Lastigi Explained

Lastigi should not be confused with Astigi.

Lastigi was an ancient Tartessian city in southern Spain, settled by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It is mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History as lying on the Menoba River (Guadiamar) near the towns of Laelia and Olontigi. He mentions it again as a town in the Celtic region, whose boundaries are not clear, but may extend from Málaga to the Guadiana. Its exact location has been debated by historians since the 19th century. The following sites have been proposed, in chronological order:

• Zahara de la Sierra, in the Sierra de Grazalema, Province of Cádiz; proposed by Rodrigo Caro,^[1] on the basis of Pliny's second mention of the town in the same list as Arunda (Ronda), Acinipo, etc. However, the same list includes Aruci and Turobriga, near Portugal.
• Castuera, Badajoz; proposed by Miguel Cortés y López,^[2] on the basis of Pliny's second list, despite its broad range.
• On the Guadiamar, near Aznalcóllar; proposed by Antonio Delgado, who suggested downstream sites for Laelia (Cortijo de la Pisana or Pizana) and Olontigi (Aznalcázar).^[3]
• The coast of Huelva; proposed by Francisco Mateos Gago.^[4]
• Dehesa de Crespín (or Crispín), west of the confluence of the Agrio and Guadiamar rivers, between Aznalcóllar and Olivares; proposed by historian Juan Cuveiro Piñol,^[5] on the basis of Pliny's first mention of the Menoba river.
• Cerro de la Cabeza, near Olivares, proposed by numismatic researcher Leandre Villaronga,^[6] but this site most likely corresponds to Laelia.^{[7] [8]}
• Los Merineros, near Aznalcóllar; the latest proposal.^[9]

The idea that Pliny might have referred to two towns with the same name is generally rejected. Numismatic evidence places Lastigi near Laelia and Olontigi and rejects the hypotheses of Zahara and Castuera. The ore-rich area around Aznalcóllar and the navigability of the Guadiamar support the notion that these cities lie in this region along the river.

Notes and References

1. Book: Caro . Rodrigo . Antigüedades, y principado de la ilustrissima ciudad de Sevilla: y chorographia de su convento jurídico, o antigua chancillería . 1634 . Seville, Spain . 978-84-300-8296-4 . 185 . es.
2. Book: Cortés y Lopéz . Miguel . Diccionario geografico-historico de la España Antigua Tarraconense, Betica y Lusitana: con la correspondencia de sus regiones, ciuades, montes, rios, caminos, puertos e islas a las conocidas en nuestros dias . 1835 . Imprenta Real . Madrid, Spain . 260 . es.
3. Book: Delgado . Antonio . Nuevo método de clasificación de las medallas autónomas de España . 1871 . J. R. Cayón . 978-84-400-9306-6 . 239 . https://books.google.com/books?id=Fzo2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA239 . es . Olontigi.
4. Book: Mateos Gago . Francisco . Delgado . Antonio . Nuevo método de clasificación de las medallas autónomas de España . 1871 . J. R. Cayón . 978-84-400-9306-6 . 178 . https://books.google.com/books?id=Fzo2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA178 . es . Lastigi.
5. Book: Piñol . Juan Cuveiro . Iberia protohistórica y rectificaciones de algunos hechos históricos . 1891 . Valladolid, Spain . en.
6. Book: Villaronga . Leandre . Corpus nummum Hispaniae ante Augusti aetatem . 1994 . Madrid, Spain . 380 . es.
7. Book: Rufino . Antonio Caballos . Carrasco . José Luis Escacena . Tristán . Francisca Chaves . Arqueología en Laelia, Cerro de la Cabeza, Olivares, Sevilla: campaña de excavación de 1981 . 2005 . Universidad de Sevilla . 978-84-472-0812-8 . 43–56 . es . Identificación toponínima del Cerro de la Cabeza.
8. Book: Ortiz de Urbina . Estíbaliz . Teoría y práctica del ordenamiento municipal en Hispania: actas del Symposium de Vitoria-Gasteiz (22 a 24 de Noviembre de 1993) . 1996 . Universidad del País Vasco . 978-84-7585-856-2 . 205 . es.
9. Book: de Hoz . Javier . Historia lingüística de la Península Ibérica en la Antigüedad: Preliminares y mundo meridional prerromano . 2010 . Editorial CSIC . 978-84-00-09276-4 . 325 . es.