A 2,500-Year-Old Solar Temple Emerges Near Hodar: When the Winter Solstice Becomes a Cosmic Rite
Archaeologists from the Institute of Iberian Archaeology at the University of Jaén announced the discovery of a monumental stone complex near Hodar, in Andalusia, Spain. The monument, published in the journal Complutum, dates to the 5th–4th centuries BCE and appears to be a temple of cosmology rather than a dwelling. The researchers describe a site whose centerpiece is a massive stone rising more than five meters tall, oriented toward the winter solstice sunrise. On the shortest day of the year, sunlight pierces the stone’s apex and travels toward a nearby rock shelter, signaling a cosmic ceremony rather than everyday use.
In This Article:
The Monument’s Central Stone: A Solar Icon
The principal element is a block taller than five meters. Its elongated form and alignment with the solstice sunrise suggest a deliberate symbol of a male principle. The researchers note that the solstice sun’s ray, on the shortest day, hits the stone’s apex and projects toward a nearby rock shelter, forming a purposeful path between stone and sanctuary. This arrangement strongly points to a cosmological function rather than a residential one.
The Cave, the V-Shaped Gate, and the Female Symbol
Nearby, a seven-meter-high cave entrance features a V-shaped opening that archaeologists interpret as a symbol of female nature. A large boulder above the entrance resembles fallopian tubes, while side stones at the base emphasize bodily form. At solstice, the shadow from the male stone reaches the shelter, where a carving resembles a vulva. Experts describe this sequence as a reenactment of a sacred union—hierogamy—between a solar hero and a fertility goddess.
A Mediterranean Thread: Ritual Imagery Across the Sea
Archaeologist Arturo Ruiz notes that similar scenes recur in Mediterranean religious narratives—from Egypt to Greece. For the Iberians, these images were not abstract; they were carved in stone, tightly bound to the movements of celestial bodies and enacted in ritual spaces. The Hodar complex is linked to broader Iberian ritual patterns and echoes myths of a sun deity’s descent into the underworld in autumn and his rebirth by December, a motif echoed at other Andalusian sites such as Ilti-rak and Puente-Tablas.
Implications: Before Urban Life, a Sky-Aligned Temple in the Iberian World
Scholars date the Hodar complex to the 5th–4th centuries BCE, predating the first major settlements in the region. The discovery shows how Iberian religion encoded cosmology and ritual in monumental stone aligned to celestial movements, long before urban life took hold. Similar solar myths appear across Andalusia, suggesting a shared symbolic language rooted in the sky. The finding, published in Complutum, invites a reevaluation of Iberian ritual life and its connections to the wider ancient world.
