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ΕλληνικάINITIAL ATLAS · DIVISIONS AND REGIONS
Iberian Map
Iberian Atlas
Explore where the different Iberian peoples lived and how their cities changed.
Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.
History and context
The map begins in Final Bronze and Orientalising horizon and allows progression through 7 phases. Documented places —Ullastret, Edeta/Llíria, Bastida de les Alcusses, Basti/Baza, Cástulo— appear only when they help to read the active period.
‘Iberians’ brings together peoples and territories of the Mediterranean façade and south; not the whole peninsula was Iberian nor did a common state exist.
Evidence and interpretation
The coastline comes from Natural Earth. The layers distinguish origin, nucleus, direct control, influence, networks, disputed territories and external domains; they are approximate curatorial envelopes, not modern borders. The faint outline preserves the previous phase to make each expansion, contraction or absorption visible. ‘Iberians’ brings together peoples and territories of the Mediterranean façade and south; not the whole peninsula was Iberian nor did a common state exist.
Catalogue facts
- Reading mode
- Regions and groups without a single frontier
- Sequence
- 7 phases · Final Bronze and Orientalising horizon (c. 1200–600 BCE) → Formation of Iberian societies (c. 600–500 BCE) → Regional consolidation (c. 500–400 BCE) → Urban expansion and networks (c. 400–237 BCE) → Carthaginian presence and Second Punic War (237–206 BCE) → Unequal Roman conquest (206–133 BCE) → Provincial integration (2nd–1st centuries BCE)
- Nodes
- Ullastret (6th–2nd centuries BCE) · Edeta/Llíria (5th–2nd centuries BCE) · Bastida de les Alcusses (4th century BCE) · Basti/Baza (4th–2nd centuries BCE) · Cástulo (1st millennium BCE–Roman period)
- Range
- Area of diverse local communities.
- Caution
- ‘Iberians’ brings together peoples and territories of the Mediterranean façade and south; not the whole peninsula was Iberian nor did a common state exist.
A closer look
About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .
The ancient landscape does not coincide with what we see today
Ullastret had a second nucleus on the Illa d'en Reixac, then situated within a large pond. The 2012 geophysical surveys allowed recognition of much of its urban layout without excavating every street. The heritage reconstruction chose c. 250 BCE as a reference moment and first studied the lake, vegetation and paths. The example helps to read this atlas: locating a city is not just a matter of placing a point. One must reconstruct its relations with water and distinguish measured remains from hypothetical elevations.
Location and territory
REGIONAL AREA
Mediterranean façade and peninsular south; not all Iberia was IberianMediterranean fringe and southern peninsula; not all Iberia was Iberian. The footprint indicates the orientative centre of the area, not a boundary nor an exact point.TERRITORIAL ATLAS · REAL GEOGRAPHY · CHANGING EXTENT
Iberian Atlas
Peoples, languages and centres of many Iberias
Peninsular communities interacted with Phoenicians and Greeks before the consolidation of Iberian societies; Tartessos and colonies are not 'early Iberians'.
WHAT CHANGES · OriginEastern and southeastern communities connected to Mediterranean enclaves emerge before a defined Iberian culture.
- 01 · Cástulo1st millennium BCE–Roman periodOpen Oretano node with Mediterranean contacts.
‘Iberians’ brings together peoples and territories of the Mediterranean façade and south; not the whole peninsula was Iberian nor did a common state exist.
Documentation for every period
The map is interactive. The full chronology is also available below without using any controls.
ca. 1200–600 BCE · Final Bronze and Orientalising Horizon
Peninsular communities interacted with Phoenicians and Greeks before the consolidation of Iberian societies; Tartessos and colonies are not 'early Iberians'.
Origin · Eastern and southeastern communities connected to Mediterranean enclaves emerge before a defined Iberian culture.
- Eastern and southeastern antecedents · ca. 1200–600 BCE
Area of diverse local communities.
Probable - Mediterranean colonial contacts · 9th–6th centuries BCE
Contact corridor, not continuous Phoenician or Greek domination.
Probable
ca. 600–500 BCE · Formation of Iberian Societies
Oppida, necropolises and writings developed unevenly along the Mediterranean façade and the south; no common nation emerged.
Origin · Oppida, necropolises and writings delimit several formative Iberian areas along the coast and the south.
- Formative Iberian regions · ca. 600–500 BCE
Envelope of several cultural regions.
Probable
ca. 500–400 BCE · Regional Consolidation
Peoples such as the Indiketes, Edetani, Contestani, Bastetani and Oretani articulated their own territories; labels and boundaries are approximate.
Expansion · Formative areas structure themselves as territories of regional peoples, with approximate and overlapping boundaries.
- Regional Iberian territories · ca. 500–400 BCE
Regional mosaic, not a unitary state.
Probable
ca. 400–237 BCE · Urban Expansion and Networks
Cities, coinage, writing and workshops connected fields and ports; sharing repertoires did not erase linguistic and political differences.
Expansion · Cities, workshops and ports densify connections between those territories without creating a common Iberian authority.
- Iberian urban networks · ca. 400–237 BCE
Approximate cultural area with multiple centres.
Probable
237–206 BCE · Carthaginian Presence and the Second Punic War
Carthaginian and Roman armies and alliances altered the south and east; not every Iberian community came under the same control nor adopted the same side.
Absorption · The Carthaginian sphere covers much of the south and east, while the northeast is subject to variable campaigns and alliances.
- Peninsular Carthaginian sphere · 237–206 BCE
Approximate military and diplomatic zone.
Probable - Disputed northeast · 218–206 BCE
Shifting alliances and campaigns during the war.
Probable
206–133 BCE · Uneven Roman Conquest
Rome incorporated territories through war, treaties and taxation; chronologies differ between coast, interior and south.
Contraction and absorption · After the Carthaginian defeat, Rome extends its hegemony over coast and interior through annexions, pacts and unequal wars.
- Regions under Roman hegemony · 206–133 BCE
Envelope of progressive conquest, not simultaneous annexation.
Probable
2nd–1st centuries BCE · Provincial Integration
Cities, workshops, languages and cults changed within Hispania; 'Romanisation' does not describe a sudden disappearance of inhabitants or trades.
Absorption · Conquered areas are integrated into Roman provinces, with local persistences and gradual changes.
- Provincial Mediterranean façade · 2nd–1st centuries BCE
Area under Roman provincial structures with local persistences.
Probable
Documented places
- Ullastret · 6th–2nd centuries BCE
Major centre of the northeast and Indiketa landscape.
- Edeta/Llíria · 5th–2nd centuries BCE
Edetan city and territory; painted scene vases.
- Bastida de les Alcusses · 4th century BCE
Fortified settlement, houses and destruction.
- Basti/Baza · 4th–2nd centuries BCE
Necropolis and Lady of Baza.
- Cástulo · 1st millennium BCE–Roman period
Open Oretano node with Mediterranean contacts.
Routes and contacts
- Documented historical connection
- Documented historical connection
- Documented historical connection
- Documented historical connection
‘Iberians’ brings together peoples and territories of the Mediterranean façade and south; not the whole peninsula was Iberian nor did a common state exist.
Sources and references
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