Sculptural group of Cerrillo Blanco (Porcuna, Jaén, Spain)

The sculptural group of Cerrillo Blanco was found in 1975 in the municipality of Porcuna (Jaén). Such group constitutes nowadays the most important Iberian sculptural set known to date. It is composed of over forty pieces that represent heroic fights of men against men or between men and animals, hunting scenes, images of fantastic animals or important personalities. The sculptures, which date from the mid-5th century B.C. (440-400 B.C.), were carefully buried in the limits of a tumulus from the 7th century B.C. This structure of 19 m in diameter was delimited by stone slabs and it was found in a very poor state of conservation. The interior of the tumulus had a total of 24 pit graves and a polygonal chamber. All tombs followed the inhumation rite and were individual, except the chamber, which had a double burial and created a particular space that ordered the internal space of the tumulus around it. In the mid-5th century B.C., the funerary space of the tumulus was recovered to carefully bury the ruined set of sculptures that represented the history of the lineage. This is the starting point of an aristocratic lineage that was undoubtedly consummated in the model of the chamber (monument burial-couple association), giving rise to the structure of the hierarchical funerary landscape that would prevail as the dominant model. Therefore, this justifies the suggestion that the tumulus of Cerrillo Blanco was recovered as a place to erect this sculptural monument, whose creation was ordered by the ruling prince of Ipolca in the mid-5th century B.C. in memory of the ancestors of his lineage. Later on, the opposing lineage of the oppidum viciously destroyed the group when they surely dethroned the heir lineage of those buried in the tumulus. Thus, the sculptures represent the power of the family group of the oppidum of Obulco. The sculptures project, symbolise and create the space and time of the powerful: their new territory and their history. The carving of the sculptures of Porcuna could have been part of a coherent order conducted in a limited period of time, respecting a carving style and rules defined by the master sculptors who organised the job in the workshop. This monumental work required clients who took the initiative of ordering it, selecting the best sculptors and defining the message that they wanted to transmit to the divinity that they worshipped and surely thanked for her favours, as well as to the society that would contemplate it. The careful destruction of the monument, probably in the early 4th century B.C., when the memory of those who erected it was still present, was probably aimed at erasing the history that it represents. The faces were destroyed with special care. The final deposition of the remains in the sacred space of the necropolis shows the merciful practice of keeping their presence and favour their reunion under the protection of their ancestors. Currently, the sculptures from Cerrillo Blanco can be visited in the Provincial Museum of Jaén. The archeological site in Porcuna (Jaén) can also be visited, as it is one of the stops of the cultural route “Viaje al tiempo de los Íberos” (a journey to the time of the Iberians), whose purpose is to show the first-level Iberian remains of the province of Jaén. Bibliography: Chapa, T. (2015): "Los escultores del Cerrillo Blanco de Porcuna", en A. Ruiz y M. Molinos (coord.): Jaén, tierra ibera. 40 años de investigación y transferencia. Universidad de Jaén. Jaén Olmos, R. (2002): "Los grupos escultóricos del Cerrillo Blanco de Porcuna (Jaén). Un ensayo de lectura iconográfica convergente". Archivo Español de Arqueología, 75 107-122. Ruiz, A. y Molinos, M. (2015): "El conjunto escultórico de Cerrillo Blanco, Porcuna", en A. Ruiz y M. Molinos (Eds.): Jaén, tierra ibera 40 Años de investigación y transferencia. Universidad de Jaén. 67-84. Torrecillas, J. F. (1985): La necrópolis de época tartésica de Cerrillo Blanco. Instituto de Estudios Giennenses. Jaén.