4,000 Years of History in One Spanish Town
Whether you're a history buff, a curious traveller or just looking for something a little different this hidden gem in Totana is a must-see. So here we are at La Bastida in Totana. We have no idea what to expect because everything's in Spanish and our Spanish is rudimentary at best. Thank you Duo lingo. Yeah. We've got our hats, we've got our water,
we've got our walking shoes. And we've got the Sun. And we've got the Sun. So this place is apparently 4,200 years old, so I can't wait to see what's inside. Hi I'm Justine and I'm Darryl and we're the Breakaway Bravehearts, and today we're reviewing one of Spain's most fascinating historical hidden gems; the ancient site of La Bastida hidden away in the hills of Murcia.
Our video today is a little different too. We experience the tour completely in Spanish and because we'd like to show respect for the culture and the language we're going to give you the exact words of our guide with captions in English. This video is purely dedicated to Totana and we are going to walk you through what Pedro shared with us about the history of La Bastida and then finish with our usual social tourism review where we will look at the social good provided by the site, the economic benefit to the local community, how accessibility issues are dealt with, how relationships are built between locals and tourists, and of course the environmental impact. But first the history.
La Bastida was once one of the most powerful cities in Europe during the Bronze Age. Pedro took us through a tour of the daily life, the innovations, the culture of the people who lived here 4,200 years ago. I have to admit I was pretty surprised to learn that there was a hierarchy system so early in human life. I had always related that class system to capitalism and thought of that as a modern concept. But perhaps that's my modern concepts reinterpreting a Bronze Age life. I can never really fully understand. It is interesting to consider
how such assumptions about social life can be made based on fragmented evidence and random collections of artefacts. How these artefacts were discovered is an interesting story in itself Poor Rogelio made one of the most significant discoveries in European archaeology and didn't live to experience any credit for it. But luckily for us eventually some French speaking Belgians decided there might be something worth looking into here. Two brothers who were actually mining engineers started digging here and not only confirmed Rogelio's amazing find but ended up really investing themselves in the study of the Argaric people discovering other sites around the peninsula. The next interesting figure on the scene was Julio Martinez Santa Olalla who happily prepared a tour of the site for the then leader of the Nazi SS Heinrich Himmler.
He continued to work with the Nazis throughout World War II and he's known for getting involved in eugenics and racial studies that match up with what the Nazis were interested in. To be fair there's not a lot of evidence that shows how much he contributed to their research and historians still debate the details. But seeing as Wikipedia confidently asserts he was a Germanophile and a member of the Ahnenerbe, the Nazi group set to finance research activities on the existence and past of the Aryan race, I'm thinking his work might have been at least a little dodgy. But what is for sure certain, is a huge discovery that Rogelio originally made when he discovered that corpses were buried under housing. And it's not just the tombs that were interesting but what was inside them. [Music] So Pedro explains understanding what was going on those 4,000 years ago. It's not as simple as just
digging up some relics. The business of Archaeology is a long complicated process full of lab work, research, debate, and uncertainty. The unusual burial sites weren't the only significant discovery at La Bastida. Pedro told us that the wall that was unearthed here, taught us a lot about how warfare took place and the technology of the time. The wall at La Bastida is really unique because it shows an advanced level of military design you wouldn't expect from a Bronze Age site in Europe.
In fact its construction is more like what you'd see in places like the Eastern Mediterranean or the Middle East. [Pedro shares his insights] It was built with huge stone blocks and even had towers. At 2 m thick, it was clearly designed to withstand serious attacks. The way it was built suggests the people at La Bastida had contact with more advanced civilisations, like the Mycaennians or Minoans.
It's a sign that La Bastida wasn't isolated. It was part of a broader network of trade and cultural exchange. Pedro's tour goes into a lot of detail around the lifestyle, culture of the Agaric people, but we're not going to show you the whole tour today. If you're in the Murcia region, we really recommend you take the detour and give it a go yourself. Pedro tells us there are English tours available, it's just somewhat limited. We've popped a link to the website in the description, so you can check it out for yourself.
But before we move on to our social tourism review, we'd like to show you the replica house at La Bastida. It really gave a great insight into daily life in the Bronze Age. It's a bit odd that they didn't think to just shut the door. Maybe it implies a different kind
of relationship with domesticated animals. Maybe cows were more like house pets? That's a mighty big litter bin to clear out. Of course we didn't get a chance to ask such questions to Pedro as our Spanish wasn't strong enough, but honestly this didn't dampen our interest, nor our enjoyment of the day. From a social tourism perspective, this tour earned a lot of points on our review. Social good. The information provided on the tour is extensive and certainly gave us insight into the the history of the human society. Pedro was open to questions from the Spanish speaking guests.
But like any historical site not all knowledge is represented as the primary focus is on the Argaric civilisation. To get a better understanding of how these people influenced later Spanish history, check out our video of our historic tour of Lorca Castle just 15 km down the road. If you're interested in this, check out our video walkthrough of Lorca castle where we talk you through the complex mix of Spanish cultural heritage throughout the centuries. La Bastida is definitely one of Spain's lesser known destinations and that's part of its charm. It's off the beaten path
so you're not dealing with huge crowds like at other historical sites. We weren't able to ask directly about volunteer opportunities, but our research shows us that there are chances for visitors to get involved with conservation efforts. It's a great way to help preserve this historical site. Treasury. Like many archaeological sites
La Bastida is supported by a combination of government grants, public funding, and academic institutions. Spanish cultural heritage organisations are heavily involved and there's collaboration with local universities to ensure the site is both researched and preserved. Some private donations also come into play, particularly for ongoing excavations and restoration efforts. The profits from the tours and the activities go right back into the preservation of La Bastida. La Bastida actively hires from the local community.
Many of the guides are from Totana itself, which is great because they bring a local perspective to the history. As far as workers rights go, the site operates under Spanish labour and anti-discrimination laws which provide strong protections for workers. From what we've researched La Bastida has never had any breaches of Fair Employment Practices.
There are training opportunities for the local community, particularly for youth and disadvantaged groups and the site offers internships and education opportunities. So it's not just about preserving the past, it's about investing in the future. La Bastida operates with full transparency in terms of tax contributions. Accessibility. The site did not look wheelchair friendly while the paths are wide, they aren't paved and we were glad to have our walking boots with us. So at the time we were there, there was a a family that was asked to leave their stroller behind, so this kind of suggests that it's not really wheelchair or mobility friendly.
They had to carry their baby! Pedro did not wear a microphone other than our mic, which he very kindly popped on his T-shirt for us. So those with hearing impairments would need to consider this. We didn't note braille on any of the signs. There were some English translations on the signage, but actually this was not so useful because Pedro often stood in front of the sign. So we couldn't read it while he was talking and then he moved directly on to the next place, meaning we needed to keep up. And we didn't get a chance to read,
but we did have time to take photos of the signage to read later. One thing to note is that internet accessibility was pretty much nonexistent to us at the time of the tour, so this meant we couldn't use Google Translate to translate in real time. Spain has some of the most progressive laws when it comes to LGBTQ plus and the country as a whole is known for being welcoming and inclusive. Totana is a lovely open-minded community and you shouldn't have any problems here.
It is mentioned beforehand that you should bring your own food and drink, as there are no cafes or vending machines at the site, so visitors are asked to bring their own water as there is a lot of walking in the heat. Staying hydrated! It's a very good idea. Went down the wrong way. [Cough] Actually did! I don't want to find any more bones here, babe! Relationships.
So was La Bastida of fun? Absolutely. If you love history, archaeology or simply exploring something unique, you'll have a great time here. It's amazing to walk through the ruins and get a feeling what it was like in those times. Pedro was great, very welcoming, and approachable. Kindly popping on our mic and letting us record him. As for value for money, absolutely. This was one of the cheaper tourist experiences
we've had in Spain. The ticket prices are low considering the depth of information you get from the tour itself. You're not just walking through a bunch of old rocks here, you're getting a real sense of the way the civilisation, this ancient civilisation was, so it was 100% on what was promised here! Sustainability.
While La Bastida isn't necessarily marketed as green site, there are definitely some steps being taken towards sustainability. La Bastida generally complies with Spain's sustainable tourism principles by focusing on cultural preservation, eco-friendly practices, and local community support. Though there's always room for more visible efforts. The site is a bit tricky to get to and we didn't see any viable public transport. We carefully negotiated the windy roads in our motorhome, but not all roads were accessible to us.
So we recommend if you're driving yourself to check with Google Maps and use the "terrain or satellite" mode so you can see the quality of the roads before you get there. We also didn't note any specific options re waste disposal, and as there is no cafe or shop, we encourage visitors to take away whatever they bring. One of the great things about La Bastida is that this is a low impact site. It's a positive example of how tourism
can actually help raise awareness and protect important archaeological sites without damaging the natural surroundings. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more historical tours and social tourism reviews. Next we're in Cartagena, where we learned about the Roman presence in Spain. We visited three key sites, which each gave us a different perspective on the city and its development. You won't want to miss that! We hope you'll join us there. Until then.
Happy travels everyone
2024-10-27 12:00
