Tolmo de Minateda, Archaeological site in Hellín, Albacete, Spain
Tolmo de Minateda is an archaeological park on a rocky hill featuring excavated remains from several historical periods positioned at a strategic crossroads. The site spans about 7 hectares and reveals settlement patterns from multiple eras of occupation.
The site was founded as the Roman municipality of Ilunum in 9 BC and later became a Visigothic episcopal center called Eio before passing under Islamic rule. This sequence shows how this strategically important location transformed significantly under different rulers and belief systems.
The three-nave basilica with its baptistery and cemetery contains graves from both Christian and Islamic periods, reflecting how different communities shared this sacred place. You can see how religious practices evolved as new groups arrived and left their own marks on the same location.
The site is accessible through guided tours and exhibitions at an interpretation center established after it became an archaeological park in 2011. It helps to allow plenty of time to walk the hillside and explore the different excavation areas spread across the grounds.
The entrance displays defensive structures from three distinct periods, each reflecting different construction techniques used by different occupiers. This layering of walls and fortifications is unusual and makes the transitions between rulers visually apparent to visitors.
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