Protohistory

Historiography of the Hispano-Celtic collections at the National Archaeological Museum

Estimated timeframe: 2020–2030

Lead researcher: Susana de Luis Mariño

Reviewing accession documents, dig reports and old inventories related to the Hispano-Celtic pieces in the MAN’s Protohistory and Colonisations Department can provide a deeper knowledge of its collections and associated archaeological sites. Housing artefacts from more than 100 Hispano-Celtic sites, this department studies the historiography of pieces whose scientific perception has changed considerably since the 19th century.

Archaeology of Soundscapes

Estimated period of implementation: 2023-2027

Managers: Susana De Luis Mariño (Departamento de Protohistoria), Ruth Maicas (Departamento de Prehistoria), Departamento de Difusión.

Collaborators: Dra. Raquel Jimenez Pasalodos (Universidad de Valladolid). Músicos: Abraham Cupeiro y Xulia Feixoo

Sound is one of our sources of perception, making its importance universal and timeless. We cannot pinpoint when and how music arose, but archaeological remains show that it has been with us since our most distant past, for at least as long as we have been called sapiens.

Through the analysis of both surviving pieces and their archaeological context, and with the help of ethnoarchaeology, experimental archaeology, iconographic sources and, when possible, written sources, we approach the soundscapes of Prehistory and Protohistory, times when music and sound formed part of the daily and ritual life of society.

Study of Iron Age fibulae at the National Archaeological Museum

Estimated timeframe: 2020–2026

Lead researcher: Susana de Luis Mariño

The aim is to compile an exhaustive catalogue of the approximately 4,000 Iron Age fibulae in the MAN collection. This study will contextualise the typology and chronology of these pieces, as well as their provenance and mode of entry in the museum. The resulting corpus will allow us to update the catalogue of these fibulae and make them available to researchers.

Research on the conservation of the silver pieces in the display cases of the Protohistoric rooms of the MAN

Estimated timeframe: 2022-2025

Managers: Alicia Rodero (Departamento de Protohistoria y Colonizaciones) y Nayra García-Patrón (Departamento de Conservación).

Collaborator: CENIM (CSIC)

Since the opening of the museum in 2014, the silver objects in the permanent exhibition rooms have undergone several interventions, as we have found that their alteration occurs very rapidly.

In response to this issue, we have launched this internal project, whose objectives include:

• Systematic review of the alterations experienced by exposed silver.
• Analysis of surface composition via x-ray flourescence.
• Application of protective coatings to cleaned parts and study of their short- and medium-term effects.
• Assessment of cleaning frequency based on previous studies.

The first phase of the project, with the collaboration of CENIM-CSIC, will involve the characterisation of the environment in different displays and rooms, making it possible to identify chemical compounds that may be affecting the pieces. In a second phase, we plan to study the behaviour and effectiveness of protective systems and their different forms of application in order to select the most effective ones.

Updated information on iconic archaeological sites and their artefacts

Estimated timeframe: 2020–2025

Lead researchers: Alicia Rodero Riaza, Susana de Luis Mariño and Esperanza Manso Martín

Continuing this project, begun in 2007 when the overhaul of the MAN’s permanent exhibition commenced, we are constantly updating information on the archaeological artefacts in the Protohistory and Colonisations Department. These updates reflect the latest information revealed by new excavations at the sites from which these collections came, as well as the results of research done on the pieces.

Protohistoric fashion and weaving

Estimated timeframe: 2020–2025

Lead researcher: Alicia Rodero Riaza, Susana de Luis Mariño and Esperanza Manso Martín

In connection with the workshop-tours “When I Grow Up, I Want To Be... A Weaver”, this research project focuses on the weaving of protohistoric peoples from a scientific perspective that includes experimental archaeology, a field in which we have the expert assistance of Elena Aznar Medina. Studying textile pieces in this way provides a deeper understanding of this productive activity performed primarily by women, complemented with research into the practical, symbolic and identity-related significance of the clothing worn by pre-Roman peoples.

Seizures of cultural property during the Spanish Civil War and the post-war period. National Archaeological Museum. Heiss Collection

Estimated timeframe: 2023-2024

Lead researchers: Alicia Rodero, Esperanza Manso y Susana de Luis Mariño

The Department is working on updating the information about the objects belonging to the Heiss collection so that they can be viewed online.

In 1934, Charles Walter Heiss offered to sell his collection, consisting mainly of pieces from the 2nd Iron Age, to the State. This sale did not take place, possibly because of the outbreak of civil war.

Subsequently, two batches of pieces delivered in 1941 by the Servicio de Recuperación del Patrimonio Artístico Nacional (National Artistic Heritage Recovery Service) and in 1942 by the Comisaría General del Patrimonio Artístico Nacional (Comissariat-General for National Artistic Heritage), consisting mainly of Iberian ceramics from Archena, fibulae and votive offerings from various sources, were placed in the Museum's collections.

Technological and symbolic study of Miraveche-Monte Bernorio daggers

Estimated timeframe: 2021–2024

Project leader: Susana de Luis Mariño

Participants: Bárbara Culubret Worms, Margarita Arroyo Macarro (Conservation Department)

Daggers of the Miraveche-Monte Bernorio type, consisting of dagger, sheath and baldric, are almost exclusively limited to the northern central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula and were produced between the fifth and third centuries BC. These pieces, nearly fifty of which have been found to date, have been extensively studied from a territorial, chronological, typological and symbolic perspective. However, technological studies are rarer, despite the fact that these pieces are a paradigmatic example of specialised polymetallic weapons technology in the Iron Age.

This particular study focuses on the pieces held at the MAN, which will be thoroughly documented and analysed by different methods (binocular microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray) to obtain information about their metal composition and structure with the aim of reconstructing their chaîne opératoire, learning more about their social aspects, and determining applicable conservation strategies. To this end, we have enlisted the aid of independent researcher Dr Marc Gener-Moret (CENIM-CSIC) and are working in cooperation with the Protohistory and Colonisations Department (v2. Conservation Department).

New study of the collection of artefacts from Toya, Jaén

Estimated timeframe: 2020–2024

Lead researcher: Esperanza Manso Martín

On this occasion, our subject will be one of the oldest and largest collections of Iberian artefacts housed at the MAN. The study will draw on both archival and graphic documentation to determine the precise geographical affiliation of these materials, the moment they entered the museum and the collection to which they belong.

Revising and updating the catalogue and documentation of artefacts from the Iberian necropolis of Galera, retrieved during excavations conducted by Juan Cabré and Federico de Motos in 1918

Estimated timeframe: 2019–2022

Lead researcher: Esperanza Manso Martín

In the same vein as the study of the Motos collection artefacts, this project will focus on locating pieces that are currently catalogued in collections other than that of the Galera necropolis and attempt to complete the register of grave goods. It will also review the records of the Museo Cerralbo and the General State Archives to determine exactly when the items from this excavation entered the MAN.

Online visibility of the collection of Iberian votive offerings

Estimated timeframe: 2018–2021

Lead researcher: Alicia Rodero Riaza

Thanks to new photographic campaigns, the detailed analysis of each set of votive offerings held at the museum (provenance, source and accession date), and the inestimable assistance of the Catalogo de los Exvotos de Bronce Ibéricos (Museo Arqueologico Nacional) written by Francisco Álvarez-Ossorio (Madrid: Hauser y Menet, 1941), we are creating a new catalogue that is gradually being uploaded to the Ceres database to ensure its online visibility.

Study and update of the set of sculptures from the shrine of Cerro de los Santos

Estimated timeframe: 2018–2019

Lead researcher: Alicia Rodero Riaza

We have been conducting a detailed investigation of these sculptures since 2018 in collaboration with Teresa Chapa and Jorge García Cardiel. We also did a historiographical analysis of the set's different accessions, acquisitions, donations, etc., attempting to clarify a situation complicated by the period in which they occurred, the late 19th century.

All the results were compiled in a recently published volume: Sebastián F. Ramallo Asensio and Francisco Brotóns Yagüe (eds.), Rubí Sanz Gamo, Teresa Chapa Brunet, Jorge García Cardiel, Alicia Rodero Riaza, Catálogo de escultura del Cerro de los Santos, Montealegre del Castillo, Albacete (Murcia: Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia, 2019).

Study of artefacts retrieved from the Iberian necropolis of Galera, Granada, by Federico de Motos during the 1917 dig campaign

Timeframe: 2016–2018

Lead researcher: Esperanza Manso Martín

This project was divided into two parts. In the first, we reviewed the items from the graves excavated by Federico de Motos in 1917. The goal was to locate the Galera artefacts that had been mistakenly catalogued as pertaining to other sites, mainly Toya. For this study, we consulted the dig report, MAN and Museo Cerralbo archives, the IPCE Photographic Archive and the graphic information provided by many of the pieces, thanks to which we were able to complete the grave goods to a large extent.

The results of this study were published in Manso Martín, E., “Reordenando colecciones: los materiales de Galera de la colección de Federico de Motos en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional", Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional 38 (2019), 45–70.

Study of ceramic materials catalogued under the “Elche-Archena” provenance

Timeframe: 2015–2016

Lead researcher: Esperanza Manso Martín

This study focused on materials whose provenance has been identified as Elche, Archena or Elche-Archena since they entered the museum. The goal was to determine the correct geographical provenance of each piece and the original collection with which they entered the National Archaeological Museum.

The results of this study were published in Manso Martín, E., “Entre colecciones: organizando e investigando las cerámicas de Elche-Archena", Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional 36 (2017), 145–168.

Updating information on iconic archaeological sites and their artefacts

Estimated timeframe: 2007–2015

Lead researchers: Alicia Rodero Riaza, Magdalena Barril Vicente and Esperanza Manso Martín

Part of the regular work of a scientific department at a museum is keeping up with the latest information revealed by new excavations and revising materials and contexts that affect the artefacts in the museum’s keeping and the archaeological sites where they were found. The overhaul of the MAN’s permanent exhibition, begun in 2007, made it even more necessary to update and research the pieces in order to improve their presentation in gallery display cases.

Identification, function and technology of pre-Roman iron tools

Estimated timeframe: 2007–2015

Lead researcher: Magdalena Barril Vicente

Iron tools from pre-Roman archaeological sites are a valuable source of information that allow us to deduce the economic resources and social relations of the peoples who used them. Unfortunately, the condition of these objects is often quite unstable, making them hard to identify and interpret. This project aimed to extract data from comparative studies of archaeological and ethnological items in order to make that information available to scholars and explain the production activities and economic resources of pre-Roman peoples to visitors.

Revision of the pre-Roman gold collections at the National Archaeological Museum

Estimated timeframe: 2007–2015

Lead researcher: Magdalena Barril Vicente

Since the 19th century, the MAN’s gold collections have been a reference for typological studies of these pieces, long coveted by treasure hunters. Regrettably, in most cases we do not know the exact circumstances of their discovery, making it hard to determine their original context; it is only recently that, thanks to analyses, unpublished archival information and comparison with pieces found at correctly excavated sites, we have we been able to narrow down contexts, dates and techniques.

Historiography of the pre-Roman Celtic collections at the National Archaeological Museum

Estimated timeframe: 2006–2015

Lead researcher: Magdalena Barril Vicente

By examining the accession documents of artefacts in the museum's Celtic collections and the vicissitudes of their discovery, excavation and social impact, we can learn more about the contexts of these finds, thereby enhancing the pieces’ cultural value and enabling us to properly display and share them with the public. This is particularly true of artefacts like these, whose perception has changed significantly since the 19th century: once regarded as the products of barbarian tribes, today we know that they belonged to peoples who treated the Romans as equals.