In 552 CE, taking advantage of a civil war among the Visigoths, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justinian I sent forces to southern Spain.

What's fascinating about the place names in the Alpujarra is how they reflect the multiple eras of settlement - from pre-Roman through Roman, Visigothic, and Moorish periods.

There is no direct archaeological evidence of Phoenician colonies in the Alpujarra. However, the Phoenician influence likely reached the interior regions indirectly through trade networks.

The first written account of Polopos is from 1508. It is certain that the village existed before that time, but we can’t know for sure when the first settlement was established. We will discuss the prehistoric time of the Alpujarra and its people

On December 19, 1988, the last manual telephone switchboard in Spain, in Polopos, was closed. Magdalena Martin was the last operator.