An orientalizing terret and other harness elements in the tumular cemetery of Collado y Pinar de Santa Ana (Jumilla, Murcia)

Abstract

Ana has been known since the late 18th century, when the first explorations were carried out at the site. The cemetery subsequently attracted renewed interest in the late 1950s, which continued until the 1990s. This is a tumular necropolis, some of whose burial groups, already subject to looting in Antiquity, are dated between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (9th-6th centuries BC). In 2024, a new excavation and research project was initiated, which facilitated the documentation of several burial groups of notable complexity, both in terms of their structures and grave goods. In some cases, the absence of cremated remains was also evident. Of particular note among these graves is Tumulus 9, which yielded a significant assemblage of bronze items, including a distinctive terret, alongside other zoomorphic elements that possibly belonged to various parts of horse harnessing equipment. This set provides evidence of the presence of a two-animal chariot. The following study provides a contextual framework for the site and its findings, which belong to the Orientalizing sphere of southern Iberia. The study also discusses parallels between these findings from both a typological and analytical perspective. Finally, the presence in the Jumilla Plateau of what would be the most emblematic parts of a chariot (the terret and zoomorphic harness elements) is evaluated. This is an item of unquestionable prestige, whose distribution points to the periphery of the Tartessian core area of Lower Andalusia, and whose possession suggests the presence of individuals of potentially aristocratic rank with a marked Orientalizing influence.