On Tuesday, May 20, starting at 7:30 p.m., you can enjoy the third lecture of the "13th Series: Rendezvous with Archaeology," entitled "The Archaeological Research Project at the Phoenician Site of Cerro del Villar (Málaga)" at El Corte Inglés Málaga.

The lecture will be given by José Suárez Padilla, director of the archaeological excavations at the Phoenician site of Cerro del Villar between 2022 and 2026. He is also a professor in the Department of Prehistory of the Department of Historical Sciences at the University of Málaga.

The Phoenician site of Cerro del Villar was discovered in 1964 by Juan Manuel Muñoz Gambero. Since then, archaeological excavations have been carried out intermittently, most notably those carried out by Professor María Eugenia Aubet and her team in the final decades of the last century. These works served to demonstrate the potential of this site for understanding the Phoenician presence in the southern Iberian Peninsula.

In recent years, a large international team of researchers led by the University of Malaga has resumed archaeological work at the site. The results of geophysical studies, which have provided a first comprehensive view of the settlement, and the documentation of various 7th-century BC buildings that are notable for their diverse nature and state of preservation, have been highlighted.

In addition, new horizons of occupation of the site between the Punic and Late Roman periods (5th BC–5th centuries AD) have been discovered. Without a doubt, the Cerro del Villar site is a benchmark for the study of the Phoenician presence in the Far West, and, in particular, for understanding the history of Malaga.

The event will be presented by M.ª Carmen Íñiguez Sánchez, coordinator of the series, archaeologist, CIS Arqueología, S.L.