Today, this forms the bell tower of the church, which was constructed in 1560, during the pontificate of Antonio Carrionero. The church was built around an old tower, with the shield of the Emperor Charles V on its façade. During the Byzantine Empire, when Byzantium ruled from the next city of Carthago Spartaria, the area suffered invasions, some from North Africa.įrom 1950, and supported by the National Institute of Colonization, practically non-existent localities began to be developed, such as Campohermoso or San Isidro, thanks to the agrarian development that the province of Almería experienced at the time the first greenhouse constructions began in the Campo de Níjar. In the first stages of the Roman domination, the main interests in Níjar were the gold of Rodalquilar, the salt marshes and the fishing opportunities. There is an abundance of remains from this period, including hydraulic constructions, roads and burial sites. Publio Cornelio Escipión initiated the conquest of Hispania from Ampurias in 218 BC, which explains how Roman culture came to the Iberian Peninsula. The accessibility of the Mediterranean port of the Cabo de Gata area encouraged Phoenician occupation around the sixth and eighth centuries BC. Also noteworthy is the formation of large rocks and volcanic lava flows on the coast of Níjar, especially in the Ensenada de Monsul and the surroundings of the Natural Park.
![ninja village in the trees ninja village in the trees](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hCVh5DaIvRE/maxresdefault.jpg)
In the district of Barranquete there is a necropolis dating from 2330 BC with 11 burials in excavated Tholos. During the final Neolithic period, and in the Copper Age, collective settlements took place, which could be framed within the culture of Los Millares, whilst Bronze Age settlements would be linked to that of El Argar. Stone figures found in the area of Los Escullos indicate that human presence in Níjar dates as far back as the Mesolithic period, some 10,000 years ago.