whitish stones
Researchers describe Accra Leuka as a city with deep ties to the coast studied through more than 1,500 bibliographic references, nearly 300 archival documents, site plans, and photographs. The phrase interpreted is thought to mean a “white cloak” or a coastal sheen, with the idea that early sailors along the Alicante shore described the place as a region marked by pale, stone-like features. In that era, sailors from the south of the peninsula and chroniclers who had not read Diodorus often spoke of Accra Leuka as the notable location on this coast.
Despite extensive material, there has not been a comprehensive in-depth study of the city that preceded Lucentum. Manuel Olcina, a leading researcher for MARQ, has advanced a doctoral thesis that revisits the history of the Alicante site at Lucentum in Albufereta. The work traces the evolution of interpretations from Renaissance to present, including a toponymic review, the Latin name, and the pre-Roman archaeological analysis, while acknowledging that the certainty about identifying this city with Accra Leuka has required careful evidence. The project offers an archaeological framework that supports a Carthaginian context, though it leaves room for ongoing scholarly discussion.
The volumes of Olcina’s research summarize direct source analysis, translations of original Latin and Greek texts, and the assessment of historical motives behind Hamilcar Barca’s decision to establish a settlement at this strategic point in the Carthaginian plan. The Alicante site is seen as a nucleus in a broader Carthaginian communication network and coastal control strategy, with Tossal de Manises providing a strong vantage point over the nearby mountains and coast. Albufereta’s freshwater resources add to the logic of choosing this location in the broader context of southern Iberia and later, in the face of Roman power, the need to secure strategic sites for future conflicts.
Olcina’s research, which will be published by MARQ, embraces the possibility of renewed scholarly debate and acknowledges the risk of revisiting ideas once dismissed by traditional historiography. He frames the discussion as an opportunity to reassess the past with new evidence and analytical methods, inviting a robust exchange among historians and archaeologists alike.
Solveig Nordstrom case
Among the numerous investigations surrounding Tossal de Manises is the study of Swedish archaeologist Solveig Nordstrom, a notable Iberian culture researcher. According to available records, Lucentum managed to protect the construction site from being overtaken by bulldozers, a claim that contrasts with some later accounts of the site’s handling. Olcina’s documentation provides a different accreditation, underscoring the importance of corroborating sources and interpretations.
In 1955, provincial authorities attempted to acquire the site, which was then in private hands, but it was sold to another private owner who offered higher compensation. Although urban development plans initially did not intend to proceed until 1967, the private owners were pressured as urban interests and protection efforts intersected. A year later, in 1968, the Alicante City Council declared the area a protected zone as a Historical-Art Monument, and it was eventually expropriated and recovered by the state in 1973 after a period of private ownership. The MARQ researchers question whether salvation came solely from the Swedish archaeologist’s testimony, pointing to a sequence of contradictions and emphasizing that the site’s preservation involved multiple factors beyond any single account. The team notes that no documentation from the late 1950s to early 1960s shows imminent danger from construction; instead, the protection and eventual preservation emerged through a broader historical and administrative process.