When you enter Peraleda's square, if you carefully look up at the north façade of our church, you will end up finding a mysterious carved stone totally amiss in its surroundings. We don’t know where that stone came from or why it was placed there, but if we can find some truth in old legends, this stone comes, oh wonders, from the Temple of Solomon itself. It represents the Angel of Wisdom who, on speaking, flowers flow out of his holy mouth.
The sceptic may reply that Jewish people have no graven images, so that carved stone can’t be from the Temple. But that’s not quite so. In the Bible we are told how the Temple of Solomon had sculptures and bas-reliefs, especially cherubs, so this stone might well be one of those cherubs, or at least be inspired in them.
A connection between Peraleda and the old biblical Jerusalem may also sound quite preposterous, but again, it is not so. Actually, that connection did exist several millennia ago. We know that the Kingdom of David had commercial relations with Tarshish, across the Great Sea. That leads us to Tartessos, an old civilization at the end of the Mediterranean Sea, just across Gibraltar, in the south of Spain.
When Solomon was building the Temple the trading intensified, especially because of the need for gold. The ships would land on the Spanish coast in today’s Doñana National Park, and there they traded with the peoples in the north of Spain for gold. But gold was to be found not only in the most northern mountains, but also mid-way, in the gold sands of the Tagus river, according to reports from ancient Roman and Greek historians. That is why it comes to no surprise finding Tartessic little settlements in some parts of this northbound route, including by the highly strategic Alarza Ford, in Peraleda, where Tartessic artifacts have been found.
So it is quite possible that we have some kind of historical truth under this legend. Or maybe a lot of historical truth. It is possible, so you decide if it is also worth giving credit.
We don’t have an English version of this beautiful legend, but if you can understand some Spanish (or you have an online translator), you can try to read it here:
Leyenda de la Piedra de Salomón
The visitor who arrives in the square of Peraleda certainly has a challenge which is a must: searching for the Stone of Solomon. If you finally spot it, you can then pray a Pater Noster -yes, in Latin- for wisdom. You won’t leave the place without getting it, or at least increasing what you have. Or that’s what our ancestors would explain to us.
Location:
Escrito por Angel Castaño
