Los Millares is a Copper Age town in Andalucia, 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.
Building on this scale at this early date is hardly known anywhere in the world and this is a truly remarkable site.
The wealth and power of these people probably came in part from the copper they smelted here.
Or perhaps they were able to control copper working in the region because they were such warlike and powerful people.
Studies of diets and the structure of the site shows it was a society ruled by powerful elites who were often at war with their neighbours.
Imagine being some Neolithic farmer who lives in a hut and who has never seen anything bigger than a dry stone wall and then you see this place. It would have blown your mind!
Amazing place.
See more on Wikipedia. As always take what you read there with a pinch of salt.
If you’re interested in the period then you will love my Bronze Age fantasy series GODS OF BRONZE. You can read the novella THE WOLF GOD for free now by signing up to my email newsletter.
