1100 BC to 238 BC

Iberians, Celts and traders

Before Rome, Iberians lived along the east and south coasts and Celtic peoples in the centre and west, mixing into Celtiberians on the central plateau. Phoenicians founded Gadir, today's Cadiz, as a trading post, and Greeks founded Emporion in Catalonia around 575 BC. In the southwest a culture known as Tartessos grew rich on silver and copper.