A Malaga town with its own fertility idol

Like many other small towns in the northern part of Malaga province Almargen is the perfect place for people looking for peace and quiet or outdooe activity. Local waters contain high levels of iodine, useful for the treatment of skin conditions and for the digestive system. A visit to the local museum also appears to be beneficial for some too.

Almargen dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic period, when, more than 30,000 years ago, small nomadic groups travelled through this gentle terrain rich in freshwater springs.

Since then, Almargen has lived through the different cultures that have existed in the south of Spain. These left behind vestiges of incalculable archaeological value such as the inscribed stone known as the Estela del Guerrero (Warrior's Stele) or a copy of a Tartessian sword, today an essential part of the town's heritage.

They can be found in the municipal museum - Museo Municipal de Almargen.

Without a doubt, the star piece of the museum's collection is the idol of Almargen, known as the Ídolo de la Fertilidad (Idol of Fertility). This is a piece of prehistoric religious imagery from the south of the Iberian Peninsula dated between 2,500 and 1,500 BC.

In the early 90s this historical treasure was an ornament in the garden of a local resident who had found it buried in the courtyard of his house and varnished it himself. Thirty years ago he mentioned the ithyphallic marble find in a conversation with the then councillor for culture, and soon experts from the University of Malaga confirmed that the piece was about 5,000 years old and a fertility idol.

Popularly known as the "marble phallus", the ancient sculpture is impressive, not just due to its size - it is 50cm high and weighs 33kg - but also due to the skill of the artist. The figure is carved in perfectly polished white marble. It has an ovoid shape, noticeably elongated, like a phallus, with a face on one side and a bulge in the shape of a pregnant woman. The phallus represents masculinity, while the pregnant woman depicts femininity. It is believed this sculpture was a piece of vital importance to the ancient community.

Besides its archaeological value, the sculpture is still believed to have fertility powers. Popular legend states that the idol helps women who touch it to conceive.

Unsurprisingly, over the last three decades, this small town with fewer than two thousand inhabitants has attracted thousands of visitors who want to be part of the legend that surrounds this fertility idol. Many of them are women having problems getting pregnant.

“Yes, indeed, we receive many visits from women who wish to conceive a child and it is curious to see how, almost five millennia later, people continue to trust in the 'magic' of this phallic amulet, just as our ancestors did. Proof of this are the guest books in the museum, with hundreds of testimonies,” the person in charge of the museum, Trinidad Ángel Sobrino, told SUR in English.

According to the statistics, the municipal museum of Almargen has received thousands of visitors, and 90 per cent of them touched the idol.

“Most of our visitors are from Andalucía, but we also see people from other parts of Spain, such as Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque Country. German, French and British visitors have also come to our museum. Occasionally we have received people from Iceland, Belarus, Senegal, Chile, among others,” Trinidad Ángel stressed.

Visitors' testimonies are written down in the ten or so guest books that the town council and the museum have kept with satisfaction over the decades.

Many state that they became parents after their visit to Almargen, when they had been trying for a long time to conceive. It is reported that the boom was in 2015, when over several months some 282 couples came to touch the phallus; twenty couples confirmed that finally they were going to be parents after almost losing hope. The museum keeps messages from the couples who return to Almargen with their children to give thanks.

The municipal museum of Almargen is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 2pm. The first full weekend of each month the museum is closed. Guided tours are in Spanish, although there are information panels in the museum translated into English. Admission: adults - 3 euros, children - 2.50 euros, concessions - 2 euros.