Showcase ZERO. The Marquis of Cerralbo (1845–1922): Collector and Archaeologist

SHOWCASE ZERO, inaugurated in October 2017, is a space dedicated to displaying unique pieces and themes that complement and enrich the MAN’s permanent exhibition. These may be new acquisitions, commemorative exhibits, guest works or any other theme related to the museum’s collections and contents. The contents of this brand-new space are modified quarterly, offering all our visitors a chance to see something new every time.

Enrique Aguilera y Gamboa, whom we are honouring in 2022 on the centenary of his death, was a very learned man, tireless traveller and avid collector. A pioneer of archaeology in Spain, he helped to draft the 1911 Law on Excavations. The marquis is best known for fronting excavations in a little-studied region of Spain’s central plateau, namely the Upper Jalón basin (Guadalajara, Soria and part of Zaragoza), where he documented over one hundred archaeological sites, mostly Iron Age necropolises. Thanks to these discoveries, archaeologists began talking about Celtic traits in the pre-Roman cultures of the Iberian Peninsula.

This Showcase ZERO presents several representative pieces, along with photographs, from the collections which the marquis donated to the National Archaeological Museum.

Protohistory and Colonisations Department