Is this the first look at a lost civilisation linked to Atlantis?

Archaeologists in Spain have discovered 2,500-year-old statues thought to resemble the faces of a prosperous but mysterious ancient society.

Five 5th-century BC stone busts were found at Casas del Turuñuelo, a historic monument in Guareña, southern Spain.

The site was built by the Tartessos – a civilization that settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula about 3,000 years ago.

But the Tartessos have inexplicably disappeared – and what they looked like has long been a matter of speculation.

Tartessos has been associated with Atlantis – a mythical ancient city said to have been destroyed and submerged in the Atlantic Ocean.

Researchers at the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) in Spain have said the busts are the first human representations of Tartessos.

Tartessos is known today for its great wealth and prosperity resulting from metalworking and trade in tin, gold and copper.

“This breaks the paradigm that the Tartessian was an aniconic culture, that is, a culture that had no figurative or anthropomorphic representation,” Sebastián Celestino, a researcher at Mérida’s Institute of Archeology, told me. El País.

‘Whether it was a craftsman from elsewhere or someone born in the area who mastered the techniques, it seems clear that they were sculpted here.

‘[It] says a lot about the level of sophistication of those who ordered such a thing.’

The discovery was made during the excavation of the eastern sector of the Casas del Turuñuelo site, where mass animal sacrifice, including horses, has already been documented.

A new photo of two of the busts shows them almost complete and match two female figures.

Both are depicted adorned with huge and elaborate earrings – probably typical pieces of Tartessos goldsmiths.

Casas del Turuñuelo, pictured from above, was built by the Tartessos – a historic civilization that settled the southern Iberian Peninsula about 3,000 years ago

The historic sacrifice of animals, including horses, is documented at the site (pictured)

“These types of earrings have been found at other sites from that time and region,” Esther Rodríguez, co-director of the site, told El País.

“So they are very well documented, but now we finally know how they were worn – the chain was used to attach it to the ear.”

It is thought that the two busts in the pictures depict women who were goddesses, while a third bust depicted a warrior.

The other two are not so well preserved, but they could also be some kind of deities; however, they may also all portray part of the Tartessos people.

“Researchers do not rule out that they are prominent figures in Tartessian society,” CSIC said in a rack.

They were probably originally all part of the same wall-mounted structure, and together they depicted some kind of story or narration.

The “extraordinary finding” represents a “profound paradigm shift” in Tartessos’ interpretation, CSIC added.

Casas del Turuñuelo was burned down – possibly deliberately by the Tartessos – and the Tartessos disappeared about 2500 years ago.

How and why this happened is a baffling mystery, and now Tartessos is sometimes cited as the source of the legend of Atlantis, the mythical city.

It is generally believed that the story of the world of Atlantis was first told 2,300 years ago by the Greek philosopher Plato, who invented it, but some history buffs insist that it actually existed.

One theory about where the lost civilization disappeared to is that it was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle.

Also known as the Devil’s Triangle, the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean became an urban legend after more than 50 ships and 20 planes disappeared in the area.

Another theory was that it was destroyed by a natural disaster such as massive flooding, an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

Others imagine that Tartessos was a contemporary of Atlantis, with which it may have traded.

Some of the locations people have guessed Atlantis was located in

For hundreds of years, people have tried to pinpoint an exact location for the mythical city of Atlantis.

Here are just some of the areas around the world where people have suggested Atlantis might be:

• The Black Sea
• The Greek Islands
• Mainland Greece
• Cyprus
• The Azores
• The Faroe Islands
• Malta
• Sardinia
• Antarctica
• The Bahamas
• The North Pole
• The Canary Islands
• Madeira
• Ireland

For hundreds of years, people have tried to pinpoint an exact location for the mythical city of Atlantis