camas, uncovered a remarkable collection of gold pieces. The discovery became known as the Treasure of El Carambolo and transformed the site into one of the great archaeological references connected with ancient Tartessos.
The archaeological discovery was real; the story of Terion hiding the jewels belongs to legend. Yet the coincidence was irresistible to the Sevillian imagination: could the gold found at El Carambolo have been the treasure that the legendary king buried before marching into his final battle?
BETWEEN HISTORY AND LEGEND
Where the traditional story meets archaeology.
The story of Argantonio, Terion, the destruction of Tartessos and the burial of the royal jewels belongs to the legendary tradition collected by José María de Mena. It should not be interpreted as a documented account of the events that led to the concealment of the Treasure of El Carambolo.
Some historical explanations included in older versions of the story also reflect interpretations that are no longer accepted in the same way by modern archaeology. In particular, the proposed Indian origin of the Tartessians and the identification of the treasure as the royal insignia of a king named Terion belong to the traditional narrative rather than to established historical fact.
What is documented is the discovery of the Treasure of El Carambolo on 30 September 1958 at Camas, near Seville. The treasure consists of twenty-one gold objects, and archaeological research has connected the site with religious and ritual activity. Different interpretations have been proposed regarding the precise function of the pieces and the people who wore or used them.
The real archaeological mystery and the legendary story therefore belong to two different worlds. Yet their union has helped make the Treasure of El Carambolo one of the most fascinating stories connected with the ancient past of Seville.
PODCAST VERSION
Prefer to listen? Discover the story in its original podcast version.
SOURCE AND ADAPTATION
Adapted for Sevilla Ciudad Mágica from the Sevillian tradition collected by José María de Mena in Tradiciones y Leyendas Sevillanas.
Seville is not only discovered through its monuments and streets.
Its legends are also part of its history and cultural memory.
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