The Southwest Script
The Almodôvar municipality holds the trail of the oldest writing in the Iberian Peninsula: the Southwest Script, carved on stone stelae between the 8th and 5th centuries BC and still undeciphered today. One of those stelae was found at Mesas do Castelinho, a stone's throw from Santa Clara-a-Nova.
A script no one can read
The oldest writing system in the Iberian Peninsula
The Southwest Script (Escrita do Sudoeste), also known as the Tartessian script, is considered the oldest writing system in the Iberian Peninsula. It dates from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC and remains undeciphered to this day, one of the great mysteries of European archaeology.
The known remains are found mostly on stone stelae discovered in southern Portugal and southwestern Spain. They are believed to be funerary stelae, gravestones marking burials. But until the signs are deciphered, no one knows for certain what they say.
The Mesas do Castelinho stela
Found on 5 September 2008
On 5 September 2008, archaeologists found a stela bearing the Southwest Script at Mesas do Castelinho. It turned up in the Roman-era quarter of the site, a detail that intrigues researchers: the script is far older than the Roman presence.
It is one of the most valuable finds from the archaeological site and directly links Santa Clara-a-Nova to this mysterious chapter in the history of writing in the Iberian Peninsula.
MESA: Museum of the Southwest Script
The reference museum, in Almodôvar
The reference museum for this script is in Almodôvar, about 15 km from Santa Clara-a-Nova. Housed in the town's former Cine-Teatro on Rua do Relógio, MESA presents a collection spanning 2,500 years of the history of writing in this territory. According to the museum, it brings together 16 of the roughly 90 epigraphed stelae known in the Iberian Peninsula.
MESA offers guided visits, a shop and access for people with reduced mobility.
| Address | Rua do Relógio, 7700-065 Almodôvar |
| Opening hours | Daily, 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00 (except public holidays) |
| Phone | +351 286 665 357 |
| mesa@cm-almodovar.pt | |
| Services | Guided visits, shop, reduced-mobility access |
The terracotta head, between two worlds
MESA also displays a terracotta human head found at Mesas do Castelinho, from an Iron Age context. It blends Mediterranean iconography (a bald head and shaved face) with round frontal eyes in the Celtic style: a small clay face that bears witness to the crossing of cultures in this territory.
In short
- ◆Considered the oldest writing in the Iberian Peninsula (8th to 5th centuries BC)
- ◆Remains undeciphered to this day
- ◆The stelae are believed to be funerary
- ◆Found in southern Portugal and southwestern Spain
- ◆At Mesas do Castelinho, a stela was discovered on 5 September 2008, in the Roman-era quarter
- ◆According to the museum, MESA holds 16 of the roughly 90 epigraphed stelae known in the Iberian Peninsula
The Lizard-Man Legend
The other mystery of Mesas do Castelinho: an enchanted house, a treasure and a guardian half man, half lizard.
Read the legend