Archaeological explorations of 1930 in the Tombs of "La Mata" (Campanario, Badajoz)

<p>Before systematic excavation made between 1990-2002, the building Protohistoric of "La Mata" (Campanario, Badajoz) was a great mound of land known in the area with the expressive name place "Montón de Tierra Grande", to differentiate it from "Montón de Tierra Chico," a funerary monument and located almost 1 km Southeast of the first one. Both mounds were explored in early 1930 by Virgilio Viniegra Vera and John White Gallardo. These actions, although known, were insufficiently valued in our study of "La Mata" published in 2004 because this documentation wasn’t known to us. Recently we recovered a number of articles and news in the newspapers Correo Extremeño and Sol, that allowed to us to know the details of these ancient excavations and their circumstances, explorers and patrons, its performance and expectations and interpretive paradigms used in the valuation of the disconcerting remains found. It provides historical and historiographical keys that contribute to have an idea of this well-known Post-Orientalizing site in Extremadura (VI-V centuries BC).