Publicaciones diversas
Prehistory Museum of Valencia: official guide [english]
Helena Bonet Rosado
Laura Fortea Cervera
Eva Ripollés Adelantado
2014
, ISBN 978-84-7795-690-7 , 122 p.
[page-n-1]
PREHISTORY
MUSEUM
of VALENCIA
Official guide
English
[page-n-2]
Prehistory Museum of Valencia
JARDÍ RIU TÚRIA
Corona Street, 36
46003 Valencia
C.
DE
BL
AN
QU
ER
I
EM T
ES
EM T
Library: 34 963 883 600
bibliotecasip@dival.es
RO
DE CAST
Booking for Group visits: 34 963 883 579
servici.visites@xarxamuseus.com
EM T
PLAÇA DEL
MUSEU
CARME
DE
PREHISTÒRIA
TORRES DE
SERRANS
EM T
C. CORO
NA
EM T
C. GUILLEM
Prehistory Museum: 34 963 883 587
Information desk: 34 963 883 565
www.museuprehistoriavalencia.es
IVAM
C. DE
TORRES DE
QUART
EM T
Buses – EMT: 5, 28, 80, 81 and 95
Metro: Lines 1 and 2. Turia Station
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday: from 10.00 to 20.00
Closed on Monday
Group visits:
Tuesday to Friday: from 10.00 to 14.00
Tuesday and Thursday: from 16.00 to 18.00
Library:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: from 8:30 to
14:30
Tuesday and Thursday: from 8:30 to 18:30
June to September: from 8:30 to 14.00
Ticket price:
General: € 2
Reduced: € 1
Free admission: Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
(More information on the museum website)
QUART
C. DE CAVAL
PLAÇA DEL
LERS
PALAU DE LA
GENERALITAT
TOSSAL
CATEDRAL
[page-n-3]
Roman World
The Mediterranean
Sea and the Iberians
Romanization
C
n
ro
o
a
e
e
tr
S
t
The Iberians
SECOND FLOOR
Library
The Mediterranean Sea
The Iberians
Romanization and Roman Word
The History of
money
C
n
ro
o
Copper and
Bronze Age
a
I
e
e
tr
S
t
Paleolithic
FIRST FLOOR
Auditorium
Neolithic
Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
Neolithic
Calcolithic and Bronze Age
History of money
Library
Cafeteria
i
ro
o
C
Shop
a
n
Educational Workshop
t
e
e
tr
S
Hall
Temporary Exhibition
GROUND FLOOR
Temporary exhibitions
Educational workshops
Shop
Cafeteria
Auditorium
[page-n-4]
PREHISTORY
Museum
of
VALENCIA
r.
,~.
[page-n-5]
VALENCIA PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
President
Alfonso Rus Terol
Deputy-President of de Culture Area
María Jesús Puchalt Farinós
Director of the Museum and Cultural Management
Antonio Lis Darder
PREHISTORY Museum OF VALENCIA
Director
Helena Bonet Rosado
Head of Unit Diffusion, Didactic and Exhibitions
Santiago Grau Gadea
Authors of the guide Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Helena Bonet Rosado, Laura Fortea Cervera and Eva Ripollés
Adelantado
With the collaboration of: Rosa Albiach Descals, Mª Jesús de
Pedro Michó, Carles Ferrer García, Manuel Gozalbes Fernández
de Palencia, Joaquim Juan Cabanilles, Bernat Martí Oliver,
Josep Lluís Pascual Benito, Alfred Sanchis Serra, Begoña Soler
Mayor, Jaime Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez
Images and drawings
Francisco Chiner Vives
Ángel Sánchez Molina
Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Photographs
SIP – Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Design and layout
Pentagraf Impresores S.L.
Translated into english
Leda Pedelini
Printed by
Pentagraf Impresores S.L.
Copyright the text: Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Copyright the images: Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Copyright the edition: Diputación de Valencia. Prehistory Museum
ISBN:978-84-7795-690-7
D. L.: V-568-2014
[page-n-6]
The Prehistory Museum of the Valencia Provincial Council
occupies a prominent position among our cultural
institutions. Since its origin in 1927, the Museum and its
research center have been characterized by a continuous
and rigorous work aiming at the conservation, study and
dissemination of the archaeological heritage. Museums
are places for learning and reflection about our past,
places that always provide the aesthetic pleasure of
contemplating the work of humankind. We are aware
that the magnificent collection hosted at the Prehistory
Museum cause, as always with archaeological collections,
admiration among the visitors.
The Valencian Provincial Council presents this official
guide of the Prehistory Museum showing, once again, the
commitment of this institution to public the dissemination
of its collections and the results of its research.
Alfonso Rus Terol
President of the Valencia Provincial Council
[page-n-7]
[page-n-8]
The pages of this guide invite you to a journey through
our rooms of Prehistory, Iberian Culture, Roman World
and History of the Money. The edition of the guide
was a pending commitment of the Prehistory Museum
to the public. We are confident that, thanks to it, the
visitor will discover the most emblematic objects of the
Museum and will be able to tour the Valencia region
through its greatest archaeological sites. This guide
adds to the information provided to the visitors of the
Museum through its catalog, handouts, videos and
information panels. Therefore, this booklet complements
the educational activities of the Museum, it has been
published to provide guidance to all those who approach
the Museum with the aim to understand better our
history.
The Culture Area of the Valencia Provincial Council hopes
that these pages will help to make more comprehensible
the Valencian prehistory and invite the visitor to make
an attractive and educational tour of the Prehistory
Museum.
María Jesús Puchalt Farinós
Deputy for the Cultural Area of the Valencia Provincial Council
[page-n-9]
Contents:
Page
The House of Charity:
08
From house of charity to Museum
Page
The Prehistory Museum of Valencia:
10
A trip through time
Page
Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
and Valencian archaeology
14
Page
Hunter-gatherer groups:
21
24
28
30
32
35
Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
Human Evolution
Changes in landscape
Lifestyle
Materials and tools
Art and beliefs
Page
The first farmers and stock-breeders:
39
The Neolithic
41
Changes in landscape
42
Lifestyle
Materials and tools
Art and beliefs
45
48
[page-n-10]
Page
The beginning of Metallurgy:
53
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
56
Lifestyle
59
Materials and tools
62
Art and beliefs
Page
The Iberians
67
70
Lifestyle
79
Materials and tools
86
Art and beliefs
91
Route of the Iberians in Valencia
Page
Romanization and the Roman World
93
97
Lifestyle: city and countryside
102
Materials and tools
104
Art and beliefs
Page
109
The History of Money
Page
117
Glossary and Bibliography
[page-n-11]
8
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The House of Charity:
From House of Charity to Museum.
The site where The old House of Charity is located
has a long history, dating back to the foundation of
an Augustine’s convent in 1520. Later, the Franciscan
order dedicated the building to the Crowning of Christ’s
with Thorns, thus becoming popularly known as The
Crown convent, a name which was also given, from that
moment onwards, to its adjacent street.
In the 19th century it was turned into a House of Charity,
administered by the County Council and a series of
renovations to adapt the space to its new needs begun.
The definitive intervention was carried out in 1876 by the
architect Joaquín María Belda. The work was concluded
in 1890 with the construction of a Neo-Byzantine style
chapel appointed with an outstanding ornamental
interior design, by Antonio Cortina.
With this project the building is enlarged and
restructured, acquiring the typical aesthetics of a house
of charity of the time: big-size buildings which consisted
of a ground floor and two upper floors organized along
Interior of the chapel
of La Beneficencia.
Location of the former Convent of La Corona, within the
walled city, next to one of the gateways to the city. Map
by Tomás Vicent Tosca (1703-1704).
[page-n-12]
THE HOUSE OF CHARITY: FROM HOUSE OF CHARITY TO MUSEUM.
View of the main courtyard.
five courtyards, with a chapel in the central area. These
institutions were prepared to house an important
number of people and had various facilities such as
trade workshops, toilets, laundries and nurseries.
In 1981, due to the diminishing number of people in
foster care and the need of providing space to the local
government, the County Council moves the Prehistory
Museum from the premises of the Bailía Palace to The
Old House of Charity. The Museum first opened to the
public in this new location
in 1982.
At the beginning of the
90’s, an ambitious integral
restoration project of the
architectural
complex
takes place under the
supervision
of
Rafael
Rivera and Mateo Signes,
with the aim of providing
the city of Valencia with a
large Museum and cultural
space. The new Prehistory
Museum opened to the
public in 1995.
Current decoration of the Interior courtyard
skirting board, by Carmen Calvo (1995).
Tile from the former House of Charity
containing the emblem of the institution.
9
[page-n-13]
10
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Prehistory Museum of Valencia:
A trip through time
The Prehistory Museum preserves a large part of
the material legacy of the people who occupied the
Valencian territory. The recovery of this important
patrimony has been possible due to the excavations
that the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP) has carried
out for more than 80 years.
The halls located on the first floor of the Museum
allow a trip through Prehistory, from Paleolithic times
to the Bronze Age. These halls display the oldest
material remains of human occupation in the Valencia
region, which date back to 300,000 years, as well as
the appearance of art during the Upper Paleolithic
period, the material evidence of the first farmers and
stockbreeders and the development of villages during
the Metal Age period. The visit on this floor finishes
towards the year 1000 BC, with the arrival of new
influences from central Europe and the Mediterranean
area that will bring the Bronze Age period to an end.
First floor, Prehistoric Societies: Paleolithic Art.
[page-n-14]
THE PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA: A TRIP THROUGH TIME
On the second floor of the building, halls dedicated to
the Iberian culture and the Roman world can be found.
The itinerary begins around the 8th century BC, with
the establishment of the first Phoenician colonies on
the Iberian Peninsula.
This area covers the Iberian origin and evolution, their
lifestyle and territorial organization.
The arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century BC, as well
as relevant changes brought about by the Romanization
can be followed through the material shown in different
exhibition areas. The gradual transformation of the
Roman society during the last centuries of the Empire
and the Visigothic period indicate the end of the visit.
The room dedicated to the History of Money, which
occupies an independent area on the first floor, shows
Second floor, Colonization.
11
[page-n-15]
12
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
the evolution and use of money through time, with a
selection of pieces from the five continents.
The Museum is also involved in archaeological sites
currently under excavation, such as the Iberian village
of La Bastida de les Alcusses (Moixent). Moreover, the
Route of the Iberians in Valencia is offered nowadays,
including a visit to some of the more emblematic Iberian settlements.
Computer graphics of La Bastida de les Alcusses (Arquitectura Virtual).
[page-n-16]
13
THE PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA: A TRIP THROUGH TIME
Second floor,
Iberian Culture:
Recreation of a
house.
Second floor,
Roman World:
Recreation of
the hold of a
merchant ship.
First floor, History
of money.
[page-n-17]
14
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
and Valencian archaeology
Interest in classical antiquities has its origin in the
Renaissance, a time when the first Valencian Departments
of Antiques were created. However, studies on archaeology
and prehistory as such begin with the foundation, in 1871,
of the Valencian Archaeological Society and with the
works of Juan Vilanova y Piera, introducer of the prehistory
discipline in Spain.
A major boost to excavation, conservation and diffusion of
the archaeological patrimony of Valencia was the creation,
in 1927, of the Prehistoric
Research Service (SIP) and
its Museum. Its creator,
.... .._.
Isidro Ballester Tormo,
.=:t:understood this institution
as a research centre similar
to those which already
existed in Madrid and
Barcelona.
-
-·-
o
The starting point was the
collection of archaeological
material from the Iberian
village of El Xarpolar de Margarida and from a village which
belonged to the Bronze Age, Mas de Menente, in Alcoi.
Nonetheless, it was through excavations of the SIP itself
that important public collections were generated.
Publication by Juan Vilanova y Piera: Origin,
Nature and Antiquity of Man (1872).
First excavation campaign in
Bastida de les Alcusses (1928).
[page-n-18]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
As in its origins, the SIP continues to be a scientific
institution which, in order to develop its multiple functions,
is structured around several sections: excavations, storage
and inventory, publications, library and documentary
archive, department of quaternary fauna, restoration
laboratory and diffusion, teaching and exhibition unit.
Excavations: the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP) has
an annual program of archaeological excavations, some
of them in collaboration with the University of Valencia.
Currently, research projects cover all phases of Valencian
prehistory and antiquity, focusing on: the Cova del Bolomor
(Tavernes de la Valldigna), the villages of the Bronze Age of
The archaeological method and
Patrimony Conservation
Archaeology is the science that
studies the past of humankind
from its material remains.
The methodology used is the
archaeological
excavation,
which allows the exact location
and
systematic
recovery
of vestiges. Archaeological
research involves different
disciplines to make the analysis
of remains, such as fauna,
carbons, seeds and pollen,
among others, possible.
Once in the Museum, the
material is registered and
catalogued for its study and
conservation. Its publication
and exhibition allow the society
as a whole to participate
in archaeological research
progress.
Excavation at Cova del Bolomor
(Tavernes de la Valldigna).
Materials located at the excavation of
Lloma de Betxí (Paterna).
15
[page-n-19]
16
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna) and L’Altet de Palau (Font de
la Figuera), the Iberian sites of La Bastida de les Alcusses
(Moixent), the settlements around the ancient city of KelinLos Villares (Caudete de las Fuentes) and the Iberian-Roman
city of La Carència (Torís).
Storage and inventory: access to information of all the materials that make up the
Museum’s collections
is available through a
computerized storage
system (150,000 entries)
and through a Sample
Catalogue (30,000 samples). Almost all samples
come from the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
excavations, some from
rescue excavations and, occasionally, from donations or purchases.
The Museum samples that are catalogued but not exhibited in the
Museum’s rooms are kept in the Reservation Warehouse.
[page-n-20]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
Publications: since the creation of the Prehistoric
Research Service (SIP) in 1927, the institution has been
concerned not only with the study and research of
Prehistory and Archaeology in Valencia, but also with
the dissemination of the results obtained. This aspect is
embodied in various scientific and popular publications
like the magazine Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina, the
series of scientific papers Trabajos Varios del SIP, as
well as exhibition catalogues, monographs, brochures,
workbooks, CDs, etc.
Library: gathering some 61,000 volumes including
monographs, pamphlets and a collection of 1400 journals
of which 400 have an open subscription, the library covers
topics on archaeology and prehistory, supporting through
its funds the objectives of the Museum and offering the
necessary support for research, teaching and dissemination
of knowledge.
It is a specialized library of personalized attention to users
which has also a Film Archive and a Child Section, with
loans of films.
Documentary Archive: the
History of the SIP and its
Museum is reflected in the
extensive
documentation
collected in the Administrative
Archive and the Documentary
Archive since 1928. Among them
we can find: the Photographic
Archive, consisting of images
in various formats: negatives,
transparencies and slides, as
well as digital photographs;
17
[page-n-21]
18
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
the Documentary Archive, made up by excavation diaries,
inventories, notes, letters and a important graphic legacy;
and finally, the Archaeological Archive, which has been
collecting news about the archaeological findings of our
land for decades.
The Department of Quaternary Fauna: created in 2001
with the acquisition of a paleontological collection of the
Quaternary fossil
fauna of Valencia.
This is a material
of great historical
value and of great
interest to the
institution as it is
a full sequence of
Valencian
fauna
from the PlioPleistocene to the Holocene. It has also a significant body
of comparative material of present fauna. The department
is in charge of the conservation, research and dissemination
of fauna collections and excavations with a paleontological
and zoo-archaeological approach.
Restoration Laboratory: closely related to the SIP excavations
from the very beginning, the restoration workshop is responsible for the conservation and restoration
of
archaeological
materials that make
up the Museum collection and it is involved in the removal and consolidation
of
materials
and
[page-n-22]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
structures from the excavations that require so. One of the main
tasks of the laboratory is controlling the storage conditions of
the materials that the Museum holds both in permanent and
temporary exhibition rooms as well as in storage rooms.
Diffusion, teaching and exhibitions unit: this unit is
responsible for the preparation, management and dissemination
of temporary and travelling exhibitions of the Museum, which
can be self-produced or externally produced. It also develops,
organizes and sets up educational activities both at the Museum
facilities and at archaeological sites. Its goal is to make of the
Museum collection and the archaeological heritage the starting
point for reflection, bringing them closer to different audiences.
It organizes guided tours, workshops, contents for children and
proposals specifically designed to host events like May 18th, the
International Museum Day, the European Night of Museums
and visits to archaeological.
19
[page-n-23]
Deer antler perforated baton.
Cova del Volcán del Faro, Cullera (between 15,000 and 10,000 years BP).
[page-n-24]
Hunter-gatherer groups:
The Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
[page-n-25]
22
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Hunter-gatherer groups:
The Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
The Paleolithic is the longest period in human history. It
is during this period, which in Africa begins 2,5 million
years ago, that some of the most relevant changes
in hominid evolution take place. These are physical,
technological and social transformations that make up
the heritage of the Homo sapiens, and from which three
great periods have been established: Lower Paleolithic
(which spans from 1.400,000 to 250,000 years BP),
Middle Paleolithic (250,000 to 40,000/30,000 years
BP) and Upper Paleolithic (40,000/30,000 to 12,000
years BP).
During this period, human groups organize themselves
in small communities, living in caves and rocky
Cova del Parpalló entrance.
[page-n-26]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
shelters on a seasonal
basis. They base their
survival on natural
resources secured by
hunting, fishing and
gathering.
The greatest accomplishments of these
first settlements are
tool-making and fire
control.
The development
of abstract thought
takes place a little
later, during the Upper
Paleolithic, with the
introduction of art
and general burial
rituals. This implied
a definitive turn in our
specie’s behaviour.
About 12.000 years
ago, a period known
as Epipaleolithic-Mesolithic begins in the
Valencian territory. It
is the time of the last
hunter-gatherers, who
interact with the first
farmers societies of
Excavation at the Cova del
Parpalló between 1929 and 1931.
Human Parietal of an “old
Neanderthal” from the Cova del
Bolomor (ca 130,000 years BP).
23
[page-n-27]
24
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Human Evolution
the Neolithic and who end up adopting their lifestyle.
The first European settlers arrived more than a million
years ago, from the African continent. In Valencian land,
the oldest testimonies of human occupation lay in the
Cova del Bolomor (Tavernes de la Valldigna), belonging to
the Lower Paleolithic and dating back to around 300,000
years ago.
It is during the Middle Paleolithic when the greatest
amount of Homo neanderthalensis remains is documented.
These humans lived in Europe between 250,000 and
40,000/30,000 years BP.
Human Parietal of Homo neanderthalensis
from Cova Negra (between 150,000 and
90,000 years BP).
[page-n-28]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
In the Cova Negra excavations (Xàtiva), bone fragments of
at least 10 individuals from this species have been found,
most of them of child age, as well as evidence of a young
adult in the shelter of Salt (Alcoi).
The Neanderthal extinction seems to coincide with the
arrival of the Homo sapiens to the European continent,
around 40,000 years ago, a date which sets the beginning
of the Upper Paleolithic.
It is during this time that human remains are found in a
vast number of sites; among which the Cova del Parpalló
Juvenile skull of Homo sapiens
from Cova del Parpalló
(ca 20,000 years BP).
25
[page-n-29]
26
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
This is what NEANDERTHALS LOOKED LIKE…
Robust complexion
Receding forehead
Large, long skull
Prominent
superciliary arches
1
Wide eye orbits and
nostrils
No chin
Wide hips
Short arms and legs
(F. Chiner)
[page-n-30]
27
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
2m
1,8 m
This is what we, SAPIENS, LOOK LIKE...
Graceful complexion
Round skull
Developed forehead
1,6 m
Small and
rectangular eye
orbits
1,4 m
Chin
1,2 m
1m
Narrow hips
Long arms and legs
0m
(F. Chiner)
[page-n-31]
28
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Landscape change
(Gandia), Cova de Malladetes (Barx) and Cova del Barranc
Blanc (Ròtova) stand out as the most relevant.
The Quaternary* Age is the most recent period in the geological
and biological history of Earth. It began more than two million
years ago and it was throughout this time that glaciations
intensified and the hominization process took place.
Glaciations are periods of ice-sheet growth over certain areas
of the Earth’s crust, which
provoke strong changes
on river and sea levels and
which coincide in time with
an increase in rain in other
regions. These cold phases
alternate with less severe
ones called Interglacial
periods. They are longlasting climatic oscillations
which leave their mark both
on landscape modelling and
Recreation of the Middle Paleolithic
wildlife and landscape (F. Chiner).
on living creatures.
Recreation of the Upper Paleolithic
wildlife and landscape (F. Chiner).
Testimonies of an interglacial
period are fauna remains
found at the Cova del
Bolomor, from which the
elephant
(Palaeoloxodon
antiqus), the rhinoceros
(Dicerorhinus hemitoechus),
and the hippopotamus
(Hippopotamus amphibius)
are the major highlights;
these species reveal a warm
[page-n-32]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Landscape reconstruction
The study of
fauna, plant
remains and
sediments
accumulated in
archaeological
sites allows the
reconstruction of
the environment
where human
groups from
Prehistory lived.
Remains of rhinoceros and elephants from
Cova Negra (between 120,000 and 40,000
years BP).
and humid climate and a landscape very different from the one
we see today, with forests and lagoons.
The last glacial period began during the Middle Paleolithic,
around 120,000 years ago, at a time in which Neanderthals
spread throughout the European continent. The landscape
became progressively more steppe-like due to the cold and
dry climate conditions which featured the end of this period.
During the Upper Paleolithic, this cold environment remains,
having its harshest conditions around 18,000 years ago. The
sea level decreased about 130m, so the coastline was very
different from present-day.
Around 10,000 years ago a new change in the climate took
place with a progressive increase in our planet’s temperature.
This period, called Holocene, in which we still live today,
brought about fundamental changes in landscape and fauna.
Human groups were not indifferent to these new
circumstances. Adaptation to these changes influenced the
29
[page-n-33]
30
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
development of a different lifestyle from that which featured
the Paleolithic.
The lifestyle of the first human groups was based on the
use and recollection of every resource offered by their
natural surroundings. Their diet was supplemented by
scavenging dead animals and opportunist hunting of big
preys.
It is the Neanderthal who, in the Middle Paleolithic, begin
to specialize in hunting, becoming increasingly more
important.
The presence of hearths in settlements of this period
confirms the importance of fire use. The fireplace, apart
from having a cooking, lighting, heating or defensive use,
becomes the centre of
the social life, where
the exchange of ideas
and
experiences
is
made possible.
With the arrival of
the
Homo
sapiens,
the occupation of the
territory
intensifies.
An example of this is
the various remains
recovered from the
Cova
del
(Gandia),
Malladetes
Parpalló
Cova
de
(Barx),
Cova del Volcán del
Schematic representation of different
occupation periods at Cova del Bolomor
Faro (Cullera), Abric
[page-n-34]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
_
-o-
'-
...
1
.
Hearths remains found at Level 13 of Cova del Bolomor
(ca 150,000 years BP).
de Senda Vedada (Sumacàrcer), Cova del Barranc Blanc
(Ròtova), Cova de les Cendres (Moraira-Teulada) and Abric
de Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent). Some of these settlements
seem to be specialized in different tasks such as hunting,
material supplying or art-related activities.
The lifestyle based on hunting and gathering is maintained
throughout the Epipaleolithic, with due adaptations to
the changing landscape and fauna taking place during this
time. Evidences of these last hunters are found in sites
The caves are inhabited on a seasonal basis
In some bones, like in fragments from the Cova Negra, marks made with
stone tools as well as carnivore tooth marks can be seen. This indicates that
predators occupied the caves after the human groups had abandoned them.
Fauna with cutting tool and carnivores teeth’ marks.
31
[page-n-35]
32
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Material and tools
like Cova de Malladetes (Barx), Cueva de la Cocina (Dos
Aguas), Covacha de Llatas (Andilla) and El Collao (Oliva).
The capacity of tool making allowed the first hominids,
around 2,6 million years ago, to overcome limitations
and multiply their possibilities of action.
The oldest stone tools are chopping tools. These are
simple, made on quartz, limestone or flint* by a limited
technique in order to obtain a cutting edge. These
instruments gave
place to others of
greater complexity
made from flakes*.
During the Middle
Paleolithic,
the Neanderthals
adopted new techniques by which
they
obtained
regular size flakes
Set of flint scrapers and denticulate flakes
from the Middle Paleolithic, from Cova Negra.
for different tools.
Through
these
techniques, known
as levallois and discoid techniques*, they made spear
heads, scrapers*, knives and chisels, which were tools
mainly used for hunting, animal quarting, skin tanning
and wood work.
Throughout the Upper Paleolithic, important technological advances take place. These help the Homo sapiens im-
[page-n-36]
33
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Knapping
Lithic technology is the term coined by specialists for the set of tools made
in stone (lithos). Through its analysis we know what they looked like, what
they were used for and how they
were used.
Moreover, technological studies
help reveal, from archaeological
remains and from experimentation, the techniques used for
their manufacture.
Experimental flint knapping (M. Tiffagom).
prove their hunting methods and adapt to the severe climate conditions of the final stages of the last glaciation.
The blade technology* became common during
these times and implied a better use of flint and
the obtention of much finer supports on which
to elaborate a wide variety of specialized lithic
instruments: different types of arrow heads,
scrapers, chisels, burins and small cutting blades.
These stone tools are further combined with the
first objects manufactured on bone and antlers:
spear points, sewing needles and harpoons. The
invention of spear throwers and other throwingweapons made possible the bring-down of preys
from greater distances which, in turn, lead to an
improved quality of life for groups of the final
Paleolithic.
Upper Paleolithic needles and bone harpoons.
Cova del Parpalló.
Upper Paleolithic
arrowhead with
denticulate edge
from Cova del
Volcán del Faro.
[page-n-37]
34
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Shouldered points and tanged and barbed
arrowheads. Cova del Parpalló
Launch with
spear-thrower
(F. Chiner).
Upper Paleolithic
decorated bone
arrowhead. Cova
del Parpalló .
Epipaleolithic
arrowheads with
geometrical
shapes. Cueva de la
Cocina.
[page-n-38]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Art and beliefs
It is during the next stage, the Epipaleolithic or
Mesolithic, when the use of bows and arrows is
strengthened.
Although there is evidence in older times that suggests
burial rituals and artistic expressions, it is during the Upper
Paleolithic period that these practices are strengthened
and further developed. The presence of tools along with
funerary offerings, among which personal decoration is
stressed, indicates certain concern for what happened after
death.
On
the
other
hand,
artistic
expressions become a new way
of showing the high degree of
complexity that our species achieved.
The Museum holds one of the finest
portable art* collections for the
study of European prehistoric art:
the stone plaques from the Cova del
Parpalló (Gandia). Excavations in this
Ornamental elements
of the Upper Paleolithic.
Cova del Parpalló.
o
Ornamental elements and Upper
Paleolithic portable art (F. Chiner).
35
[page-n-39]
36
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
cave have located, along with other human occupation
remains, over 5000 engraved and painted stone plaques
which reveal the evolution of art and the characteristic
issues of the Upper Paleolithic societies. Animals such as
wild goats, deer, bovids or horses, among others, as well as
Engraved bone with a horse and a deer (highlighted in orange).
Cova del Parpalló (between 21,000 and 12,000 years BP).
1
3
2
4
Portable art from Cova del Parpalló (between 21,000 and 12,000 years BP)
1 Plaque with engraving of a horse.
2 Plaque engraved with representation
of a doe.
3 Plaque painted in ocher representing
a horse’s head.
4 Plaque with a doe painted in black
and two engraved horses.
[page-n-40]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Cova del Parpalló: an exceptional site
When Luis Pericot undertook the
excavations at the Cova del Parpalló
between 1929 and 1931 he never
imagined the surprises it had in store.
In this settlement, occupied by
different human groups for over
15,000 years, he found, along with
several tools and animal bones, one
of the finest art collections in Europe.
Hence, Cova del Parpalló is considered
a great Paleolithic sanctuary, a
place of encounter and exchange of
ideas where
its creators
left, perhaps
unknowingly,
testimonies of
their world in
images.
SIP Excavations in Cova del
Parpalló around 1930.
Excavation notebook
by L. Pericot in Cova
del Parpalló (1929).
various symbols, make up the formal
repertoire of these first artists.
Unlike the Paleolithic art, during
the
Epipaleolithic
or
Mesolithic,
the figurative style is abandoned
and abstraction is imposed, where
geometrical and lineal patterns of
difficult interpretation predominate.
Proofs of this artistic expression are the
engraved stone plaques of the Cueva de
la Cocina (Dos Aguas).
Plaque engraved with
geometric motifs. Cueva de la
Cocina (ca 7500 BC).
37
[page-n-41]
38
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Pottery fragment with a impressed decoration of goat.
Cova de l’Or. Beniarrés (ca 5000 BC).
[page-n-42]
39
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
First farmers and stock-breeders:
The Neolithic
[page-n-43]
40
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
First farmers and stock-breeders:
The Neolithic
Throughout the 10th and 9th millennium BC the first
sedentary communities* thrive in the Middle East, focusing
their economy on agriculture and stockbreeding.
This period, known as the Neolithic, implies a fundamental
change in the way of life, bringing favourable conditions
for more numerous human groups, a more complex social
structure and the appearance of new beliefs.
View of mountain Benicadell and the
Serpis Valley from Cova de l’Or.
Important technological innovations also take place, like
the manufacturing of pottery and polished stone objects,
and the development of new types of tools in flint and
bone.
In Valencian lands, the beginning of the Neolithic is
located towards the middle of the 6th millennium BC,
as a consequence of the arrival of the first farming
and stockbreeder settlers after going through a rapid
expansion, from east to west, through the Mediterranean
basin. Contacts with the last hunter-gatherer groups
allowed their integration into the new lifestyle.
[page-n-44]
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Landscape Change
The Neolithic brings a noticeable change in the relationships
between humans and their environment. Agriculture and
livestock require large spaces, obtained by the slash and
burn method. Thus, the Neolithic communities become
active agents of environmental degradation and begin to
leave their mark in the territory they occupy and exploit.
Neolithic landscape recreation at Cova de l’Or (F. Chiner).
In mountain areas, with a more intense stockbreeding
activity, the ancient Mediterranean forest of oaks and
shrubs, with species such as the wild olive, mastic and
arbutus, is progressively replaced by forests of pine and
scrub. Only in uninhabited spaces and in territories along
the plain, where the land is more fertile and fields are more
stable, primary forests remain.
In short, the countryside begins to be modified and
fields and pastures gain ground to the forest. This is the
beginning of landscape anthropization, which will become
more evident later.
41
[page-n-45]
42
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
Neolithic human groups base their survival on
cultivation of cereals (wheat and barley) and legumes
(beans, lentils and peas) and on breeding of various
domestic animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs).
Scene of the Neolithic way of life in Cova de
l’Or (A. Marin).
These tasks are supplemented
by hunting, gathering and
fishing, hence, installing in
caves and villages with suitable
locations for the development
of these activities.
Mill and grinding mill
from Cova de l’Or.
The caves chosen for dwelling
are located below 600 meters of altitude, ensuring
adequate temperatures and rainfall levels for crop growth.
However, it is the livestock activity that, over time,
gains more importance in these locations, as shown by
evidences of housing located at sites such as Cova de l’Or
(Beniarrés) and Cova de les Cendres (Moraira-Teulada).
[page-n-46]
43
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Villages are installed on
plains
near
the
upper
course of rivers, where the
best grazing and cultivating
land is found. In these
areas,
large,
rectangular
houses with an apse end
are built, lifted on wooden
and mud poles. The inner
space has subdivisions for
different activities such as
grinding, for the fireplace
or for ovens.
Dairy product use
(F. Chiner).
The first stews
The domestication of animals
and the cultivation of plants
involve major changes in the
way of eating. There is a greater
variety of products and new
ways of cooking them. Along
with the roasts from earlier
times, early “stews” made from
cereals and pulses appear. They
included these ingredients to
their diet as well as the meat
from domestic animals. A part
of their diet is also from the milk
of sheep and goats that they
obtain secondary
products.
Bone spoons. Cova de l’Or.
Pottery bowl with repairing
perforations. Cova de l’Or
(between 5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-47]
44
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
These settlements multiply and spread along rivers
giving way, at the end of the Neolithic, to the big villages
characteristic of the beginning of the Metallurgy, such as
Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés) or Les Jovades (Cocentaina).
The collective effort needed to implement and maintain
these facilities shows a complex social structure capable of
managing surplus production and organizing work.
Geminate ceramic vessel with impressed
cardial decoration. Cova de l’Or (between
5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-48]
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Materials and Tools
One of the most significant
contributions of the Neolithic
is the manufacture of ceramic
vessels. The excellent quality
of the first vessels found in
Valencian sites reveal that
pottery was a well-known
technique when implanted
in these lands. It is possibly
women who produce them,
preserving their cultural
tradition and adding their
personal taste, hence the
care and variety of ornamental
designs.
The big containers, bowls, pots,
storage vessels, double-bowl
vessels, barrel-shape vessels and
small jars feature the beginning
of this period and
are used, among
other purposes,
for storage,
cooking and food
consumption.
These shapes give
way to more shallow
ones as trays and dishes,
which are undecorated,
a common trend in pottery
production of the end of the
Neolithic and early Metallurgy.
Pottery vase with a narrow
neck and impressed cardial
decoration. Cova de l’Or.
Ceramic container with
printed cardial decoration.
Cova de l’Or.
45
[page-n-49]
46
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
When clay took shape
The Neolithic pottery production is
handmade. Overlaying strips of mud
give shape to clay vessels that, once
smoothed by bone spatulas and soft
mud, are decorated with different
tools. Afterwards they are left to dry
and they are finally fired until the right
consistency is achieved in pits dug in the
ground.
The most typical decoration of the early
Neolithic is called Cardial decoration,
due to the fact that it is obtained by
the impression of shells of the species
Cardium edule. Applied decoration,
incisions with awls, bone or wood toothcomb stamping and painting with ochre
were also used.
Experimental process
of cooking in a pit.
Decoration impressed with
Cardium (F. Chiner).
There are important innovations in stone tool development.
To the flint knapping, which incorporates new objects such
as drills or sickle blades, they added a technique based
on polishing the surface of rocks as hard as diorite, basalt
or porphyry. This new technique produced not only axes,
adzes and chisels for cutting logs or for wood processing
but also a number of decorative items like pendants, beads
and bracelets. Other objects made of stone, like digging-
[page-n-50]
47
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
stick counterweights and grinding stones were used in
sowing and cereal processing.
Reconstruction of flint knives with deer
antler handles
The bone tool industry gains
importance. Spoons, necessary to
eat new types of food, tubes possibly
used as musical instruments and
spatulas or comb* for modelling and
decoration of pottery were made as
well as chisels, needles, awls and
ornaments such as rings, pendants,
beads and pins.
Polished stone hoes. La Cova de
la Sarsa (Bocairent) (between
5500-5000 BC).
Bone ring from Cova
de l’Or.
Reconstruction of a
Neolithic bone flute.
Cova de l’Or (between
5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-51]
48
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The art and the Neolithic burial* practices bring us closer
to the world of myths and beliefs of the communities that
lived during this period of prehistory.
Funeral rituals follow different patterns, with burials found
both in caves and within villages. In Cova de la Sarsa
(Bocairent) different individuals were buried together
along with ceramic vessels and decorative elements.
Recreation of a Neolithic
burial pit (F. Chiner).
[page-n-52]
49
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Moreover, in recently excavated villages, as Costamar
(Ribera de Cabanes) and Tossal de les Basses (Alacant),
single or double burials have been found, sometimes with
ritual deposits inside pits dug in the ground.
As for artistic representations, early farmers developed a
type of art of symbolic nature characterized by its simplicity
called Macroschematic Art and Schematic Art. Ceramic
vessels and open-air spaces were the surfaces chosen; the
latter generally being rock shelters that function as true
sanctuaries. Unlike the Paleolithic, the human figure is
the dominant theme in artistic expressions of this period:
Macro-schematic style praying figures.
Abrigo de el Pla de Petracos (Castell de Castells).
~. 2"
·DO
e~
,_...o=--.; .
.
•
Schematic style eyed idol.
Abrigo de la Penya Escrita (Tàrbena).
[page-n-53]
50
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
large figures with raised hands
and arms, referred to as praying
figures,
and
representations
reduced to simple X- or Y- shaped
lines. Animals, plant elements
and signs were also depicted.
Once the Neolithic was well
Pottery fragment with
cardial impressed
decoration depicting a
praying figure. Cova de l’Or
(between 5500-5000 BC).
established, the Levantine art
adopts a more figurative style
where characters are shown in
hunting, gathering, dancing or
fighting scenes.
The rock art* of the Mediterranean
Basin on the Iberian Peninsula,
one of the most genuine of our
prehistory, was declared a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in
Pottery fragment with incised
decoration of schematic deer.
Cova de l’Or.
1998.
Levantine style hunting scene. Abrigo del Racó
de Nando (Benassal).
[page-n-54]
51
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Barranc de la Valltorta
Abric del Racó de Nando (Benassal)
Costamar (Cabanes)
Cova Matutano (Vilafamés)
Covacha de Llatas (Andilla)
Cueva de la Cocina (Dos Aguas)
Cova del Volcán del Faro (Cullera)
Cuevas de la Araña (Bicorp)
Abric de la Senda Vedada (Sumacàrcer)
Cova de les Malladetes (Barx)
Cova del Bolomor (Tavernes de la Valldigna)
Cova del Parpalló (Gandia)
Cova Negra (Xàtiva)
Cova del Barranc Blanc (Ròtova)
El Collao (Oliva)
Cova de l’Or (Beniarrés)
Les Jovades (Cocentaina)
Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent)
Abric del Salt (Alcoi)
Abrics de la Sarga (Alcoi)
Abric del Pla de Petracos (Castell de Castells)
Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira)
Abric de la Penya Escrita (Tàrbena)
Tossal de les Basses (Alacant)
Abric de la Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent)
Paleolithic sites
Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic sites
Neolithic sites
Group sites of the Postpaleolithic art
Major Valencian Paleolithic to Neolithic sites cited in text.
[page-n-55]
52
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Copper axe.
Mas de Menente, Alcoi (between 1800-1500 BC).
[page-n-56]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
The beginning of metallurgy:
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
53
[page-n-57]
54
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The beginning of metallurgy:
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
This recent Prehistory period is characterized by a growing
social complexity, an intense land use and the presence of
the first metal objects.
The initial stage, known as the Copper Age, Eneolithic or
Chalcolithic goes back towards the beginning of the third
millennium BC.
The increasing social complexity reached at this time is
evidenced through both the size and the organization of
the villages as well as through the sophistication of the
funeral rituals. Furthermore, the presence of decorative
elements made from exotic materials is a good example
of the exchange networks of prestige goods operating
between quite distant territories. These objects, as well as
the first metal pieces made of copper, are the manifestation
of the power of emerging social elites.
Plain and highland settlements during the Copper
and Bronze Age (F. Chiner).
[page-n-58]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Towards the end of the 3rd millennium or the beginning of
the 2nd BC, a number of changes are observed once again
affecting the structure and distribution of settlements
as well as the social organization. It is the beginning of
the so-called Valencian Bronze Culture, characterized by
widespread small settlements located in high ground and
the use of the first bronze* objects towards the end of this
period.
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the Valencian
lands are affected by a series of internal and external
influences which will mark the end of this period.
The new ways in which the territory is structured sets
the basis on which Phoenician traders will operate in the
peninsular coast.
Small village of La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna).
55
[page-n-59]
56
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
After the best land for grazing and crops were occupied in
earlier periods, a gradual conquest of dry land through the
use of the plough begins during the Eneolithic.
The large settlements of this
period are distributed along major
rivers, allowing its residents to
have the necessary resources
for their survival. The perimeter
of some of these large villages is
delimited by trenches dug for the
protection of people and crops.
Inside, cabins are built with a
more or less rectangular, oval or
apse-shape with a small stone
base and walls made of poles and
Interpretation of the constructive
remains of Lloma de Betxí (A. Sánchez).
mud. Storage pits dug into the
ground for keeping grain are also
typical.
In plain areas and along with these settlements coexist
others located in higher areas, which in time will become
Scene of domestic activities during the Bronze Age (A. Sánchez).
[page-n-60]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
the most important ones. Good
examples of this duality of sites
are Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés)
and
the
Rambla
Castellarda
(Llíria).
During
the
Bronze
Age,
settlements in the highlands are
Ceramic cheese strainer.
Lloma de Betxí (between
1800-1500 BC).
the most common. Within these
settlements,
important
stone
structures such as terraces, access
infrastructures, thick walls and
cisterns are built. The distribution
of housing along streets suggests
an early town planning.
Houses are generally rectangular
in shape and have their interiors
Globular pottery container.
Muntanya Assolada (between
1800-1400 BC).
organized in different activity
areas where ovens, fireplaces,
looms and benches for vessels can
be found. Houses are built with
perfectly plastered stone and mud
walls and are covered with beams
supporting a vegetal framework
protected with mud.
Livestock gains importance and it
is used for meat consumption, as
draft animals and to obtain wool,
milk and manure. From the nearby
forests, those which survive the
pressure of crops and grazing,
Large ceramic vessel
decorated with applied
cords. Ereta de Castellar
(ca 1500 BC).
57
[page-n-61]
58
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
they extract firewood, food and the raw materials needed for
construction and tools. Hunting and gathering wild fruit such
as acorns and olives are a good supplement to their diet.
Other important activities are those related to metallurgy
and product exchange.
The villages that belong to this period are, among others,
Mas de Menente and the Mola Alta de Serelles (Alcoi),
La Muntanyeta de Cabrera (Torrent), which are pioneer
excavations undertaken in the early 20th century, as well
as Ereta Castellar (Vilafranca), the Muntanya Assolada
(Alzira), La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna) or L’Arbocer-Altet de
Palau (la Font de la Figuera).
Wood sickle and denticulate sickle blades. Mas de Menente (ca 1800 BC).
[page-n-62]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Materials and tools
The greatest innovation of this stage is the use of the first
metal objects, much more resistant than those made with
other materials. Furthermore, this technological innovation
allows the manufacture of tools in series and their recycling.
Proposal of different
handles for metal pieces
(F. Chiner).
Set of metal objects.
L’ Arbocer-Altet de Palau
(ca 1500 BC).
59
[page-n-63]
60
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Metal, a scarce resource
Process of casting and
production of metal
pieces (F. Chiner).
Despite the lack of minerals in the
Valencia region, the metallurgical
activity is revealed by the presence
of a variety of instruments, first
made of copper and later made of
bronze, including axes, chisels, awls,
arrowheads and knives, as well as for
evidences of the work process itself. In
this sense, slag, wastes of metallurgical
furnaces, mining hammers, moulds
and foundry crucibles, stand out.
Mould and flat bronze ax. Mola
Alta de Serelles (ca 1500 BC).
Flint arrowheads.
La Ereta del Pedregal
(ca 3300-2200 BC).
However, the household items of these human groups
are still composed of a variety of tools made of stone,
wood and bone. Archer bracelets, polished stone axes and
hammers, grinding stones, flint sickles and bone awls are
some of the most common. Some other materials used for
making ornaments are gold, ivory, amber and variscite.
[page-n-64]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Ceramic Set of the Bronze Age.
Lloma de Betxí.
Clay loom weights. Mas
de Menente and Ereta
del Castellar
The pottery production focuses on the development of
rarely decorated handmade containers. Typical objects
of this period are jars, cheese strainers, pots, bowls and
geminate vessels, covering the basic purposes of storage,
processing, cooking and consumption of food. Some objects
are also clay-made and are used for the tasks of spinning
and weaving of plant fibres as whorls and loom weights.
61
[page-n-65]
62
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The funerary rituals documented in the initial stages of
metallurgy suggest the level of complexity that these
societies have reached.
Funeral remains are found both in villages and in caves
next to them, but it is in the latter where the so-called
multiple burials were carried out. In these necropolises*
a large number of people were deposited following a
complex ritual that includes the offering of objects and
food. Excavations at the Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi) found
many idols made of bone similar to the one found in Ereta
del Pedregal (Navarrés). These large-eyed representations
are known as eyed idols and are interpreted as important
deities to these communities from the beginning of
metallurgy.
Eyed-idol on deer antler. La Ereta del
Pedregal (ca 2800 BC).
[page-n-66]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
The presence of daggers, awls and copper spear tips as well
as various decorative elements in burial offerings show the
perpetuation of the status of their owners.
Excavation notebook by
Vicente Pascual in the
Cova de la Pastora (1945).
Anthropomorphic flat-shaped idols
made in bone. Cova de la Pastora.
Containers for the afterlife
Bell-beaker vessels are the main
feature of the final Eneolithic. This
pottery, richly decorated, is named
after the shape adopted by some
containers. In Valencian sites such
as the Cova de les Aranyes and the
Cova dels Gats (Alzira) and Sima de
la Pedrera (Benicull) such vessels
were found as part of the grave-goods
intended to contain food or fermented
beverages such as beer.
Bell-beakers pottery from a
funerary offering. Cova dels Gats
(ca 2400 BC).
63
[page-n-67]
64
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Recreation of a burial ritual in a cave (F. Chiner).
During the Bronze Age the variety of funerary rituals remains,
performing burials both in caves near settlements and in pits
located within the villages. However, there is a shift towards
single burials with
no personal items.
Perhaps this new
trend reflects changes in the social
organization
and
beliefs of these
Bead necklace from a funerary offering.
Cova de Rocafort.
groups.
[page-n-68]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Ereta del Castellar (Vilafranca)
Rambla Castellarda (Llíria)
Cova de Rocafort (Rocafort)
Lloma de Betxí (Paterna)
Muntanyeta de Cabrera (Torrent)
Muntanya Assolada (Alzira)
Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés)
Sima de la Pedrera (Benicull)
Cova dels Gats (Alzira)
Cova de les Aranyes (Alzira)
L’Arbocer (Font de la Figuera)
Mola Alta de Serelles (Alcoi)
Mas de Menente (Alcoi)
Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi)
Cabezo Redondo (Villena)
San Antón (Orihuela)
Laderas del Castillo (Callosa de Segura)
Major Valencian Copper and Bronze Age sites cited in text.
65
[page-n-69]
66
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Detail of the vessel of the warriors.
Edeta, Llíria (3rd-early 2nd centuries BC).
[page-n-70]
THE IBERIANS
The Iberians
67
[page-n-71]
68
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Iberians
The Mediterranean Sea has been since prehistoric times a
space of contact for all the people who have inhabited its
shores. These relationships intensified from the 8th century
BC onwards when Phoenician sailors, and a little later the
Greeks, direct their interests towards the West in search of
metals, and to a lesser extent, of agricultural products and
other commodities.
The settlement of Phoenicians and Greeks on the Mediterranean coast of the peninsula, between 700 and 600 BC, not
only facilitates the exchange of products but also the exchange of knowledge and customs with indigenous people.
This cultural and social interaction enriches the emerging local society, which from the 6th century BC onwards, is known
as the Iberian Culture.
As an introduction to the rooms of the Iberian World at the
Museum, pieces of the colonial settlements of Ibiza and
Ampurias are exhibited. The island of Ibiza, strategically
located on the silver route between the East and Tartessos*,
is occupied by the Phoenicians around 650 BC. Among the
numerous settlements excavated, the rock shelter shrine
of the Cova des Cuieram and the necropolis of Puig des
Molins, which have provided hundreds of terracotta and very
rich funerary offerings, are among the most relevant. On
the Catalan coast, the Greek colony of Ampurias (Girona),
founded by the Phoceans around 600 BC, became the
gateway to the peninsula for people, ideas and products from
the Hellenic world.
Red-figures Greek vase.
Ampurias.
Punic glass juglet. Puig des
Molins.
[page-n-72]
69
THE IBERIANS
Iberians is the term Greek and Roman geographers and historians used to refer to the various people that occupied,
between the 6th and 1st centuries, a wide strip of the Mediterranean coast, between the Hérault River in France and the
Guadalquivir River in Andalusia. The Iberians who inhabited
the north and south of Valencia were the Ilercavones, the
Edetans and the Contestans.
Pvig de la Nau
LaSolivella
Torre la Sal
u ercavon~>s
LaSelli •
c.stellt. Puntal deis
~. • Liops
Molvavana e •
e
•
Arse-Saguntum
Edeta Tos
Pelat
•
Kflin
Edetanos
•
La Carencia
•
Sait i-Xit iva
COrral de Saus
••
Bastida ele les Alcusses
e Covalta
La Serreta • • El Pulg
•
Tossat de la Cata
EIMurOcDlit e
•
lllt:lcl c.lt:ll> S..uyt:l!>
lli
Contesta nos
•
El Oral
-·-
Iberian towns and main sites
in Valencian lands.
1
[page-n-73]
70
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
The Iberians, like the Greeks, Etruscans and Celts, do
not form a political unit. They are organized in separate
territories around cities ruled by aristocratic groups that
control the political and economic activities, including as
well as the long-distance trade.
Within the territory
of each city, the
settlement
is
structured in oppida
or fortified towns,
villages, forts and
farmhouses, as well
as places of worship
and necropolises.
Some Classical
sources refer to
monarchies between
the Iberians and
The Castellet de Bernabé: a
territories ruled by
fortified hamlet.
kinglets, as is the
case of Edecon, chief of the Edetans, supported by his
retinue of advisors, warriors and priests.
The Iberians do not
have professionally
organized
armies
but warriors are an
important group in
the Iberian society.
Owning a horse
is a status symbol
because it is a
noble animal that
only elite groups
Set of weapons falcata sword, spearpoints and
javelin-from Bastida de les Alcusses.
4th century BC.
[page-n-74]
THE IBERIANS
can have. Ancient texts also mention the existence of
Iberians enlisted as mercenaries in Greek, Carthaginian
and Roman armies.
The power of women is evidenced by statues and tombs
with representations of women as the Dama d’Elx or the
young ladies of the necropolis of Corral de Saus (Moixent).
Merchants, craftsmen and farmers, as well as servants, live
together in the settlements along with the ruling classes.
Weaving scene on a pottery fragment.
Edeta. 3rd–early 2nd centuries BC.
The oppidum, or fortified village, represents the political
and ideological centre that articulates the territory and,
therefore, the socio-economic relationships . These sites
are usually situated at the top of mountains, as the Bastida
de les Alcusses (Moixent), Covalta (Albaida), Castellar
de Meca (Ayora) or El Molón (Camporrobles). They are
surrounded by a wall with defensive and surveillance
towers and have a structured, more or less regular
planning, with streets and blocks of houses.
71
[page-n-75]
72
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
WARRIOR. 5th and 4th centuries BC
Warriors were an elite group in the Iberian society. Their
panoply consists of offensive and defensive iron weapons.
Spear with iron point
and ferrule
Leather helmet, sometimes
adorned with plume
Short belted tunic
Breastplate or leather
and metal hard-shell
Caetra or small
rounded shield
Falcata or iron sword with
a single curved edge
Dagger, knife and
sling
Greaves or metal or
leather shins
Leather sandals
(F. Chiner).
[page-n-76]
73
THE IBERIANS
LADY. 5th and 4th centuries BC
The Iberian women play a prominent role in all spheres
of society: She administers the home and performs the
tasks of food preparation, cooking, knitting and family care
and maintenance. The great ladies were disseminators of
lineage and participated in social life.
Cap and veil
Gold tiara
Gold earrings
Robe
Fibulae
Gold necklaces
Long tunic
Belt
Leather sandals
(F. Chiner).
[page-n-77]
74
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Warrior of Moixent
The Bastida de les Alcusses is a walled settlement founded in
the 5th century BC and abandoned in the course of three or four
generations. Among the rich findings discovered in this Contestan
city, it is worth mentioning the iron tools, local as well as foreign
pottery, personal ornaments, weapons and two bronze figurines
depicting an ox with a yoke and an armed horseman known as the
”Guerrer de Moixent”.
This bronze figurine, discovered on July 21, 1931, is 7.3 cm in height
and represents a high-status individual on horseback. The rider is
naked and armed with a falcata, a shield and a helmet surmounted
by a large plume. The piece was originally part of a banner and it was
removed to become a votive offering.
Excavation notebook from
1931 where the finding of
the little warrior is drawn.
[page-n-78]
THE IBERIANS
Puntal dels Llops fort (A. Sánchez).
Puntal dels Llops street (A. Sánchez).
In contrast, other oppida, such the one of the Tossal de Sant
Miquel (Llíria) stretch down the slopes of the mountains,
with streets and buildings adapted to the land topography
by modifying the slope into terraces and building twostory houses. This town, identified as Edeta mentioned
in Classical texts, exerts, since the end of the 5th century
BC, political and economic control over a vast territory
with villages and hamlets dedicated to the exploitation of
agricultural and livestock resources, such as La Monravana
and El Castellet de Bernabé (Llíria) or La Seña (Villar del
Arzobispo). This area is delimited by a defensive network
of forts located in the Calderona Mountain Range like El
Puntal dels Llops (Olocau), maintaining visual contact
among themselves and with the city.
South slope of the city of Edeta.
Graphic reconstruction of Edeta
(Arquitectura Virtual).
75
[page-n-79]
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Iberian house
Defined as a work of architecture without architects, the Iberian
construction is basically made of soil. The stone is only used at the base
of walls, doorways and stairs, while walls and partitions are built with
sundried mudbricks. The roofs are supported with beams and a vegetal
framework and everything is then coated with a layer of mud. The wooden
doors have locking systems for which wooden keys and, occasionally, iron
keys are used.
As for the internal equipment, almost all houses have a fireplace, and a
few have a domestic oven, grinding, weaving and storage areas.
Iron keys. El Xarpolar and
Puntal dels Llops.
(F. Chiner).
76
Sotl cover and lome wash
[page-n-80]
THE IBERIANS
Scene of agricultural activities in the
fields next to Bastida de les Alcusses
(F. Chiner).
Daily life in these settlements takes place between home
and the fields for a vast groups of people. The house is
the space where the family gets together and carries out
household, craft and cultural activities. Houses vary in size
and shape according to the towns or the social status of the
household but they all share similar architectural features.
Agriculture, livestock and gathering of wild plants and fruits
make up the basis of the Iberian economy. Iron instruments
offer information about everyday work in the fields and
charred seeds recovered in excavations make possible to
reconstruct the agricultural landscape and people’s diet.
The farm implements recovered from the Bastida de les
Alcusses -plowshares, picks, hoes, small pickaxes, sickles,
pruners, forks, spades- reveal the importance of a dry-land
crop production dominated by cereals. Vines and olives,
pulses -lentils, peas and beans- and fruit growing trees
complete the farm product list.
77
[page-n-81]
78
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Bronze figurine reprsenting of a yoked
ox. Bastida de les Alcusses.
4th century BC.
Animal studies show that the Iberians had domestic animals
of different species as a dietary and economic supplement,
along with hunting and fishing activities. Sheep and goats
provided mainly meat and milk but also skin and wool.
Pork and beef meat were also consumed but oxen were
primarily used for farming. Beekeeping and bee farming
was practiced in all villages in the area of Valencia. Honey
was a product of multiple uses and of high nutritional value
that was exported outside the Iberian territory in a type of
vessel called kalathos*.
Other iron tools such as saws, chisels, augers, trowels and
needles testify the existence of craftwork related to stone
carving, carpentry or leathercraft.
[page-n-82]
THE IBERIANS
Materials and tools
Among the most important technological advances that
take place during the Iberian period we can find: the potter’s
wheel and the dual-chamber furnace, the development of
iron metallurgy, the adoption of writing and the minting
of coins.
Until the 6th century BC,
pottery is performed manually, at home, since it is
produced to meet family
needs. From this century onwards, by using the
potter’s wheel, pottery
production becomes standardized and is carried out
in workshops. At this time,
the dual-chamber furnace
is also introduced and
Reconstruction of a dual
chamber kiln (F. Chiner).
Pottery from Kelin: cooking pots, brazier and
bowls. 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
79
[page-n-83]
80
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
together with the potter’s wheel, exceptional pieces with
thinner walls and more homogeneous finish are produced.
Vessels are painted using brushes and compasses before
being fired.
The earliest local pottery made with a potter’s wheel come
from Los Villares (Caudete de las Fuentes), the ancient
city of Kelin, La Solivella (Alcala de Xivert) or the Cova del
Cavall (Llíria). The decorative techniques consist of simple
geometrical elements. From the 3rd century BC onwards,
plant, animal and human motifs are added, appearing, in
Valencian lands, two workshops or art circles: the narrative
style of Llíria reflects aristocratic representations with
processions and battles, dancing and hunting scenes,
whereas the symbolic style of Elx-Archena, represents
winged goddesses and mythological beings.
Vessel of the warriors from Edeta.
3rd-early 2nd centurie BC.
[page-n-84]
THE IBERIANS
The repertoire is widely varied
in shapes, including pantry,
transportation and kitchen
vessels- amphorae, pots, flasks
and pans-, and tablewareplates, cups, jugs, bottles. Some
items are specific for ritualsclepsidra*, perfume burners or
craters- or for personal use as
ointments and microvessels.
The metal work, and especially
the manufacture of iron
weapons, is praised in classical
sources for its quality and
hardness. The mining and
mineral reduction takes place
outside the villages while
houses
feature
furnaces
for bronze metallurgy and
cupellation* of silver for
ornaments and jewellery, and
also of wrought iron for the
manufacture of weapons and
agricultural instruments. The
presence of slag from furnaces
and forges in the Castellet
of Bernabé and the findings
of tuyeres, mallets, grinders,
chisels, crucibles and tongs
in villages like Kelin and La
Bastida de les Alcusses, testify
this metalwork.
Kalathos decorated with scene
of dancers and musicians from
Edeta. 3rd-early 2nd century BC.
Small jar with geometric and
floral decoration from Edeta.
3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
81
[page-n-85]
82
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
New jewellery techniques from the
eastern Mediterranean
The Iberian artisans create jewellery in gold and silver using
innovations like the filigree*, the gold plating, the damascene*
and progresses in welding. This way, they were able to create
jewellery with great personality and beauty characterized by its
visual effectiveness, making possible to produce large pieces
with light weight. Most are made from sheets embossed or
decorated by welding on them various kinds of twisted yarns
and gold granules. Other ornaments such as glass-paste
necklaces and earrings come from the Punic trade.
Gold earring from Penya
Roja. Embossing and
stippling techniques.
Glasshead representing a
barbed man. Covalta.
Twisted gold threaded pin
for the hair. Bastida de les
Alcusses. 4th century BC
[page-n-86]
THE IBERIANS
Detail of the vessel of
warriors from Edeta.
Writing is one of the distinctive cultural elements of the
Iberians. Although the earliest records date back to the 6th
century BC, in Valencian lands it becomes evident since
the 4th century BC. The progressive Romanization and
Latinization of the territory will make the Iberian language
and writing gradually disappear towards the turn of the era.
The Iberian language is a Paleohispanic* one; isolated and
unrelated to any other known, their texts can be phonetically
represented but cannot be translated, although it has been
possible to identify names of people and places, verbs and
numerals, in commercial, funerary, religious or narrative
inscriptions. Writing was probably used only by a ruling
minority.
There are three known writing systems: Eastern writing,
extending along the coast to the Xúquer River, Meridian
writing used in Contestan lands, and Ionic writing, limited to
the region of Alcoi and a part of the coast of Alacant. The first
two derive from the Phoenician language and are adapted to
83
[page-n-87]
84
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Ivory comb decorated with two
opposing carnivores. Kelin.
the phonetic Iberian rules, forming mixed writings, alphabetic
and syllabic ones. The third one comes from adopting the
Greek alphabet for writing the Iberian language.
The usual surface for writing are sheets of lead, such as those
located in the Bastida de les Alcusses, Kelin or Pico de los
Ajos (Yátova) but many texts written in other materials such
as painted signs on pottery from Llíria and engravings on
bone, stone, bronze or iron have also been found.
Lead sheet with Iberian oriental
writing. Pico de los Ajos.
[page-n-88]
THE IBERIANS
Another
great
innovation of the
Iberian world is
the minting of
coins. Between
the 5th and 3rd
centuries BC, the
Iberians
occaNaval scene with Iberian text. Edeta.
sionally adopted
3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
Greek coins for
their transactions, pieces that were probably appreciated as exotic objects as well. Most exchanges take place
through barter or metal weight payment as indicated by findings of ingots and cut out silver fragments from La Bastida
de les Alcusses, La Carència (Torís), Arse (Sagunt) or the little
treasure of Kelin.
In the 4th century BC, the first Iberian money emission is
produced in Arse. However, the use of money as payment
does not become a common practice until the Second Punic
War (218-201 BC). Emissions of the mint* of Saitabi (Xàtiva)
began during this war, the only silver-coining workshop
together with Arse at the time. In
the mid-2nd century BC, a modest
production of bronze coin production in
the cities of Kelin and Kili began.
Bronze coin from Saiti.
2nd century BC.
Funerary stela from
Sinarcas. 1st century BC.
85
[page-n-89]
86
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The Iberians had myths and gods, protectors of life
and death in its most varied aspects, although their
representations are scarce. Rituals and funerary goods
found in the necropolises and shrines, sculptures, votive
offerings and scenes painted on
pottery show a naturalistic religion
of a polytheistic nature, similar to
its
contemporary
Mediterranean
cultures (Punic, Greek and Etruscan).
The spiritual life of the Iberians is
developed in places of worship, both
outdoors and in sanctuaries, but also
at home showing the complexity of
religious manifestations. In shrinecaves, they deposited lamps, dishes
and small containers linked to rituals
and libations* traditionally associated
with telluric beliefs* about nature,
such as those found in the Cueva del
Puntal del Horno Ciego (Villargordo
del Cabriel). Shrines, located in
relevant places of the territory are
places of pilgrimage where the
worshipers
deposit
their
votive
offerings aimed to strengthen tribal
identity. These offerings represent
human figures in an offering position)
or animals such as the bronze
Bronze figurine
representing an adult
woman from Peal del
Becerro shrine (Jaén).
figurines from Despeñaperros or Peal
del Becerro (Jaén). In Edeta, many of
the best-known decorated vessels like
[page-n-90]
THE IBERIANS
Terracotta votive heads and incense burner featuring a
female head. Puntal dels Llops. 3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
the warrior’s vessel, the kalathos of the dance, the fish dish,
etc., as well as other offerings and terracotta appeared in
the votive well of a temple. These unique and customized
vessels, some with dedicated texts, represent ceremonies,
rites and heroic scenes which reflect the imagination of
the dominant classes of the city. Rites are also practiced
at home, where perfume-burners, terracotta, votive
Reconstruction of a cremation scene on a funerary pyre (F. Chiner).
87
[page-n-91]
88
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
offerings and liturgical objects show the existence of cults
to ancestors and ceremonies within the family, like in El
Puntal dels Llops and Castellet de Bernabé.
As for the burials, the Iberians cremated their dead on a
pyre and after the cremation, burnt bones and ashes were
deposited in an urn. Next to the remains of the deceased,
buried offerings from family and friends, who would take
part in funeral rituals and banquets, can be found. These
include abundant cereals, grapes, figs, pomegranates and
bones of birds, pigs and lambs. In addition to these offerings,
personal items of the deceased, which reflect their status
or gender, such as weapons, tools, fibulas, pins or beads,
were added. At the Museum, you can see a selection of
weapons and furnishings found in the necropolises of Las
Peñas (Zarra) and Casa del Monte (Valdeganga, Albacete).
The types of burials vary from simple pits dug into the
ground to pillar-wake-shaped graves or tower-shaped
monuments, clear examples of the tombs of the elites.
Funerary incinerations urns and
offerings. Las Peñas. 6th century BC.
[page-n-92]
THE IBERIANS
Female head from a funerary monument.
Corral de Saus. 5th century BC.
«Damita» which is part of a funerary monument of the
necropolis of Corral de Saus. 5th century BC.
89
[page-n-93]
90
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Sculptural elements representing warriors, queens or
fantastic creatures are added to these constructions. Good
examples are the magnificent sculptures of the necropolis
of Corral de Saus or the Estela de Ares del Maestre. From
the 1st century BC they started using identified tombstones
with inscriptions related to the deceased, as found in
Sinarcas.
Child burials found beneath the floor of houses related to
domestic rituals are of particular interest. The cremation
funerary ritual does not apply to newborns and they are
set aside from adult burial areas since they are neither
incinerated nor buried in the necropolises but buried
beneath the houses. This difference in treatment raises the
suspicion of rites of passage depending on age, although
some evidence also point to foundational sacrifices.
Child burial urn found under a room floor. Castellet de Bernabé.
[page-n-94]
91
THE IBERIANS
Route of the Iberians in Valencia
The outreach of the Prehistory Museum of Valencia is not
limited to the material culture on display in the rooms but it
also extends to the most emblematic Iberian valencian sites:
Bastida de les Alcusses (Moixent), Kelin (Caudete de las
Fuentes), Tossal de Sant Miquel/Edeta (Llíria), Castellet de
Bernabé (Llíria), Puntal dels Llops (Olocau), La Seña (Villar
del Arzobispo), El Molón (Camporrobles), Castellar de Meca
(Ayora) and Tos Pelat
(Moncada). They are
all part route of the
Iberians of Valencia,
which offers the
possibility of getting
to know the world of
the Iberians through
the visit of some of
the most important
sites located in areas
of great natural and
scenic value.
In some of them, as
is the case of Bastida
de les Alcusses, the
Museum
organizes
workshops for schools
and visiting days. In
addition, the Museum
I!.VTA DELS
IB(It.f
participates in the
Open Day in Kelin and
Puntal dels Llops, and
in any other initiative proposed by City Councils concerning
the Iberian heritage.
http://museuprehistoriavalencia.es
*
1
[page-n-95]
92
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Detail of mosaic
Font de Mussa, Benifaió (1st-2nd centuries).
[page-n-96]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
93
Romanization and the Roman World
[page-n-97]
94
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Romanization and the Roman World
The History of Rome, as known through both written sources
and archaeological remains, spans over a millennium, from
the mythical founding of Rome in 753 BC until the end of the
Western Roman Empire in the year 476 (although in the East
it lasts until the year 1453, as the Byzantine Empire). From the
city of Rome the Italian peninsula is unified and an empire
that gradually establishes throughout the Mediterranean is
built, ranging from Britain to the Sahara Desert and from the
Iberian Peninsula to the Euphrates River.
During this period, the basis of law, art, literature, architecture and language of the West were established. Technological
innovations
took place allowing
advances in engineering and architecture.
The development of
navigation and the
construction of large
merchant ships turned
the Mediterranean Sea
into a vast network of
Household ware from the Roman
communication along
Republic period. Diverse origin.
which, both products
and knowledge, circulated.
Household ware from the
Imperial period. Pla de l’Arc.
The occupation of
Iberia is marked by the
Punic Wars (264-146
BC) between Rome
and Carthage, by which
they distribute their
territories of influence
and divide them into
provinces.
Valencian
lands, inhabited by
the Iberians, had a
[page-n-98]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
~/
- -/*"
1
" lnlbtl
XXl\11
1
1
1
~7
AdNcMas~ll
-~
1
''
XXII
1
1
'
...
CITY
ViaAugusta
Via Augusta Probable rw.e
Olnerro&O$
relevant role in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) with
the occupation of Arse (Sagunt) by Hannibal. This conflict
between Romans and Carthaginians ends with the triumph of
the first and the progressive inclusion of the Iberian peninsula
into their territories. Thus, a long process begins, known as
Romanization, which is slowly introduced in Valencian lands
over the second and first centuries BC, with situations of
resistance, coexistence, assimilation and interaction with the
Iberian culture. It will be during the reign of Augustus when
the Iberians fully integrate into the Roman world.
95
[page-n-99]
96
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Romanization implies a series of changes in the territorial
organization and in the judiciary, administrative and tax
systems. These changes affect areas such as the right of
citizenship, language and writing, the worship of new
divinities, the introduction and expansion of new monetary
and measurement systems.
This new political, economic and social order spreads,
essentially through colonies or newly founded cities. The
most important are the ones established along the main
communication route linking Rome with southern Spain,
the Via Augusta, which also allows the transport of products
obtained in the new farms or villas. In the Valencia region,
the main colonies and indigenous cities that become
districts or Roman stipendiary
cities* are: Lesera (Moleta dels
Frares, el Forcall, Castellón),
Arse / Saguntum (Sagunt),
Edeta (Llíria), Valentia (Valencia)
Saitabi (Xàtiva) Dianium (Dénia),
Lucentum (Tossal of Manises,
Alicante), Ilici (Elx) and Allon (la
Vila Joiosa).
Titus Livius, in the History of
Rome, 28.1, describes in the 1st
Visigothic capital of Byzantine
century that « ...the seacoast and
tradition. Pla de Nadal.
most part of Eastern Hispania
are under the control of Scipio
and the Romans». This vast territory, difficult to control,
eventually broke up at the end of the 4th century A.D.
Germanic or Barbarian Invasions in the Iberian Peninsula,
starting on the 5th century, hasten the end of the Western
Roman Empire causing the breakdown of the political and
administrative organization. The Visigoths, heirs of the
material and architectural culture of the Roman world,
rearranged the territory into bishoprics and places of
Christian worship.
[page-n-100]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Lifestyle: city and countryside
In Roman society, living and working conditions vary
according to the social class to which one belongs and to
where one lives, either the city or rural areas. Slavery is
one of the pillars of its economy both for public jobs and
household chores.
Urban areas are the centres of government and trade with
public buildings, private houses, workshops and shops for
the production and sale of products. Within them, skilled
trades arise, specialized in construction, the manufacture
of fabrics, shoes, jewellery or pottery, and other professions
such as doctors, bankers, traders and teachers.
Bone needle for personal
decoration. Ampurias.
Leaf-shaped gold sheet.
Valencia. 2nd-1st centuries BC.
Gold earring from the
Imperial period. Valencia.
Gold ring from the Imperial period. Llíria.
97
[page-n-101]
98
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
These activities and the sophisticated Roman daily life are
evidenced in the many objects, images of mural paintings,
reliefs and epigraphic texts found in excavations.
Leisure time includes involvement in public performances,
games, parties and attendance to baths or spas which are
places to relax and establish social relationships. Examples
of these complex facilities in Valencia are the baths
excavated in the Pla de l’Arc (Llíria) and the ones that can
be visited at l’Almoina (Valencia).
The roman city
The foundation of a Roman city is determined by an Etruscan ritual where
the priest seeks advice from the gods concerning the layout and limits of
the urban area or pomerium, walled by towers and fortified gates.
The urban layout is designed following a regular and planned model
called Hippodamus. It consists in dividing the space into four areas by
two
orthogonal
axes that make up
the two main streets
of the city, the cardo
maximus running
from north to south
and the decumanus
maximus from east
to west.
At the junction
of the two roads
lies the forum
or public square
Urban miniature layout of a Roman city.
around which the
main public buildings as the curia*, the basilica*, temples and warehouses
are allocated. The private households are organized into blocks of houses
or insulae. The main entertainment and recreation buildings are the
theatre, the amphitheatre, the circus and the baths.
[page-n-102]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Roman houses or domus are built around a small patio
or open court whose function is ventilation and lighting
of the house while allowing the collection and storage of
rainwater in a cistern. The rooms are distributed around it,
leaving the garden at the back. The rooms facing the street
are often used as shops or tabernae.
The land is divided into plots of land of 20 actus (50
hectares), centuriatio, where the main Roman economic
activity, agriculture, is developed. This activity is organized
around agricultural private properties, villae rusticae,
with large areas for farming and production facilities
and a luxury home for resting. In one of these villas, the
magnificent mosaic of Font de Mussa (Benifaió), whose
central medallion shows an allegory of the myth of the
founding of Rome, was recovered.
Recreation of the Roman Cornelius villa of l’Ènova (F. Chiner).
99
[page-n-103]
100
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The main crops are cereals, grapes, olives, vegetables,
pulses, tubers and fruits. The buildings have facilities for
the elaboration of wine and oil, which are stored in large
jars or dolias. Other activities are stockbreeding, pottery,
basketry, metalwork, carpentry, tanning and spinning as
studied in the Villa of Cornelius, next to Saetabis (Xàtiva),
which was involved in farming and the processing of flax.
The coastal villages also produce salted fish and fish sauces
such as garum.
The Visigothic villa of Pla del Nadal (Riba-roja de Túria).
The Visigothic villa of Pla del Nadal.
[page-n-104]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Trade
Trade is a key activity for the Romans. In fact, one of
the reasons for their presence in Spain is their interest
in obtaining products and resources in order to include
them in their commercial networks. The cities, besides
being political, administrative, economic and religious
centres are responsible for
trade and its redistribution. A
wide variety of products make
up the Roman commerce:
spices, salt, textiles, metals,
grain, wine, oil, salted fish
and even marble and other
materials
for
construction
and decoration. The currency
minted by Rome and some
of
its
provincial
cities
became the main object for
transactions and it spread
like never before. Transport
is carried out in large boats
arriving to the main coastal
ports
and,
from
there,
products are distributed to
the cities along a vast network
of roads.
Bronze scale from
Vélez Blanco
(Almería).
Amphorae cargo in a Roman ship hold.
101
[page-n-105]
102
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Materials and Tools
In Roman times a wealth of technological innovations
appeared and they had great impact in the society up to
the present day.
Dog-shaped terracotta
gargoyle from the Imperial
period. Rome.
In architecture and engineering new
machinery is developed, as well
as construction techniques as the
arches with keystones, the vault and
the dome. These new techniques,
along with bricks and lime mortar,
can create great buildings of
considerable height, strength and
creativity, as recounted by Vitruvius
in the 1st century. Architectural
elements such as wall coatings and
marble paving, mosaics, stucco, wall
paintings and sculptures complete
the decoration of buildings and
homes.
The aqueduct, a cutting edge supply
and distribution system, brings
water from springs and reservoirs
to the cities where, through ceramic
or lead pipes, it is channelled to the
various public and private buildings.
Other contributions of the Romans
are the invention of brass, an alloy of
copper and zinc, and the discovery
Bottle and glass bowl
from the Imperial
of glass-blowing, a technique that
period. Tisneres
artisans used to perform delicate
everyday objects such as ointments, tableware and glasses
for windows in replacement of plaster or lapis specularis.
[page-n-106]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Pottery production also experienced
significant advances. Large workshops,
especially in rural villages, supply
their pieces to dealers who distribute
them throughout the Empire. In Ceramic mould featuring
a hare and a bunch of
Republican times, and following the
grapes. Guadassèquies.
Attic tradition, black-glaze pottery
from Campania reached the Iberian
Peninsula. In Imperial times, these
productions were replaced by redglaze pottery known as terra sigillata
for having the potter’s hallmark
(sigilla) printed at the bottom. There
Terra sigillata pottery
decorated with the
were relevant Sigillata-producing
figure of Mercury.
Ampurias. 1st century.
centres at the Italian Peninsula, Gaul,
Hispania (Rioja, Teruel and Andújar), North Africa and the
Middle East. This large-scale production was possible due
to the introduction of skilled workers using moulds on
which they made different shapes and decorations. Each
workshop had its own decorative repertoire which makes
possible to identify the source of the pottery recovered.
Recreation of a pottery
kiln from l’Almadrava
de Dénia (F. Chiner).
103
[page-n-107]
104
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and Beliefs
The term religio was understood as the set of relationships
established between men and gods. Roman religion
worshiped many gods and goddesses and believed in life
after death. Although many Greek deities were adopted
for the construction of
the
Roman
pantheon,
they continued to worship
their ancient gods. It was
also common to worship
the domestic gods Lares*,
Manes and Penate, as well
as the Eastern and imperial
cults, reflecting the close
Lucerna or oil lamps.
relationship between religion
Ampurias.
and state.
A priesthood system was established and rituals relied
heavily on offerings and sacrifices performed in temples,
shrines, necropolises or in homes.
Rituals around the
main stages of life
and social cycle
of i n di v i du al s
(birth, marriage
and death) were
common. In the
last case, vigils
are held over
several days with
funeral processions,
banquets, music
and dancing. The
deceased
are
Reconstruction of a funeral ritual in
burial pit (F. Chiner).
[page-n-108]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
usually buried with grave
goods
and
offerings,
frequently including ceramic
or glass objects filled
with food and ointments,
oil-lamps or lucerna and
personal ornaments, as well
as a coin in the mouth as
payment for the passage to
the realm of Hades*.
Romans practiced both
cremations placed in urns as
well as burials placed in pits covered
with tiles, in vessels or in wooden,
stone or lead sarcophagi. They also
built individual or familiar funeral
buildings that may have inscriptions
regarding the deceased. Examples
of these practices are the remains
recovered in the city of Valentia or
the offerings from the necropolis of
Tisneres (Alzira).
Christian inscription
with Chrismon symbol
from the year 395.
Rome.
Their cemeteries must be located,
according to the Law of the XII
Tables, outside the cities, preferably
next to access roads, thus, acting as
a reminder to the living, who must
honour the memory of the dead
through offerings and libations.
The rise of Christianity, finally
accepted as the official religion
of the Empire in 380 AC, ends the
Funerary inscription.
Pedralba.
105
[page-n-109]
106
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
traditional classical pantheon and
brings a crucial change in Roman
world beliefs.
Some Christian places of worship
located in the Valencia region, dating
between the end of the ancient world
and the beginning of the Middle Ages,
are the monastery of the Punta de l’Illa
(Cullera) and the courtly villa of Pla de
Nadal (Riba-roja de Túria).
Liturgical cross from the
monastic complex of Punta
de l’Illa. 6th century.
Gods and cults
Some of the Roman deities are: Jupiter, god of heaven; Juno, protector of marriage
and births; Neptune, god of sea; Pluto, god of the underworld or darkness, understood
as the hereafter; Minerva, goddess of wisdom and
weapons; Venus, goddess of love; Mars, god of war;
Mercury, messenger of the gods; Bacchus, related to
wine, orgiastic dances and worship of the dead; Diana,
goddess of hunting and wildlife; Apollo, related to
virtue, healing, purification and arts; Victoria, associated
with military victory. Most of them were worshiped in
Valencian lands.
Cultural influences from the East brought the mystery
cults to Roman beliefs. These were widely accepted by
providing a different view of the world as a mere transit
and preparation to another life. The initiation rites were
understood as training to obtain the Divine favour.
The most widely spread deities were Isis and Mithra Female marble sculpture.
as evidenced by the inscription found in the Valencian València La Vella (Riba-roja de
Túria). 2nd and 3rd centuries.
town of la Font de Mussa (Benifaió).
[page-n-110]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
The Apollo from Pinedo: from the deep sea to the Museum
On December 8th, 1963, a
group of divers found a unique
bronze sculpture in the waters
of Pinedo (Valencia), which
was taken to the Prehistory
Museum.
According to classical mythology, Apollo is the son of Zeus
and is one of the twelve gods
who live in Olympus. He is responsible for driving the solar
chariot and has the knowledge
of future. The Greeks called
him Apollo and the Romans,
Phoebus. As god of arts, he
takes the form of a floating-haired young man carrying
a laurel wreath on his head
and a lyre in his hand. Indeed,
this seems to be the more accurate interpretation of the
statue found in Pinedo.
The Apollo from Pinedo is a
copy made in the 1st century
of Greek and Hellenistic
models. It specifically seems
to be a copy of the original
made by Demetrius of Miletus
in the late 2nd century
BC
representing
Apollo
Delphinios.
The sculpture was probably
part of the cargo of a merchant
vessel whose destination
might well have been the
home of an important Roman
ruling-class
107
[page-n-111]
108
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Tetradrachm from Entella. Sicily (345-315 BC).
[page-n-112]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
The history of money
109
[page-n-113]
110
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The history of money
English manila for the
African trade.
18th-19th centuries.
Kuba fabric. Democratic
Republic of Congo.
20th century.
Gambling token. Thailand.
19th-20th centuries.
A wide variety of objects display
the different formats of money
spent on the five continents
at different times in history.
They have all served as means
of payment or as a measure of
value and have proven useful for
storing wealth: notes and coins
but also bracelets, weapons,
tools, glass-paste beads, knives,
axes, hoes, porcelain tiles,
bamboo sticks, textiles, bronze
or silver ingots, lead coins, salt,
tea, cocoa or quartzite stones.
The tour of the room does not
show only forms of money, but
includes a wide variety of pieces
that have been associated with
their management, use or social
perception, such as piggy banks,
wallets, invoices, legislation,
engravings, scales, weights or
calculators.
The coin as we know it today
appeared in the late 7th
century BC on the Greek coast
of Asia Minor and has been
the most widespread form of
money throughout history.
Coins dominated the economic
networks until the introduction
[page-n-114]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
of banknotes in the 17th
century and credit cards
in the 20th century.
The artisanal manufacturing of coins was one of
the most important proScales to weigh gold coins. 1760.
cesses of antiquity. The
hammered coinage lasted
until the 17th century, becoming a specialized technique by
which the coins of most of the history of mankind were
produced. The introduction of machinery for coin production goes back to the 16th century.
Minting
A mint is where coins are made. The
minting hammer first appeared
in the 7th century BC and lasted
until the 17th century, when
the mechanization process
became widespread. The
use of machinery allows
obtaining larger
and more
homogeneous
pieces while the
productivity increases and
so does the difficulty of forgery.
The minting process begins with the preparation of the blanks. En general, during antiquity, they were melted into molds, while in the
Middle Ages and Modern times the practice
of cutting them from plates extended. The
blank is placed between the two dies, one for
the obverse, fixed on the anvil, and another
one for the reverse, held by the operator. The
strength of the mallet marks on the metal the
designs on both sides
Recreation of the minting
process. F. Chiner
Bolskan. 2nd century BC.
111
[page-n-115]
112
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Drachma. Arse. 2nd century BC.
As from Valentia. 2nd century BC.
Timbre of Alfons el Magnànim. 1426-1451.
Ducado of the Catholic Monarchs. 1479-1516.
[page-n-116]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
The various exhibition areas provide a broad overview of
the history of money. The visit begins by introducing unique
monetary treasures from Valencia: the coin set from Llíria,
consisting of about 6,000 Roman denarii; the extraordinary
Islamic treasure of Santa Elena Street (Valencia) composed
of 1,940 pieces of gold which go back to the end of the 11th
century; and the one from Requena, formed by 223 Spanish
gold pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries. A selection
of four exceptional coins allows the visitor to contemplate
the best of the Valencian monetary art through an Iberian
drachma from Arse, a Roman as of Valentia, a timbre of
Alfons el Magnànim and a ducat of the Catholic Kings
minted in the mint of Valencia.
The origin of coins is explained and the most representative
emissions of Greek and Roman times are displayed. From
this point, the chronological order is abandoned to adopt a
thematic discourse where coins and banknotes are analyzed
from different perspectives such as manufacturing,
metrology, values and formats, monetary policy, authorities
and designs or the phenomenon of forgery.
In both public and private buildings, safes are
used to store money and important documents.
Models with triple lock make necessary the
presence of three different people simultaneously
in order to open them, thus achieving a more
controlled access to its content.
Safe made in Marseille. 18th-19th centuries.
113
[page-n-117]
114
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The visit is assisted by the recreation of a 17th century mint
as a teaching resource for understanding the hammered
coinage, a traditional process that was applied for about
2,500 years.
Setting coins and notes aside, another area of the exhibition
focuses on introducing
other types of currencies
from different periods
and cultures. Displayed
in a large showcase
are objects used as
money organized in
groups according to
the material which they
were
manufactured
with. In this context,
tokens and vouchers,
and unique formats
used as money by preindustrial societies of
Africa and Oceania are
shown.
One yuan Ming banknote. Ca 1375.
One peseta banknote with the
Lady of Elx design. 1948.
[page-n-118]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
Recreation of a mint from the
late 17th century.
The unavoidable topic of the custody and saving money is
also approached. In this part of the visit one can see a bigsize safe used by the County Council of València in the 19th
century, a scene that recreates a bank from the early 20th
century and a cash register from 1911.
Finally, different related issues are addressed, such
as medals, accounting, the numismatic tradition and
even the use of money with a different purpose from
the economic one through
materials of different periods
and backgrounds.
Indian-shaped piggy bank.
Domund. Mid- 20th century.
Medal of the SIP commemorating
the 50th anniversary. 1977.
115
[page-n-119]
[page-n-120]
Glossary and bibliography
[page-n-121]
118
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Glossary
B
Basilica: public building used in Roman times as meeting
place and venue of courts. It was located near the forum.
Blade technology: common technique since the Upper
Palaeolithic. It consists in preparing the flint core to extract
long and thin blades. This technique leads to a better use
of the stone core.
Bronze: metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually
with tin as the main additive but sometimes with the
addition of zinc or some other element.
Burial: disposal of the corpse in a grave or burial structure.
C
Comb: small bone toothed spatula employed to make
impressions on pottery.
Courtly Villa: palatial residence.
Cupellation: metallurgical operation consisting in melting
minerals or metals separating its impurities through a
crucible.
Curia: public building where the judges of the Senate met.
It was located near the forum.
D
Damascene: artisan work made by inlaying silver threads
into slots or openings on iron or bronze pieces.
F
Filigree: jewellery metalwork made of thin gold sheets,
gold threads and beads attached by welding.
Flake: fragment that emerges from the core of a stone
after hitting it. It is generally wider than longer. It can be
used as a cutting tool or for other purposes by changing
its edges.
[page-n-122]
GLOSSARY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Flint: sedimentary rock composed mainly of silica used in
the manufacture of tools during prehistory.
H
Hades: name given in Greek mythology to the world of
the dead.
K
Kalathos: cylindrical ceramic container with flat edges
characteristic of the Iberian world. Also known as “top hat”.
L
Lares, manes and penates gods: roman religion
worshiped these household gods identified with spirits of
ancestors who protected the family and home.
Levallois and discoid technology: knapping techniques
used since the Paleolithic consisting in preparing the rock
core for obtaining flakes, blades and points.
Libation: ritual or religious ceremony that consists in
pouring wine or other alcoholic beverage to honour the
gods.
M
Mint: place where coins are made.
N
Necropolis: cemetery or space devoted to the dead.
P
Paleohispanic or pre-Roman Languages: languages
spoken in the Iberian peninsula before the arrival of the
Romans.
Portable Art: set of artistic expressions that can be
transported. Usually made on bones, stone plates or mud.
119
[page-n-123]
120
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Q
Quaternary: last of the geologic eras characterized by the
appearance of humans and the alternation of glacial and
interglacial periods.
R
Rock art: set of artistic expressions made on the walls or
ceilings of caves, shelters or rock formations.
S
Sedentary communities: societies, such as the Neolithic
ones, characterized by living in permanent settlements.
Stipendiary Cities: cities under the rule of the Governor
of the Province, which were obliged to pay tribute and to
contribute to the Roman army.
T
Tartessos: culture that developed during the end of the
Bronze and Iron Age on the southwest coast of the Iberian
Peninsula (modern Huelva, Seville and Cadiz).
Telluric Beliefs: beliefs based on the strength of the
natural elements.
V
Votive offering: figurines, usually of small size, made in
bronze, clay or stone, which are offered to deities as a form
of gratitude. Usually found in sanctuaries.
[page-n-124]
GLOSSARY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliography
• Ariño, A.; Benito, D. and Cervera, R. (2003): La Casa
de Beneficencia de Valencia. Biblioteca Valenciana.
Generalidad Valenciana. Valencia.
• Bernabeu, J. and Pascual, J. L. (1998): L’expansió de
l’agricultura. La vall de l’Alcoia fa 5000 anys. Museu de
Prehistòria. València.
• Bonet, H.; Llorens, M.ª M. and De Pedro, M.ª J. (1991):
Un segle d’arqueologia valenciana. Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
• Bonet, H. (1995): El Tossal de Sant Miquel de Llíria. La
antigua Edeta y su territorio. Servicio de Investigación
Prehistórica. Valencia.
• Bonet, H.; Albiach, R. and Gozalbes, M. (2003): Romanos
y Visigodos en tierras valencianas. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Bonet, H.; De Pedro, M.ª J.; Sánchez. A and Ferrer. C (2007):
Arqueología en blanco y negro. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Fernández, J.; Guillem, P. M. and Martínez, R. (1997):
Cova del Bolomor. Los primeros habitantes de las tierras
valencianas. Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Gozalbes, M. (2010): Guía de sala. Historia del dinero.
Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Jiménez, J. L. (1994): L’Apol·lo de Pinedo, Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
• Martí, B. (1996): Museu de Prehistòria “Domingo Fletcher
Valls”. Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Martí, B. and Hernández, M. S. (1988): El Neolític Valencià.
Art rupestre i cultura material. Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
121
[page-n-125]
00.
000
1.4
hic
e
pipaleolit ic
h
mesolit
0.0
00
25
[page-n-126]
[page-n-127]
122
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
• Martí, B. and Juan, J. (1987): El neolític valencià. Els primers
agricultors i ramaders. Servei d’Investigació Prehistòrica.
València.
• Pérez, A. and Soler, B. (2010): Restos de vida restos de
muerte. La muerte en la prehistoria. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Villaverde, V. and Martí, B. (1984): Paleolític i epipaleolític.
Les societats caçadores de la Prehistòria Valenciana. Servei
d’Investigació Prehistòrica. València.
• Villaverde, V. (1994): Arte paleolítico de la cova del Parpalló:
estudio de la colección de plaquetas y cantos grabados y
pintados. Servei d’Investigació Prehistòrica. València. 2 vol.
[page-n-128]
PREHISTORY
MUSEUM
of VALENCIA
Official guide
English
[page-n-2]
Prehistory Museum of Valencia
JARDÍ RIU TÚRIA
Corona Street, 36
46003 Valencia
C.
DE
BL
AN
QU
ER
I
EM T
ES
EM T
Library: 34 963 883 600
bibliotecasip@dival.es
RO
DE CAST
Booking for Group visits: 34 963 883 579
servici.visites@xarxamuseus.com
EM T
PLAÇA DEL
MUSEU
CARME
DE
PREHISTÒRIA
TORRES DE
SERRANS
EM T
C. CORO
NA
EM T
C. GUILLEM
Prehistory Museum: 34 963 883 587
Information desk: 34 963 883 565
www.museuprehistoriavalencia.es
IVAM
C. DE
TORRES DE
QUART
EM T
Buses – EMT: 5, 28, 80, 81 and 95
Metro: Lines 1 and 2. Turia Station
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday: from 10.00 to 20.00
Closed on Monday
Group visits:
Tuesday to Friday: from 10.00 to 14.00
Tuesday and Thursday: from 16.00 to 18.00
Library:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: from 8:30 to
14:30
Tuesday and Thursday: from 8:30 to 18:30
June to September: from 8:30 to 14.00
Ticket price:
General: € 2
Reduced: € 1
Free admission: Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
(More information on the museum website)
QUART
C. DE CAVAL
PLAÇA DEL
LERS
PALAU DE LA
GENERALITAT
TOSSAL
CATEDRAL
[page-n-3]
Roman World
The Mediterranean
Sea and the Iberians
Romanization
C
n
ro
o
a
e
e
tr
S
t
The Iberians
SECOND FLOOR
Library
The Mediterranean Sea
The Iberians
Romanization and Roman Word
The History of
money
C
n
ro
o
Copper and
Bronze Age
a
I
e
e
tr
S
t
Paleolithic
FIRST FLOOR
Auditorium
Neolithic
Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
Neolithic
Calcolithic and Bronze Age
History of money
Library
Cafeteria
i
ro
o
C
Shop
a
n
Educational Workshop
t
e
e
tr
S
Hall
Temporary Exhibition
GROUND FLOOR
Temporary exhibitions
Educational workshops
Shop
Cafeteria
Auditorium
[page-n-4]
PREHISTORY
Museum
of
VALENCIA
r.
,~.
[page-n-5]
VALENCIA PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
President
Alfonso Rus Terol
Deputy-President of de Culture Area
María Jesús Puchalt Farinós
Director of the Museum and Cultural Management
Antonio Lis Darder
PREHISTORY Museum OF VALENCIA
Director
Helena Bonet Rosado
Head of Unit Diffusion, Didactic and Exhibitions
Santiago Grau Gadea
Authors of the guide Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Helena Bonet Rosado, Laura Fortea Cervera and Eva Ripollés
Adelantado
With the collaboration of: Rosa Albiach Descals, Mª Jesús de
Pedro Michó, Carles Ferrer García, Manuel Gozalbes Fernández
de Palencia, Joaquim Juan Cabanilles, Bernat Martí Oliver,
Josep Lluís Pascual Benito, Alfred Sanchis Serra, Begoña Soler
Mayor, Jaime Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez
Images and drawings
Francisco Chiner Vives
Ángel Sánchez Molina
Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Photographs
SIP – Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Design and layout
Pentagraf Impresores S.L.
Translated into english
Leda Pedelini
Printed by
Pentagraf Impresores S.L.
Copyright the text: Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Copyright the images: Prehistory Museum of Valencia
Copyright the edition: Diputación de Valencia. Prehistory Museum
ISBN:978-84-7795-690-7
D. L.: V-568-2014
[page-n-6]
The Prehistory Museum of the Valencia Provincial Council
occupies a prominent position among our cultural
institutions. Since its origin in 1927, the Museum and its
research center have been characterized by a continuous
and rigorous work aiming at the conservation, study and
dissemination of the archaeological heritage. Museums
are places for learning and reflection about our past,
places that always provide the aesthetic pleasure of
contemplating the work of humankind. We are aware
that the magnificent collection hosted at the Prehistory
Museum cause, as always with archaeological collections,
admiration among the visitors.
The Valencian Provincial Council presents this official
guide of the Prehistory Museum showing, once again, the
commitment of this institution to public the dissemination
of its collections and the results of its research.
Alfonso Rus Terol
President of the Valencia Provincial Council
[page-n-7]
[page-n-8]
The pages of this guide invite you to a journey through
our rooms of Prehistory, Iberian Culture, Roman World
and History of the Money. The edition of the guide
was a pending commitment of the Prehistory Museum
to the public. We are confident that, thanks to it, the
visitor will discover the most emblematic objects of the
Museum and will be able to tour the Valencia region
through its greatest archaeological sites. This guide
adds to the information provided to the visitors of the
Museum through its catalog, handouts, videos and
information panels. Therefore, this booklet complements
the educational activities of the Museum, it has been
published to provide guidance to all those who approach
the Museum with the aim to understand better our
history.
The Culture Area of the Valencia Provincial Council hopes
that these pages will help to make more comprehensible
the Valencian prehistory and invite the visitor to make
an attractive and educational tour of the Prehistory
Museum.
María Jesús Puchalt Farinós
Deputy for the Cultural Area of the Valencia Provincial Council
[page-n-9]
Contents:
Page
The House of Charity:
08
From house of charity to Museum
Page
The Prehistory Museum of Valencia:
10
A trip through time
Page
Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
and Valencian archaeology
14
Page
Hunter-gatherer groups:
21
24
28
30
32
35
Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
Human Evolution
Changes in landscape
Lifestyle
Materials and tools
Art and beliefs
Page
The first farmers and stock-breeders:
39
The Neolithic
41
Changes in landscape
42
Lifestyle
Materials and tools
Art and beliefs
45
48
[page-n-10]
Page
The beginning of Metallurgy:
53
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
56
Lifestyle
59
Materials and tools
62
Art and beliefs
Page
The Iberians
67
70
Lifestyle
79
Materials and tools
86
Art and beliefs
91
Route of the Iberians in Valencia
Page
Romanization and the Roman World
93
97
Lifestyle: city and countryside
102
Materials and tools
104
Art and beliefs
Page
109
The History of Money
Page
117
Glossary and Bibliography
[page-n-11]
8
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The House of Charity:
From House of Charity to Museum.
The site where The old House of Charity is located
has a long history, dating back to the foundation of
an Augustine’s convent in 1520. Later, the Franciscan
order dedicated the building to the Crowning of Christ’s
with Thorns, thus becoming popularly known as The
Crown convent, a name which was also given, from that
moment onwards, to its adjacent street.
In the 19th century it was turned into a House of Charity,
administered by the County Council and a series of
renovations to adapt the space to its new needs begun.
The definitive intervention was carried out in 1876 by the
architect Joaquín María Belda. The work was concluded
in 1890 with the construction of a Neo-Byzantine style
chapel appointed with an outstanding ornamental
interior design, by Antonio Cortina.
With this project the building is enlarged and
restructured, acquiring the typical aesthetics of a house
of charity of the time: big-size buildings which consisted
of a ground floor and two upper floors organized along
Interior of the chapel
of La Beneficencia.
Location of the former Convent of La Corona, within the
walled city, next to one of the gateways to the city. Map
by Tomás Vicent Tosca (1703-1704).
[page-n-12]
THE HOUSE OF CHARITY: FROM HOUSE OF CHARITY TO MUSEUM.
View of the main courtyard.
five courtyards, with a chapel in the central area. These
institutions were prepared to house an important
number of people and had various facilities such as
trade workshops, toilets, laundries and nurseries.
In 1981, due to the diminishing number of people in
foster care and the need of providing space to the local
government, the County Council moves the Prehistory
Museum from the premises of the Bailía Palace to The
Old House of Charity. The Museum first opened to the
public in this new location
in 1982.
At the beginning of the
90’s, an ambitious integral
restoration project of the
architectural
complex
takes place under the
supervision
of
Rafael
Rivera and Mateo Signes,
with the aim of providing
the city of Valencia with a
large Museum and cultural
space. The new Prehistory
Museum opened to the
public in 1995.
Current decoration of the Interior courtyard
skirting board, by Carmen Calvo (1995).
Tile from the former House of Charity
containing the emblem of the institution.
9
[page-n-13]
10
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Prehistory Museum of Valencia:
A trip through time
The Prehistory Museum preserves a large part of
the material legacy of the people who occupied the
Valencian territory. The recovery of this important
patrimony has been possible due to the excavations
that the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP) has carried
out for more than 80 years.
The halls located on the first floor of the Museum
allow a trip through Prehistory, from Paleolithic times
to the Bronze Age. These halls display the oldest
material remains of human occupation in the Valencia
region, which date back to 300,000 years, as well as
the appearance of art during the Upper Paleolithic
period, the material evidence of the first farmers and
stockbreeders and the development of villages during
the Metal Age period. The visit on this floor finishes
towards the year 1000 BC, with the arrival of new
influences from central Europe and the Mediterranean
area that will bring the Bronze Age period to an end.
First floor, Prehistoric Societies: Paleolithic Art.
[page-n-14]
THE PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA: A TRIP THROUGH TIME
On the second floor of the building, halls dedicated to
the Iberian culture and the Roman world can be found.
The itinerary begins around the 8th century BC, with
the establishment of the first Phoenician colonies on
the Iberian Peninsula.
This area covers the Iberian origin and evolution, their
lifestyle and territorial organization.
The arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century BC, as well
as relevant changes brought about by the Romanization
can be followed through the material shown in different
exhibition areas. The gradual transformation of the
Roman society during the last centuries of the Empire
and the Visigothic period indicate the end of the visit.
The room dedicated to the History of Money, which
occupies an independent area on the first floor, shows
Second floor, Colonization.
11
[page-n-15]
12
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
the evolution and use of money through time, with a
selection of pieces from the five continents.
The Museum is also involved in archaeological sites
currently under excavation, such as the Iberian village
of La Bastida de les Alcusses (Moixent). Moreover, the
Route of the Iberians in Valencia is offered nowadays,
including a visit to some of the more emblematic Iberian settlements.
Computer graphics of La Bastida de les Alcusses (Arquitectura Virtual).
[page-n-16]
13
THE PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA: A TRIP THROUGH TIME
Second floor,
Iberian Culture:
Recreation of a
house.
Second floor,
Roman World:
Recreation of
the hold of a
merchant ship.
First floor, History
of money.
[page-n-17]
14
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
and Valencian archaeology
Interest in classical antiquities has its origin in the
Renaissance, a time when the first Valencian Departments
of Antiques were created. However, studies on archaeology
and prehistory as such begin with the foundation, in 1871,
of the Valencian Archaeological Society and with the
works of Juan Vilanova y Piera, introducer of the prehistory
discipline in Spain.
A major boost to excavation, conservation and diffusion of
the archaeological patrimony of Valencia was the creation,
in 1927, of the Prehistoric
Research Service (SIP) and
its Museum. Its creator,
.... .._.
Isidro Ballester Tormo,
.=:t:understood this institution
as a research centre similar
to those which already
existed in Madrid and
Barcelona.
-
-·-
o
The starting point was the
collection of archaeological
material from the Iberian
village of El Xarpolar de Margarida and from a village which
belonged to the Bronze Age, Mas de Menente, in Alcoi.
Nonetheless, it was through excavations of the SIP itself
that important public collections were generated.
Publication by Juan Vilanova y Piera: Origin,
Nature and Antiquity of Man (1872).
First excavation campaign in
Bastida de les Alcusses (1928).
[page-n-18]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
As in its origins, the SIP continues to be a scientific
institution which, in order to develop its multiple functions,
is structured around several sections: excavations, storage
and inventory, publications, library and documentary
archive, department of quaternary fauna, restoration
laboratory and diffusion, teaching and exhibition unit.
Excavations: the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP) has
an annual program of archaeological excavations, some
of them in collaboration with the University of Valencia.
Currently, research projects cover all phases of Valencian
prehistory and antiquity, focusing on: the Cova del Bolomor
(Tavernes de la Valldigna), the villages of the Bronze Age of
The archaeological method and
Patrimony Conservation
Archaeology is the science that
studies the past of humankind
from its material remains.
The methodology used is the
archaeological
excavation,
which allows the exact location
and
systematic
recovery
of vestiges. Archaeological
research involves different
disciplines to make the analysis
of remains, such as fauna,
carbons, seeds and pollen,
among others, possible.
Once in the Museum, the
material is registered and
catalogued for its study and
conservation. Its publication
and exhibition allow the society
as a whole to participate
in archaeological research
progress.
Excavation at Cova del Bolomor
(Tavernes de la Valldigna).
Materials located at the excavation of
Lloma de Betxí (Paterna).
15
[page-n-19]
16
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna) and L’Altet de Palau (Font de
la Figuera), the Iberian sites of La Bastida de les Alcusses
(Moixent), the settlements around the ancient city of KelinLos Villares (Caudete de las Fuentes) and the Iberian-Roman
city of La Carència (Torís).
Storage and inventory: access to information of all the materials that make up the
Museum’s collections
is available through a
computerized storage
system (150,000 entries)
and through a Sample
Catalogue (30,000 samples). Almost all samples
come from the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP)
excavations, some from
rescue excavations and, occasionally, from donations or purchases.
The Museum samples that are catalogued but not exhibited in the
Museum’s rooms are kept in the Reservation Warehouse.
[page-n-20]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
Publications: since the creation of the Prehistoric
Research Service (SIP) in 1927, the institution has been
concerned not only with the study and research of
Prehistory and Archaeology in Valencia, but also with
the dissemination of the results obtained. This aspect is
embodied in various scientific and popular publications
like the magazine Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina, the
series of scientific papers Trabajos Varios del SIP, as
well as exhibition catalogues, monographs, brochures,
workbooks, CDs, etc.
Library: gathering some 61,000 volumes including
monographs, pamphlets and a collection of 1400 journals
of which 400 have an open subscription, the library covers
topics on archaeology and prehistory, supporting through
its funds the objectives of the Museum and offering the
necessary support for research, teaching and dissemination
of knowledge.
It is a specialized library of personalized attention to users
which has also a Film Archive and a Child Section, with
loans of films.
Documentary Archive: the
History of the SIP and its
Museum is reflected in the
extensive
documentation
collected in the Administrative
Archive and the Documentary
Archive since 1928. Among them
we can find: the Photographic
Archive, consisting of images
in various formats: negatives,
transparencies and slides, as
well as digital photographs;
17
[page-n-21]
18
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
the Documentary Archive, made up by excavation diaries,
inventories, notes, letters and a important graphic legacy;
and finally, the Archaeological Archive, which has been
collecting news about the archaeological findings of our
land for decades.
The Department of Quaternary Fauna: created in 2001
with the acquisition of a paleontological collection of the
Quaternary fossil
fauna of Valencia.
This is a material
of great historical
value and of great
interest to the
institution as it is
a full sequence of
Valencian
fauna
from the PlioPleistocene to the Holocene. It has also a significant body
of comparative material of present fauna. The department
is in charge of the conservation, research and dissemination
of fauna collections and excavations with a paleontological
and zoo-archaeological approach.
Restoration Laboratory: closely related to the SIP excavations
from the very beginning, the restoration workshop is responsible for the conservation and restoration
of
archaeological
materials that make
up the Museum collection and it is involved in the removal and consolidation
of
materials
and
[page-n-22]
PREHISTORIC RESEARCH SERVICE (SIP)
structures from the excavations that require so. One of the main
tasks of the laboratory is controlling the storage conditions of
the materials that the Museum holds both in permanent and
temporary exhibition rooms as well as in storage rooms.
Diffusion, teaching and exhibitions unit: this unit is
responsible for the preparation, management and dissemination
of temporary and travelling exhibitions of the Museum, which
can be self-produced or externally produced. It also develops,
organizes and sets up educational activities both at the Museum
facilities and at archaeological sites. Its goal is to make of the
Museum collection and the archaeological heritage the starting
point for reflection, bringing them closer to different audiences.
It organizes guided tours, workshops, contents for children and
proposals specifically designed to host events like May 18th, the
International Museum Day, the European Night of Museums
and visits to archaeological.
19
[page-n-23]
Deer antler perforated baton.
Cova del Volcán del Faro, Cullera (between 15,000 and 10,000 years BP).
[page-n-24]
Hunter-gatherer groups:
The Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
[page-n-25]
22
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Hunter-gatherer groups:
The Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic
The Paleolithic is the longest period in human history. It
is during this period, which in Africa begins 2,5 million
years ago, that some of the most relevant changes
in hominid evolution take place. These are physical,
technological and social transformations that make up
the heritage of the Homo sapiens, and from which three
great periods have been established: Lower Paleolithic
(which spans from 1.400,000 to 250,000 years BP),
Middle Paleolithic (250,000 to 40,000/30,000 years
BP) and Upper Paleolithic (40,000/30,000 to 12,000
years BP).
During this period, human groups organize themselves
in small communities, living in caves and rocky
Cova del Parpalló entrance.
[page-n-26]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
shelters on a seasonal
basis. They base their
survival on natural
resources secured by
hunting, fishing and
gathering.
The greatest accomplishments of these
first settlements are
tool-making and fire
control.
The development
of abstract thought
takes place a little
later, during the Upper
Paleolithic, with the
introduction of art
and general burial
rituals. This implied
a definitive turn in our
specie’s behaviour.
About 12.000 years
ago, a period known
as Epipaleolithic-Mesolithic begins in the
Valencian territory. It
is the time of the last
hunter-gatherers, who
interact with the first
farmers societies of
Excavation at the Cova del
Parpalló between 1929 and 1931.
Human Parietal of an “old
Neanderthal” from the Cova del
Bolomor (ca 130,000 years BP).
23
[page-n-27]
24
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Human Evolution
the Neolithic and who end up adopting their lifestyle.
The first European settlers arrived more than a million
years ago, from the African continent. In Valencian land,
the oldest testimonies of human occupation lay in the
Cova del Bolomor (Tavernes de la Valldigna), belonging to
the Lower Paleolithic and dating back to around 300,000
years ago.
It is during the Middle Paleolithic when the greatest
amount of Homo neanderthalensis remains is documented.
These humans lived in Europe between 250,000 and
40,000/30,000 years BP.
Human Parietal of Homo neanderthalensis
from Cova Negra (between 150,000 and
90,000 years BP).
[page-n-28]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
In the Cova Negra excavations (Xàtiva), bone fragments of
at least 10 individuals from this species have been found,
most of them of child age, as well as evidence of a young
adult in the shelter of Salt (Alcoi).
The Neanderthal extinction seems to coincide with the
arrival of the Homo sapiens to the European continent,
around 40,000 years ago, a date which sets the beginning
of the Upper Paleolithic.
It is during this time that human remains are found in a
vast number of sites; among which the Cova del Parpalló
Juvenile skull of Homo sapiens
from Cova del Parpalló
(ca 20,000 years BP).
25
[page-n-29]
26
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
This is what NEANDERTHALS LOOKED LIKE…
Robust complexion
Receding forehead
Large, long skull
Prominent
superciliary arches
1
Wide eye orbits and
nostrils
No chin
Wide hips
Short arms and legs
(F. Chiner)
[page-n-30]
27
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
2m
1,8 m
This is what we, SAPIENS, LOOK LIKE...
Graceful complexion
Round skull
Developed forehead
1,6 m
Small and
rectangular eye
orbits
1,4 m
Chin
1,2 m
1m
Narrow hips
Long arms and legs
0m
(F. Chiner)
[page-n-31]
28
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Landscape change
(Gandia), Cova de Malladetes (Barx) and Cova del Barranc
Blanc (Ròtova) stand out as the most relevant.
The Quaternary* Age is the most recent period in the geological
and biological history of Earth. It began more than two million
years ago and it was throughout this time that glaciations
intensified and the hominization process took place.
Glaciations are periods of ice-sheet growth over certain areas
of the Earth’s crust, which
provoke strong changes
on river and sea levels and
which coincide in time with
an increase in rain in other
regions. These cold phases
alternate with less severe
ones called Interglacial
periods. They are longlasting climatic oscillations
which leave their mark both
on landscape modelling and
Recreation of the Middle Paleolithic
wildlife and landscape (F. Chiner).
on living creatures.
Recreation of the Upper Paleolithic
wildlife and landscape (F. Chiner).
Testimonies of an interglacial
period are fauna remains
found at the Cova del
Bolomor, from which the
elephant
(Palaeoloxodon
antiqus), the rhinoceros
(Dicerorhinus hemitoechus),
and the hippopotamus
(Hippopotamus amphibius)
are the major highlights;
these species reveal a warm
[page-n-32]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Landscape reconstruction
The study of
fauna, plant
remains and
sediments
accumulated in
archaeological
sites allows the
reconstruction of
the environment
where human
groups from
Prehistory lived.
Remains of rhinoceros and elephants from
Cova Negra (between 120,000 and 40,000
years BP).
and humid climate and a landscape very different from the one
we see today, with forests and lagoons.
The last glacial period began during the Middle Paleolithic,
around 120,000 years ago, at a time in which Neanderthals
spread throughout the European continent. The landscape
became progressively more steppe-like due to the cold and
dry climate conditions which featured the end of this period.
During the Upper Paleolithic, this cold environment remains,
having its harshest conditions around 18,000 years ago. The
sea level decreased about 130m, so the coastline was very
different from present-day.
Around 10,000 years ago a new change in the climate took
place with a progressive increase in our planet’s temperature.
This period, called Holocene, in which we still live today,
brought about fundamental changes in landscape and fauna.
Human groups were not indifferent to these new
circumstances. Adaptation to these changes influenced the
29
[page-n-33]
30
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
development of a different lifestyle from that which featured
the Paleolithic.
The lifestyle of the first human groups was based on the
use and recollection of every resource offered by their
natural surroundings. Their diet was supplemented by
scavenging dead animals and opportunist hunting of big
preys.
It is the Neanderthal who, in the Middle Paleolithic, begin
to specialize in hunting, becoming increasingly more
important.
The presence of hearths in settlements of this period
confirms the importance of fire use. The fireplace, apart
from having a cooking, lighting, heating or defensive use,
becomes the centre of
the social life, where
the exchange of ideas
and
experiences
is
made possible.
With the arrival of
the
Homo
sapiens,
the occupation of the
territory
intensifies.
An example of this is
the various remains
recovered from the
Cova
del
(Gandia),
Malladetes
Parpalló
Cova
de
(Barx),
Cova del Volcán del
Schematic representation of different
occupation periods at Cova del Bolomor
Faro (Cullera), Abric
[page-n-34]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
_
-o-
'-
...
1
.
Hearths remains found at Level 13 of Cova del Bolomor
(ca 150,000 years BP).
de Senda Vedada (Sumacàrcer), Cova del Barranc Blanc
(Ròtova), Cova de les Cendres (Moraira-Teulada) and Abric
de Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent). Some of these settlements
seem to be specialized in different tasks such as hunting,
material supplying or art-related activities.
The lifestyle based on hunting and gathering is maintained
throughout the Epipaleolithic, with due adaptations to
the changing landscape and fauna taking place during this
time. Evidences of these last hunters are found in sites
The caves are inhabited on a seasonal basis
In some bones, like in fragments from the Cova Negra, marks made with
stone tools as well as carnivore tooth marks can be seen. This indicates that
predators occupied the caves after the human groups had abandoned them.
Fauna with cutting tool and carnivores teeth’ marks.
31
[page-n-35]
32
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Material and tools
like Cova de Malladetes (Barx), Cueva de la Cocina (Dos
Aguas), Covacha de Llatas (Andilla) and El Collao (Oliva).
The capacity of tool making allowed the first hominids,
around 2,6 million years ago, to overcome limitations
and multiply their possibilities of action.
The oldest stone tools are chopping tools. These are
simple, made on quartz, limestone or flint* by a limited
technique in order to obtain a cutting edge. These
instruments gave
place to others of
greater complexity
made from flakes*.
During the Middle
Paleolithic,
the Neanderthals
adopted new techniques by which
they
obtained
regular size flakes
Set of flint scrapers and denticulate flakes
from the Middle Paleolithic, from Cova Negra.
for different tools.
Through
these
techniques, known
as levallois and discoid techniques*, they made spear
heads, scrapers*, knives and chisels, which were tools
mainly used for hunting, animal quarting, skin tanning
and wood work.
Throughout the Upper Paleolithic, important technological advances take place. These help the Homo sapiens im-
[page-n-36]
33
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Knapping
Lithic technology is the term coined by specialists for the set of tools made
in stone (lithos). Through its analysis we know what they looked like, what
they were used for and how they
were used.
Moreover, technological studies
help reveal, from archaeological
remains and from experimentation, the techniques used for
their manufacture.
Experimental flint knapping (M. Tiffagom).
prove their hunting methods and adapt to the severe climate conditions of the final stages of the last glaciation.
The blade technology* became common during
these times and implied a better use of flint and
the obtention of much finer supports on which
to elaborate a wide variety of specialized lithic
instruments: different types of arrow heads,
scrapers, chisels, burins and small cutting blades.
These stone tools are further combined with the
first objects manufactured on bone and antlers:
spear points, sewing needles and harpoons. The
invention of spear throwers and other throwingweapons made possible the bring-down of preys
from greater distances which, in turn, lead to an
improved quality of life for groups of the final
Paleolithic.
Upper Paleolithic needles and bone harpoons.
Cova del Parpalló.
Upper Paleolithic
arrowhead with
denticulate edge
from Cova del
Volcán del Faro.
[page-n-37]
34
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Shouldered points and tanged and barbed
arrowheads. Cova del Parpalló
Launch with
spear-thrower
(F. Chiner).
Upper Paleolithic
decorated bone
arrowhead. Cova
del Parpalló .
Epipaleolithic
arrowheads with
geometrical
shapes. Cueva de la
Cocina.
[page-n-38]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Art and beliefs
It is during the next stage, the Epipaleolithic or
Mesolithic, when the use of bows and arrows is
strengthened.
Although there is evidence in older times that suggests
burial rituals and artistic expressions, it is during the Upper
Paleolithic period that these practices are strengthened
and further developed. The presence of tools along with
funerary offerings, among which personal decoration is
stressed, indicates certain concern for what happened after
death.
On
the
other
hand,
artistic
expressions become a new way
of showing the high degree of
complexity that our species achieved.
The Museum holds one of the finest
portable art* collections for the
study of European prehistoric art:
the stone plaques from the Cova del
Parpalló (Gandia). Excavations in this
Ornamental elements
of the Upper Paleolithic.
Cova del Parpalló.
o
Ornamental elements and Upper
Paleolithic portable art (F. Chiner).
35
[page-n-39]
36
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
cave have located, along with other human occupation
remains, over 5000 engraved and painted stone plaques
which reveal the evolution of art and the characteristic
issues of the Upper Paleolithic societies. Animals such as
wild goats, deer, bovids or horses, among others, as well as
Engraved bone with a horse and a deer (highlighted in orange).
Cova del Parpalló (between 21,000 and 12,000 years BP).
1
3
2
4
Portable art from Cova del Parpalló (between 21,000 and 12,000 years BP)
1 Plaque with engraving of a horse.
2 Plaque engraved with representation
of a doe.
3 Plaque painted in ocher representing
a horse’s head.
4 Plaque with a doe painted in black
and two engraved horses.
[page-n-40]
HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS: PALEOLITHIC AND EPIPALEOLITHIC
Cova del Parpalló: an exceptional site
When Luis Pericot undertook the
excavations at the Cova del Parpalló
between 1929 and 1931 he never
imagined the surprises it had in store.
In this settlement, occupied by
different human groups for over
15,000 years, he found, along with
several tools and animal bones, one
of the finest art collections in Europe.
Hence, Cova del Parpalló is considered
a great Paleolithic sanctuary, a
place of encounter and exchange of
ideas where
its creators
left, perhaps
unknowingly,
testimonies of
their world in
images.
SIP Excavations in Cova del
Parpalló around 1930.
Excavation notebook
by L. Pericot in Cova
del Parpalló (1929).
various symbols, make up the formal
repertoire of these first artists.
Unlike the Paleolithic art, during
the
Epipaleolithic
or
Mesolithic,
the figurative style is abandoned
and abstraction is imposed, where
geometrical and lineal patterns of
difficult interpretation predominate.
Proofs of this artistic expression are the
engraved stone plaques of the Cueva de
la Cocina (Dos Aguas).
Plaque engraved with
geometric motifs. Cueva de la
Cocina (ca 7500 BC).
37
[page-n-41]
38
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Pottery fragment with a impressed decoration of goat.
Cova de l’Or. Beniarrés (ca 5000 BC).
[page-n-42]
39
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
First farmers and stock-breeders:
The Neolithic
[page-n-43]
40
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
First farmers and stock-breeders:
The Neolithic
Throughout the 10th and 9th millennium BC the first
sedentary communities* thrive in the Middle East, focusing
their economy on agriculture and stockbreeding.
This period, known as the Neolithic, implies a fundamental
change in the way of life, bringing favourable conditions
for more numerous human groups, a more complex social
structure and the appearance of new beliefs.
View of mountain Benicadell and the
Serpis Valley from Cova de l’Or.
Important technological innovations also take place, like
the manufacturing of pottery and polished stone objects,
and the development of new types of tools in flint and
bone.
In Valencian lands, the beginning of the Neolithic is
located towards the middle of the 6th millennium BC,
as a consequence of the arrival of the first farming
and stockbreeder settlers after going through a rapid
expansion, from east to west, through the Mediterranean
basin. Contacts with the last hunter-gatherer groups
allowed their integration into the new lifestyle.
[page-n-44]
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Landscape Change
The Neolithic brings a noticeable change in the relationships
between humans and their environment. Agriculture and
livestock require large spaces, obtained by the slash and
burn method. Thus, the Neolithic communities become
active agents of environmental degradation and begin to
leave their mark in the territory they occupy and exploit.
Neolithic landscape recreation at Cova de l’Or (F. Chiner).
In mountain areas, with a more intense stockbreeding
activity, the ancient Mediterranean forest of oaks and
shrubs, with species such as the wild olive, mastic and
arbutus, is progressively replaced by forests of pine and
scrub. Only in uninhabited spaces and in territories along
the plain, where the land is more fertile and fields are more
stable, primary forests remain.
In short, the countryside begins to be modified and
fields and pastures gain ground to the forest. This is the
beginning of landscape anthropization, which will become
more evident later.
41
[page-n-45]
42
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
Neolithic human groups base their survival on
cultivation of cereals (wheat and barley) and legumes
(beans, lentils and peas) and on breeding of various
domestic animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs).
Scene of the Neolithic way of life in Cova de
l’Or (A. Marin).
These tasks are supplemented
by hunting, gathering and
fishing, hence, installing in
caves and villages with suitable
locations for the development
of these activities.
Mill and grinding mill
from Cova de l’Or.
The caves chosen for dwelling
are located below 600 meters of altitude, ensuring
adequate temperatures and rainfall levels for crop growth.
However, it is the livestock activity that, over time,
gains more importance in these locations, as shown by
evidences of housing located at sites such as Cova de l’Or
(Beniarrés) and Cova de les Cendres (Moraira-Teulada).
[page-n-46]
43
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Villages are installed on
plains
near
the
upper
course of rivers, where the
best grazing and cultivating
land is found. In these
areas,
large,
rectangular
houses with an apse end
are built, lifted on wooden
and mud poles. The inner
space has subdivisions for
different activities such as
grinding, for the fireplace
or for ovens.
Dairy product use
(F. Chiner).
The first stews
The domestication of animals
and the cultivation of plants
involve major changes in the
way of eating. There is a greater
variety of products and new
ways of cooking them. Along
with the roasts from earlier
times, early “stews” made from
cereals and pulses appear. They
included these ingredients to
their diet as well as the meat
from domestic animals. A part
of their diet is also from the milk
of sheep and goats that they
obtain secondary
products.
Bone spoons. Cova de l’Or.
Pottery bowl with repairing
perforations. Cova de l’Or
(between 5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-47]
44
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
These settlements multiply and spread along rivers
giving way, at the end of the Neolithic, to the big villages
characteristic of the beginning of the Metallurgy, such as
Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés) or Les Jovades (Cocentaina).
The collective effort needed to implement and maintain
these facilities shows a complex social structure capable of
managing surplus production and organizing work.
Geminate ceramic vessel with impressed
cardial decoration. Cova de l’Or (between
5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-48]
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Materials and Tools
One of the most significant
contributions of the Neolithic
is the manufacture of ceramic
vessels. The excellent quality
of the first vessels found in
Valencian sites reveal that
pottery was a well-known
technique when implanted
in these lands. It is possibly
women who produce them,
preserving their cultural
tradition and adding their
personal taste, hence the
care and variety of ornamental
designs.
The big containers, bowls, pots,
storage vessels, double-bowl
vessels, barrel-shape vessels and
small jars feature the beginning
of this period and
are used, among
other purposes,
for storage,
cooking and food
consumption.
These shapes give
way to more shallow
ones as trays and dishes,
which are undecorated,
a common trend in pottery
production of the end of the
Neolithic and early Metallurgy.
Pottery vase with a narrow
neck and impressed cardial
decoration. Cova de l’Or.
Ceramic container with
printed cardial decoration.
Cova de l’Or.
45
[page-n-49]
46
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
When clay took shape
The Neolithic pottery production is
handmade. Overlaying strips of mud
give shape to clay vessels that, once
smoothed by bone spatulas and soft
mud, are decorated with different
tools. Afterwards they are left to dry
and they are finally fired until the right
consistency is achieved in pits dug in the
ground.
The most typical decoration of the early
Neolithic is called Cardial decoration,
due to the fact that it is obtained by
the impression of shells of the species
Cardium edule. Applied decoration,
incisions with awls, bone or wood toothcomb stamping and painting with ochre
were also used.
Experimental process
of cooking in a pit.
Decoration impressed with
Cardium (F. Chiner).
There are important innovations in stone tool development.
To the flint knapping, which incorporates new objects such
as drills or sickle blades, they added a technique based
on polishing the surface of rocks as hard as diorite, basalt
or porphyry. This new technique produced not only axes,
adzes and chisels for cutting logs or for wood processing
but also a number of decorative items like pendants, beads
and bracelets. Other objects made of stone, like digging-
[page-n-50]
47
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
stick counterweights and grinding stones were used in
sowing and cereal processing.
Reconstruction of flint knives with deer
antler handles
The bone tool industry gains
importance. Spoons, necessary to
eat new types of food, tubes possibly
used as musical instruments and
spatulas or comb* for modelling and
decoration of pottery were made as
well as chisels, needles, awls and
ornaments such as rings, pendants,
beads and pins.
Polished stone hoes. La Cova de
la Sarsa (Bocairent) (between
5500-5000 BC).
Bone ring from Cova
de l’Or.
Reconstruction of a
Neolithic bone flute.
Cova de l’Or (between
5500-5000 BC).
[page-n-51]
48
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The art and the Neolithic burial* practices bring us closer
to the world of myths and beliefs of the communities that
lived during this period of prehistory.
Funeral rituals follow different patterns, with burials found
both in caves and within villages. In Cova de la Sarsa
(Bocairent) different individuals were buried together
along with ceramic vessels and decorative elements.
Recreation of a Neolithic
burial pit (F. Chiner).
[page-n-52]
49
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Moreover, in recently excavated villages, as Costamar
(Ribera de Cabanes) and Tossal de les Basses (Alacant),
single or double burials have been found, sometimes with
ritual deposits inside pits dug in the ground.
As for artistic representations, early farmers developed a
type of art of symbolic nature characterized by its simplicity
called Macroschematic Art and Schematic Art. Ceramic
vessels and open-air spaces were the surfaces chosen; the
latter generally being rock shelters that function as true
sanctuaries. Unlike the Paleolithic, the human figure is
the dominant theme in artistic expressions of this period:
Macro-schematic style praying figures.
Abrigo de el Pla de Petracos (Castell de Castells).
~. 2"
·DO
e~
,_...o=--.; .
.
•
Schematic style eyed idol.
Abrigo de la Penya Escrita (Tàrbena).
[page-n-53]
50
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
large figures with raised hands
and arms, referred to as praying
figures,
and
representations
reduced to simple X- or Y- shaped
lines. Animals, plant elements
and signs were also depicted.
Once the Neolithic was well
Pottery fragment with
cardial impressed
decoration depicting a
praying figure. Cova de l’Or
(between 5500-5000 BC).
established, the Levantine art
adopts a more figurative style
where characters are shown in
hunting, gathering, dancing or
fighting scenes.
The rock art* of the Mediterranean
Basin on the Iberian Peninsula,
one of the most genuine of our
prehistory, was declared a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in
Pottery fragment with incised
decoration of schematic deer.
Cova de l’Or.
1998.
Levantine style hunting scene. Abrigo del Racó
de Nando (Benassal).
[page-n-54]
51
FIRST FARMERS AND STOCK-BREEDERS: THE NEOLITIC
Barranc de la Valltorta
Abric del Racó de Nando (Benassal)
Costamar (Cabanes)
Cova Matutano (Vilafamés)
Covacha de Llatas (Andilla)
Cueva de la Cocina (Dos Aguas)
Cova del Volcán del Faro (Cullera)
Cuevas de la Araña (Bicorp)
Abric de la Senda Vedada (Sumacàrcer)
Cova de les Malladetes (Barx)
Cova del Bolomor (Tavernes de la Valldigna)
Cova del Parpalló (Gandia)
Cova Negra (Xàtiva)
Cova del Barranc Blanc (Ròtova)
El Collao (Oliva)
Cova de l’Or (Beniarrés)
Les Jovades (Cocentaina)
Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent)
Abric del Salt (Alcoi)
Abrics de la Sarga (Alcoi)
Abric del Pla de Petracos (Castell de Castells)
Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira)
Abric de la Penya Escrita (Tàrbena)
Tossal de les Basses (Alacant)
Abric de la Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent)
Paleolithic sites
Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic sites
Neolithic sites
Group sites of the Postpaleolithic art
Major Valencian Paleolithic to Neolithic sites cited in text.
[page-n-55]
52
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Copper axe.
Mas de Menente, Alcoi (between 1800-1500 BC).
[page-n-56]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
The beginning of metallurgy:
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
53
[page-n-57]
54
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The beginning of metallurgy:
The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age
This recent Prehistory period is characterized by a growing
social complexity, an intense land use and the presence of
the first metal objects.
The initial stage, known as the Copper Age, Eneolithic or
Chalcolithic goes back towards the beginning of the third
millennium BC.
The increasing social complexity reached at this time is
evidenced through both the size and the organization of
the villages as well as through the sophistication of the
funeral rituals. Furthermore, the presence of decorative
elements made from exotic materials is a good example
of the exchange networks of prestige goods operating
between quite distant territories. These objects, as well as
the first metal pieces made of copper, are the manifestation
of the power of emerging social elites.
Plain and highland settlements during the Copper
and Bronze Age (F. Chiner).
[page-n-58]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Towards the end of the 3rd millennium or the beginning of
the 2nd BC, a number of changes are observed once again
affecting the structure and distribution of settlements
as well as the social organization. It is the beginning of
the so-called Valencian Bronze Culture, characterized by
widespread small settlements located in high ground and
the use of the first bronze* objects towards the end of this
period.
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the Valencian
lands are affected by a series of internal and external
influences which will mark the end of this period.
The new ways in which the territory is structured sets
the basis on which Phoenician traders will operate in the
peninsular coast.
Small village of La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna).
55
[page-n-59]
56
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
After the best land for grazing and crops were occupied in
earlier periods, a gradual conquest of dry land through the
use of the plough begins during the Eneolithic.
The large settlements of this
period are distributed along major
rivers, allowing its residents to
have the necessary resources
for their survival. The perimeter
of some of these large villages is
delimited by trenches dug for the
protection of people and crops.
Inside, cabins are built with a
more or less rectangular, oval or
apse-shape with a small stone
base and walls made of poles and
Interpretation of the constructive
remains of Lloma de Betxí (A. Sánchez).
mud. Storage pits dug into the
ground for keeping grain are also
typical.
In plain areas and along with these settlements coexist
others located in higher areas, which in time will become
Scene of domestic activities during the Bronze Age (A. Sánchez).
[page-n-60]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
the most important ones. Good
examples of this duality of sites
are Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés)
and
the
Rambla
Castellarda
(Llíria).
During
the
Bronze
Age,
settlements in the highlands are
Ceramic cheese strainer.
Lloma de Betxí (between
1800-1500 BC).
the most common. Within these
settlements,
important
stone
structures such as terraces, access
infrastructures, thick walls and
cisterns are built. The distribution
of housing along streets suggests
an early town planning.
Houses are generally rectangular
in shape and have their interiors
Globular pottery container.
Muntanya Assolada (between
1800-1400 BC).
organized in different activity
areas where ovens, fireplaces,
looms and benches for vessels can
be found. Houses are built with
perfectly plastered stone and mud
walls and are covered with beams
supporting a vegetal framework
protected with mud.
Livestock gains importance and it
is used for meat consumption, as
draft animals and to obtain wool,
milk and manure. From the nearby
forests, those which survive the
pressure of crops and grazing,
Large ceramic vessel
decorated with applied
cords. Ereta de Castellar
(ca 1500 BC).
57
[page-n-61]
58
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
they extract firewood, food and the raw materials needed for
construction and tools. Hunting and gathering wild fruit such
as acorns and olives are a good supplement to their diet.
Other important activities are those related to metallurgy
and product exchange.
The villages that belong to this period are, among others,
Mas de Menente and the Mola Alta de Serelles (Alcoi),
La Muntanyeta de Cabrera (Torrent), which are pioneer
excavations undertaken in the early 20th century, as well
as Ereta Castellar (Vilafranca), the Muntanya Assolada
(Alzira), La Lloma de Betxí (Paterna) or L’Arbocer-Altet de
Palau (la Font de la Figuera).
Wood sickle and denticulate sickle blades. Mas de Menente (ca 1800 BC).
[page-n-62]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Materials and tools
The greatest innovation of this stage is the use of the first
metal objects, much more resistant than those made with
other materials. Furthermore, this technological innovation
allows the manufacture of tools in series and their recycling.
Proposal of different
handles for metal pieces
(F. Chiner).
Set of metal objects.
L’ Arbocer-Altet de Palau
(ca 1500 BC).
59
[page-n-63]
60
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Metal, a scarce resource
Process of casting and
production of metal
pieces (F. Chiner).
Despite the lack of minerals in the
Valencia region, the metallurgical
activity is revealed by the presence
of a variety of instruments, first
made of copper and later made of
bronze, including axes, chisels, awls,
arrowheads and knives, as well as for
evidences of the work process itself. In
this sense, slag, wastes of metallurgical
furnaces, mining hammers, moulds
and foundry crucibles, stand out.
Mould and flat bronze ax. Mola
Alta de Serelles (ca 1500 BC).
Flint arrowheads.
La Ereta del Pedregal
(ca 3300-2200 BC).
However, the household items of these human groups
are still composed of a variety of tools made of stone,
wood and bone. Archer bracelets, polished stone axes and
hammers, grinding stones, flint sickles and bone awls are
some of the most common. Some other materials used for
making ornaments are gold, ivory, amber and variscite.
[page-n-64]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Ceramic Set of the Bronze Age.
Lloma de Betxí.
Clay loom weights. Mas
de Menente and Ereta
del Castellar
The pottery production focuses on the development of
rarely decorated handmade containers. Typical objects
of this period are jars, cheese strainers, pots, bowls and
geminate vessels, covering the basic purposes of storage,
processing, cooking and consumption of food. Some objects
are also clay-made and are used for the tasks of spinning
and weaving of plant fibres as whorls and loom weights.
61
[page-n-65]
62
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The funerary rituals documented in the initial stages of
metallurgy suggest the level of complexity that these
societies have reached.
Funeral remains are found both in villages and in caves
next to them, but it is in the latter where the so-called
multiple burials were carried out. In these necropolises*
a large number of people were deposited following a
complex ritual that includes the offering of objects and
food. Excavations at the Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi) found
many idols made of bone similar to the one found in Ereta
del Pedregal (Navarrés). These large-eyed representations
are known as eyed idols and are interpreted as important
deities to these communities from the beginning of
metallurgy.
Eyed-idol on deer antler. La Ereta del
Pedregal (ca 2800 BC).
[page-n-66]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
The presence of daggers, awls and copper spear tips as well
as various decorative elements in burial offerings show the
perpetuation of the status of their owners.
Excavation notebook by
Vicente Pascual in the
Cova de la Pastora (1945).
Anthropomorphic flat-shaped idols
made in bone. Cova de la Pastora.
Containers for the afterlife
Bell-beaker vessels are the main
feature of the final Eneolithic. This
pottery, richly decorated, is named
after the shape adopted by some
containers. In Valencian sites such
as the Cova de les Aranyes and the
Cova dels Gats (Alzira) and Sima de
la Pedrera (Benicull) such vessels
were found as part of the grave-goods
intended to contain food or fermented
beverages such as beer.
Bell-beakers pottery from a
funerary offering. Cova dels Gats
(ca 2400 BC).
63
[page-n-67]
64
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Recreation of a burial ritual in a cave (F. Chiner).
During the Bronze Age the variety of funerary rituals remains,
performing burials both in caves near settlements and in pits
located within the villages. However, there is a shift towards
single burials with
no personal items.
Perhaps this new
trend reflects changes in the social
organization
and
beliefs of these
Bead necklace from a funerary offering.
Cova de Rocafort.
groups.
[page-n-68]
THE BEGINNING OF METALLURGY: CALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE
Ereta del Castellar (Vilafranca)
Rambla Castellarda (Llíria)
Cova de Rocafort (Rocafort)
Lloma de Betxí (Paterna)
Muntanyeta de Cabrera (Torrent)
Muntanya Assolada (Alzira)
Ereta del Pedregal (Navarrés)
Sima de la Pedrera (Benicull)
Cova dels Gats (Alzira)
Cova de les Aranyes (Alzira)
L’Arbocer (Font de la Figuera)
Mola Alta de Serelles (Alcoi)
Mas de Menente (Alcoi)
Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi)
Cabezo Redondo (Villena)
San Antón (Orihuela)
Laderas del Castillo (Callosa de Segura)
Major Valencian Copper and Bronze Age sites cited in text.
65
[page-n-69]
66
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Detail of the vessel of the warriors.
Edeta, Llíria (3rd-early 2nd centuries BC).
[page-n-70]
THE IBERIANS
The Iberians
67
[page-n-71]
68
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Iberians
The Mediterranean Sea has been since prehistoric times a
space of contact for all the people who have inhabited its
shores. These relationships intensified from the 8th century
BC onwards when Phoenician sailors, and a little later the
Greeks, direct their interests towards the West in search of
metals, and to a lesser extent, of agricultural products and
other commodities.
The settlement of Phoenicians and Greeks on the Mediterranean coast of the peninsula, between 700 and 600 BC, not
only facilitates the exchange of products but also the exchange of knowledge and customs with indigenous people.
This cultural and social interaction enriches the emerging local society, which from the 6th century BC onwards, is known
as the Iberian Culture.
As an introduction to the rooms of the Iberian World at the
Museum, pieces of the colonial settlements of Ibiza and
Ampurias are exhibited. The island of Ibiza, strategically
located on the silver route between the East and Tartessos*,
is occupied by the Phoenicians around 650 BC. Among the
numerous settlements excavated, the rock shelter shrine
of the Cova des Cuieram and the necropolis of Puig des
Molins, which have provided hundreds of terracotta and very
rich funerary offerings, are among the most relevant. On
the Catalan coast, the Greek colony of Ampurias (Girona),
founded by the Phoceans around 600 BC, became the
gateway to the peninsula for people, ideas and products from
the Hellenic world.
Red-figures Greek vase.
Ampurias.
Punic glass juglet. Puig des
Molins.
[page-n-72]
69
THE IBERIANS
Iberians is the term Greek and Roman geographers and historians used to refer to the various people that occupied,
between the 6th and 1st centuries, a wide strip of the Mediterranean coast, between the Hérault River in France and the
Guadalquivir River in Andalusia. The Iberians who inhabited
the north and south of Valencia were the Ilercavones, the
Edetans and the Contestans.
Pvig de la Nau
LaSolivella
Torre la Sal
u ercavon~>s
LaSelli •
c.stellt. Puntal deis
~. • Liops
Molvavana e •
e
•
Arse-Saguntum
Edeta Tos
Pelat
•
Kflin
Edetanos
•
La Carencia
•
Sait i-Xit iva
COrral de Saus
••
Bastida ele les Alcusses
e Covalta
La Serreta • • El Pulg
•
Tossat de la Cata
EIMurOcDlit e
•
lllt:lcl c.lt:ll> S..uyt:l!>
lli
Contesta nos
•
El Oral
-·-
Iberian towns and main sites
in Valencian lands.
1
[page-n-73]
70
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Lifestyle
The Iberians, like the Greeks, Etruscans and Celts, do
not form a political unit. They are organized in separate
territories around cities ruled by aristocratic groups that
control the political and economic activities, including as
well as the long-distance trade.
Within the territory
of each city, the
settlement
is
structured in oppida
or fortified towns,
villages, forts and
farmhouses, as well
as places of worship
and necropolises.
Some Classical
sources refer to
monarchies between
the Iberians and
The Castellet de Bernabé: a
territories ruled by
fortified hamlet.
kinglets, as is the
case of Edecon, chief of the Edetans, supported by his
retinue of advisors, warriors and priests.
The Iberians do not
have professionally
organized
armies
but warriors are an
important group in
the Iberian society.
Owning a horse
is a status symbol
because it is a
noble animal that
only elite groups
Set of weapons falcata sword, spearpoints and
javelin-from Bastida de les Alcusses.
4th century BC.
[page-n-74]
THE IBERIANS
can have. Ancient texts also mention the existence of
Iberians enlisted as mercenaries in Greek, Carthaginian
and Roman armies.
The power of women is evidenced by statues and tombs
with representations of women as the Dama d’Elx or the
young ladies of the necropolis of Corral de Saus (Moixent).
Merchants, craftsmen and farmers, as well as servants, live
together in the settlements along with the ruling classes.
Weaving scene on a pottery fragment.
Edeta. 3rd–early 2nd centuries BC.
The oppidum, or fortified village, represents the political
and ideological centre that articulates the territory and,
therefore, the socio-economic relationships . These sites
are usually situated at the top of mountains, as the Bastida
de les Alcusses (Moixent), Covalta (Albaida), Castellar
de Meca (Ayora) or El Molón (Camporrobles). They are
surrounded by a wall with defensive and surveillance
towers and have a structured, more or less regular
planning, with streets and blocks of houses.
71
[page-n-75]
72
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
WARRIOR. 5th and 4th centuries BC
Warriors were an elite group in the Iberian society. Their
panoply consists of offensive and defensive iron weapons.
Spear with iron point
and ferrule
Leather helmet, sometimes
adorned with plume
Short belted tunic
Breastplate or leather
and metal hard-shell
Caetra or small
rounded shield
Falcata or iron sword with
a single curved edge
Dagger, knife and
sling
Greaves or metal or
leather shins
Leather sandals
(F. Chiner).
[page-n-76]
73
THE IBERIANS
LADY. 5th and 4th centuries BC
The Iberian women play a prominent role in all spheres
of society: She administers the home and performs the
tasks of food preparation, cooking, knitting and family care
and maintenance. The great ladies were disseminators of
lineage and participated in social life.
Cap and veil
Gold tiara
Gold earrings
Robe
Fibulae
Gold necklaces
Long tunic
Belt
Leather sandals
(F. Chiner).
[page-n-77]
74
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Warrior of Moixent
The Bastida de les Alcusses is a walled settlement founded in
the 5th century BC and abandoned in the course of three or four
generations. Among the rich findings discovered in this Contestan
city, it is worth mentioning the iron tools, local as well as foreign
pottery, personal ornaments, weapons and two bronze figurines
depicting an ox with a yoke and an armed horseman known as the
”Guerrer de Moixent”.
This bronze figurine, discovered on July 21, 1931, is 7.3 cm in height
and represents a high-status individual on horseback. The rider is
naked and armed with a falcata, a shield and a helmet surmounted
by a large plume. The piece was originally part of a banner and it was
removed to become a votive offering.
Excavation notebook from
1931 where the finding of
the little warrior is drawn.
[page-n-78]
THE IBERIANS
Puntal dels Llops fort (A. Sánchez).
Puntal dels Llops street (A. Sánchez).
In contrast, other oppida, such the one of the Tossal de Sant
Miquel (Llíria) stretch down the slopes of the mountains,
with streets and buildings adapted to the land topography
by modifying the slope into terraces and building twostory houses. This town, identified as Edeta mentioned
in Classical texts, exerts, since the end of the 5th century
BC, political and economic control over a vast territory
with villages and hamlets dedicated to the exploitation of
agricultural and livestock resources, such as La Monravana
and El Castellet de Bernabé (Llíria) or La Seña (Villar del
Arzobispo). This area is delimited by a defensive network
of forts located in the Calderona Mountain Range like El
Puntal dels Llops (Olocau), maintaining visual contact
among themselves and with the city.
South slope of the city of Edeta.
Graphic reconstruction of Edeta
(Arquitectura Virtual).
75
[page-n-79]
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The Iberian house
Defined as a work of architecture without architects, the Iberian
construction is basically made of soil. The stone is only used at the base
of walls, doorways and stairs, while walls and partitions are built with
sundried mudbricks. The roofs are supported with beams and a vegetal
framework and everything is then coated with a layer of mud. The wooden
doors have locking systems for which wooden keys and, occasionally, iron
keys are used.
As for the internal equipment, almost all houses have a fireplace, and a
few have a domestic oven, grinding, weaving and storage areas.
Iron keys. El Xarpolar and
Puntal dels Llops.
(F. Chiner).
76
Sotl cover and lome wash
[page-n-80]
THE IBERIANS
Scene of agricultural activities in the
fields next to Bastida de les Alcusses
(F. Chiner).
Daily life in these settlements takes place between home
and the fields for a vast groups of people. The house is
the space where the family gets together and carries out
household, craft and cultural activities. Houses vary in size
and shape according to the towns or the social status of the
household but they all share similar architectural features.
Agriculture, livestock and gathering of wild plants and fruits
make up the basis of the Iberian economy. Iron instruments
offer information about everyday work in the fields and
charred seeds recovered in excavations make possible to
reconstruct the agricultural landscape and people’s diet.
The farm implements recovered from the Bastida de les
Alcusses -plowshares, picks, hoes, small pickaxes, sickles,
pruners, forks, spades- reveal the importance of a dry-land
crop production dominated by cereals. Vines and olives,
pulses -lentils, peas and beans- and fruit growing trees
complete the farm product list.
77
[page-n-81]
78
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Bronze figurine reprsenting of a yoked
ox. Bastida de les Alcusses.
4th century BC.
Animal studies show that the Iberians had domestic animals
of different species as a dietary and economic supplement,
along with hunting and fishing activities. Sheep and goats
provided mainly meat and milk but also skin and wool.
Pork and beef meat were also consumed but oxen were
primarily used for farming. Beekeeping and bee farming
was practiced in all villages in the area of Valencia. Honey
was a product of multiple uses and of high nutritional value
that was exported outside the Iberian territory in a type of
vessel called kalathos*.
Other iron tools such as saws, chisels, augers, trowels and
needles testify the existence of craftwork related to stone
carving, carpentry or leathercraft.
[page-n-82]
THE IBERIANS
Materials and tools
Among the most important technological advances that
take place during the Iberian period we can find: the potter’s
wheel and the dual-chamber furnace, the development of
iron metallurgy, the adoption of writing and the minting
of coins.
Until the 6th century BC,
pottery is performed manually, at home, since it is
produced to meet family
needs. From this century onwards, by using the
potter’s wheel, pottery
production becomes standardized and is carried out
in workshops. At this time,
the dual-chamber furnace
is also introduced and
Reconstruction of a dual
chamber kiln (F. Chiner).
Pottery from Kelin: cooking pots, brazier and
bowls. 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
79
[page-n-83]
80
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
together with the potter’s wheel, exceptional pieces with
thinner walls and more homogeneous finish are produced.
Vessels are painted using brushes and compasses before
being fired.
The earliest local pottery made with a potter’s wheel come
from Los Villares (Caudete de las Fuentes), the ancient
city of Kelin, La Solivella (Alcala de Xivert) or the Cova del
Cavall (Llíria). The decorative techniques consist of simple
geometrical elements. From the 3rd century BC onwards,
plant, animal and human motifs are added, appearing, in
Valencian lands, two workshops or art circles: the narrative
style of Llíria reflects aristocratic representations with
processions and battles, dancing and hunting scenes,
whereas the symbolic style of Elx-Archena, represents
winged goddesses and mythological beings.
Vessel of the warriors from Edeta.
3rd-early 2nd centurie BC.
[page-n-84]
THE IBERIANS
The repertoire is widely varied
in shapes, including pantry,
transportation and kitchen
vessels- amphorae, pots, flasks
and pans-, and tablewareplates, cups, jugs, bottles. Some
items are specific for ritualsclepsidra*, perfume burners or
craters- or for personal use as
ointments and microvessels.
The metal work, and especially
the manufacture of iron
weapons, is praised in classical
sources for its quality and
hardness. The mining and
mineral reduction takes place
outside the villages while
houses
feature
furnaces
for bronze metallurgy and
cupellation* of silver for
ornaments and jewellery, and
also of wrought iron for the
manufacture of weapons and
agricultural instruments. The
presence of slag from furnaces
and forges in the Castellet
of Bernabé and the findings
of tuyeres, mallets, grinders,
chisels, crucibles and tongs
in villages like Kelin and La
Bastida de les Alcusses, testify
this metalwork.
Kalathos decorated with scene
of dancers and musicians from
Edeta. 3rd-early 2nd century BC.
Small jar with geometric and
floral decoration from Edeta.
3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
81
[page-n-85]
82
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
New jewellery techniques from the
eastern Mediterranean
The Iberian artisans create jewellery in gold and silver using
innovations like the filigree*, the gold plating, the damascene*
and progresses in welding. This way, they were able to create
jewellery with great personality and beauty characterized by its
visual effectiveness, making possible to produce large pieces
with light weight. Most are made from sheets embossed or
decorated by welding on them various kinds of twisted yarns
and gold granules. Other ornaments such as glass-paste
necklaces and earrings come from the Punic trade.
Gold earring from Penya
Roja. Embossing and
stippling techniques.
Glasshead representing a
barbed man. Covalta.
Twisted gold threaded pin
for the hair. Bastida de les
Alcusses. 4th century BC
[page-n-86]
THE IBERIANS
Detail of the vessel of
warriors from Edeta.
Writing is one of the distinctive cultural elements of the
Iberians. Although the earliest records date back to the 6th
century BC, in Valencian lands it becomes evident since
the 4th century BC. The progressive Romanization and
Latinization of the territory will make the Iberian language
and writing gradually disappear towards the turn of the era.
The Iberian language is a Paleohispanic* one; isolated and
unrelated to any other known, their texts can be phonetically
represented but cannot be translated, although it has been
possible to identify names of people and places, verbs and
numerals, in commercial, funerary, religious or narrative
inscriptions. Writing was probably used only by a ruling
minority.
There are three known writing systems: Eastern writing,
extending along the coast to the Xúquer River, Meridian
writing used in Contestan lands, and Ionic writing, limited to
the region of Alcoi and a part of the coast of Alacant. The first
two derive from the Phoenician language and are adapted to
83
[page-n-87]
84
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Ivory comb decorated with two
opposing carnivores. Kelin.
the phonetic Iberian rules, forming mixed writings, alphabetic
and syllabic ones. The third one comes from adopting the
Greek alphabet for writing the Iberian language.
The usual surface for writing are sheets of lead, such as those
located in the Bastida de les Alcusses, Kelin or Pico de los
Ajos (Yátova) but many texts written in other materials such
as painted signs on pottery from Llíria and engravings on
bone, stone, bronze or iron have also been found.
Lead sheet with Iberian oriental
writing. Pico de los Ajos.
[page-n-88]
THE IBERIANS
Another
great
innovation of the
Iberian world is
the minting of
coins. Between
the 5th and 3rd
centuries BC, the
Iberians
occaNaval scene with Iberian text. Edeta.
sionally adopted
3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
Greek coins for
their transactions, pieces that were probably appreciated as exotic objects as well. Most exchanges take place
through barter or metal weight payment as indicated by findings of ingots and cut out silver fragments from La Bastida
de les Alcusses, La Carència (Torís), Arse (Sagunt) or the little
treasure of Kelin.
In the 4th century BC, the first Iberian money emission is
produced in Arse. However, the use of money as payment
does not become a common practice until the Second Punic
War (218-201 BC). Emissions of the mint* of Saitabi (Xàtiva)
began during this war, the only silver-coining workshop
together with Arse at the time. In
the mid-2nd century BC, a modest
production of bronze coin production in
the cities of Kelin and Kili began.
Bronze coin from Saiti.
2nd century BC.
Funerary stela from
Sinarcas. 1st century BC.
85
[page-n-89]
86
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and beliefs
The Iberians had myths and gods, protectors of life
and death in its most varied aspects, although their
representations are scarce. Rituals and funerary goods
found in the necropolises and shrines, sculptures, votive
offerings and scenes painted on
pottery show a naturalistic religion
of a polytheistic nature, similar to
its
contemporary
Mediterranean
cultures (Punic, Greek and Etruscan).
The spiritual life of the Iberians is
developed in places of worship, both
outdoors and in sanctuaries, but also
at home showing the complexity of
religious manifestations. In shrinecaves, they deposited lamps, dishes
and small containers linked to rituals
and libations* traditionally associated
with telluric beliefs* about nature,
such as those found in the Cueva del
Puntal del Horno Ciego (Villargordo
del Cabriel). Shrines, located in
relevant places of the territory are
places of pilgrimage where the
worshipers
deposit
their
votive
offerings aimed to strengthen tribal
identity. These offerings represent
human figures in an offering position)
or animals such as the bronze
Bronze figurine
representing an adult
woman from Peal del
Becerro shrine (Jaén).
figurines from Despeñaperros or Peal
del Becerro (Jaén). In Edeta, many of
the best-known decorated vessels like
[page-n-90]
THE IBERIANS
Terracotta votive heads and incense burner featuring a
female head. Puntal dels Llops. 3rd-early 2nd centuries BC.
the warrior’s vessel, the kalathos of the dance, the fish dish,
etc., as well as other offerings and terracotta appeared in
the votive well of a temple. These unique and customized
vessels, some with dedicated texts, represent ceremonies,
rites and heroic scenes which reflect the imagination of
the dominant classes of the city. Rites are also practiced
at home, where perfume-burners, terracotta, votive
Reconstruction of a cremation scene on a funerary pyre (F. Chiner).
87
[page-n-91]
88
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
offerings and liturgical objects show the existence of cults
to ancestors and ceremonies within the family, like in El
Puntal dels Llops and Castellet de Bernabé.
As for the burials, the Iberians cremated their dead on a
pyre and after the cremation, burnt bones and ashes were
deposited in an urn. Next to the remains of the deceased,
buried offerings from family and friends, who would take
part in funeral rituals and banquets, can be found. These
include abundant cereals, grapes, figs, pomegranates and
bones of birds, pigs and lambs. In addition to these offerings,
personal items of the deceased, which reflect their status
or gender, such as weapons, tools, fibulas, pins or beads,
were added. At the Museum, you can see a selection of
weapons and furnishings found in the necropolises of Las
Peñas (Zarra) and Casa del Monte (Valdeganga, Albacete).
The types of burials vary from simple pits dug into the
ground to pillar-wake-shaped graves or tower-shaped
monuments, clear examples of the tombs of the elites.
Funerary incinerations urns and
offerings. Las Peñas. 6th century BC.
[page-n-92]
THE IBERIANS
Female head from a funerary monument.
Corral de Saus. 5th century BC.
«Damita» which is part of a funerary monument of the
necropolis of Corral de Saus. 5th century BC.
89
[page-n-93]
90
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Sculptural elements representing warriors, queens or
fantastic creatures are added to these constructions. Good
examples are the magnificent sculptures of the necropolis
of Corral de Saus or the Estela de Ares del Maestre. From
the 1st century BC they started using identified tombstones
with inscriptions related to the deceased, as found in
Sinarcas.
Child burials found beneath the floor of houses related to
domestic rituals are of particular interest. The cremation
funerary ritual does not apply to newborns and they are
set aside from adult burial areas since they are neither
incinerated nor buried in the necropolises but buried
beneath the houses. This difference in treatment raises the
suspicion of rites of passage depending on age, although
some evidence also point to foundational sacrifices.
Child burial urn found under a room floor. Castellet de Bernabé.
[page-n-94]
91
THE IBERIANS
Route of the Iberians in Valencia
The outreach of the Prehistory Museum of Valencia is not
limited to the material culture on display in the rooms but it
also extends to the most emblematic Iberian valencian sites:
Bastida de les Alcusses (Moixent), Kelin (Caudete de las
Fuentes), Tossal de Sant Miquel/Edeta (Llíria), Castellet de
Bernabé (Llíria), Puntal dels Llops (Olocau), La Seña (Villar
del Arzobispo), El Molón (Camporrobles), Castellar de Meca
(Ayora) and Tos Pelat
(Moncada). They are
all part route of the
Iberians of Valencia,
which offers the
possibility of getting
to know the world of
the Iberians through
the visit of some of
the most important
sites located in areas
of great natural and
scenic value.
In some of them, as
is the case of Bastida
de les Alcusses, the
Museum
organizes
workshops for schools
and visiting days. In
addition, the Museum
I!.VTA DELS
IB(It.f
participates in the
Open Day in Kelin and
Puntal dels Llops, and
in any other initiative proposed by City Councils concerning
the Iberian heritage.
http://museuprehistoriavalencia.es
*
1
[page-n-95]
92
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Detail of mosaic
Font de Mussa, Benifaió (1st-2nd centuries).
[page-n-96]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
93
Romanization and the Roman World
[page-n-97]
94
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Romanization and the Roman World
The History of Rome, as known through both written sources
and archaeological remains, spans over a millennium, from
the mythical founding of Rome in 753 BC until the end of the
Western Roman Empire in the year 476 (although in the East
it lasts until the year 1453, as the Byzantine Empire). From the
city of Rome the Italian peninsula is unified and an empire
that gradually establishes throughout the Mediterranean is
built, ranging from Britain to the Sahara Desert and from the
Iberian Peninsula to the Euphrates River.
During this period, the basis of law, art, literature, architecture and language of the West were established. Technological
innovations
took place allowing
advances in engineering and architecture.
The development of
navigation and the
construction of large
merchant ships turned
the Mediterranean Sea
into a vast network of
Household ware from the Roman
communication along
Republic period. Diverse origin.
which, both products
and knowledge, circulated.
Household ware from the
Imperial period. Pla de l’Arc.
The occupation of
Iberia is marked by the
Punic Wars (264-146
BC) between Rome
and Carthage, by which
they distribute their
territories of influence
and divide them into
provinces.
Valencian
lands, inhabited by
the Iberians, had a
[page-n-98]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
~/
- -/*"
1
" lnlbtl
XXl\11
1
1
1
~7
AdNcMas~ll
-~
1
''
XXII
1
1
'
...
CITY
ViaAugusta
Via Augusta Probable rw.e
Olnerro&O$
relevant role in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) with
the occupation of Arse (Sagunt) by Hannibal. This conflict
between Romans and Carthaginians ends with the triumph of
the first and the progressive inclusion of the Iberian peninsula
into their territories. Thus, a long process begins, known as
Romanization, which is slowly introduced in Valencian lands
over the second and first centuries BC, with situations of
resistance, coexistence, assimilation and interaction with the
Iberian culture. It will be during the reign of Augustus when
the Iberians fully integrate into the Roman world.
95
[page-n-99]
96
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Romanization implies a series of changes in the territorial
organization and in the judiciary, administrative and tax
systems. These changes affect areas such as the right of
citizenship, language and writing, the worship of new
divinities, the introduction and expansion of new monetary
and measurement systems.
This new political, economic and social order spreads,
essentially through colonies or newly founded cities. The
most important are the ones established along the main
communication route linking Rome with southern Spain,
the Via Augusta, which also allows the transport of products
obtained in the new farms or villas. In the Valencia region,
the main colonies and indigenous cities that become
districts or Roman stipendiary
cities* are: Lesera (Moleta dels
Frares, el Forcall, Castellón),
Arse / Saguntum (Sagunt),
Edeta (Llíria), Valentia (Valencia)
Saitabi (Xàtiva) Dianium (Dénia),
Lucentum (Tossal of Manises,
Alicante), Ilici (Elx) and Allon (la
Vila Joiosa).
Titus Livius, in the History of
Rome, 28.1, describes in the 1st
Visigothic capital of Byzantine
century that « ...the seacoast and
tradition. Pla de Nadal.
most part of Eastern Hispania
are under the control of Scipio
and the Romans». This vast territory, difficult to control,
eventually broke up at the end of the 4th century A.D.
Germanic or Barbarian Invasions in the Iberian Peninsula,
starting on the 5th century, hasten the end of the Western
Roman Empire causing the breakdown of the political and
administrative organization. The Visigoths, heirs of the
material and architectural culture of the Roman world,
rearranged the territory into bishoprics and places of
Christian worship.
[page-n-100]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Lifestyle: city and countryside
In Roman society, living and working conditions vary
according to the social class to which one belongs and to
where one lives, either the city or rural areas. Slavery is
one of the pillars of its economy both for public jobs and
household chores.
Urban areas are the centres of government and trade with
public buildings, private houses, workshops and shops for
the production and sale of products. Within them, skilled
trades arise, specialized in construction, the manufacture
of fabrics, shoes, jewellery or pottery, and other professions
such as doctors, bankers, traders and teachers.
Bone needle for personal
decoration. Ampurias.
Leaf-shaped gold sheet.
Valencia. 2nd-1st centuries BC.
Gold earring from the
Imperial period. Valencia.
Gold ring from the Imperial period. Llíria.
97
[page-n-101]
98
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
These activities and the sophisticated Roman daily life are
evidenced in the many objects, images of mural paintings,
reliefs and epigraphic texts found in excavations.
Leisure time includes involvement in public performances,
games, parties and attendance to baths or spas which are
places to relax and establish social relationships. Examples
of these complex facilities in Valencia are the baths
excavated in the Pla de l’Arc (Llíria) and the ones that can
be visited at l’Almoina (Valencia).
The roman city
The foundation of a Roman city is determined by an Etruscan ritual where
the priest seeks advice from the gods concerning the layout and limits of
the urban area or pomerium, walled by towers and fortified gates.
The urban layout is designed following a regular and planned model
called Hippodamus. It consists in dividing the space into four areas by
two
orthogonal
axes that make up
the two main streets
of the city, the cardo
maximus running
from north to south
and the decumanus
maximus from east
to west.
At the junction
of the two roads
lies the forum
or public square
Urban miniature layout of a Roman city.
around which the
main public buildings as the curia*, the basilica*, temples and warehouses
are allocated. The private households are organized into blocks of houses
or insulae. The main entertainment and recreation buildings are the
theatre, the amphitheatre, the circus and the baths.
[page-n-102]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Roman houses or domus are built around a small patio
or open court whose function is ventilation and lighting
of the house while allowing the collection and storage of
rainwater in a cistern. The rooms are distributed around it,
leaving the garden at the back. The rooms facing the street
are often used as shops or tabernae.
The land is divided into plots of land of 20 actus (50
hectares), centuriatio, where the main Roman economic
activity, agriculture, is developed. This activity is organized
around agricultural private properties, villae rusticae,
with large areas for farming and production facilities
and a luxury home for resting. In one of these villas, the
magnificent mosaic of Font de Mussa (Benifaió), whose
central medallion shows an allegory of the myth of the
founding of Rome, was recovered.
Recreation of the Roman Cornelius villa of l’Ènova (F. Chiner).
99
[page-n-103]
100
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The main crops are cereals, grapes, olives, vegetables,
pulses, tubers and fruits. The buildings have facilities for
the elaboration of wine and oil, which are stored in large
jars or dolias. Other activities are stockbreeding, pottery,
basketry, metalwork, carpentry, tanning and spinning as
studied in the Villa of Cornelius, next to Saetabis (Xàtiva),
which was involved in farming and the processing of flax.
The coastal villages also produce salted fish and fish sauces
such as garum.
The Visigothic villa of Pla del Nadal (Riba-roja de Túria).
The Visigothic villa of Pla del Nadal.
[page-n-104]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Trade
Trade is a key activity for the Romans. In fact, one of
the reasons for their presence in Spain is their interest
in obtaining products and resources in order to include
them in their commercial networks. The cities, besides
being political, administrative, economic and religious
centres are responsible for
trade and its redistribution. A
wide variety of products make
up the Roman commerce:
spices, salt, textiles, metals,
grain, wine, oil, salted fish
and even marble and other
materials
for
construction
and decoration. The currency
minted by Rome and some
of
its
provincial
cities
became the main object for
transactions and it spread
like never before. Transport
is carried out in large boats
arriving to the main coastal
ports
and,
from
there,
products are distributed to
the cities along a vast network
of roads.
Bronze scale from
Vélez Blanco
(Almería).
Amphorae cargo in a Roman ship hold.
101
[page-n-105]
102
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Materials and Tools
In Roman times a wealth of technological innovations
appeared and they had great impact in the society up to
the present day.
Dog-shaped terracotta
gargoyle from the Imperial
period. Rome.
In architecture and engineering new
machinery is developed, as well
as construction techniques as the
arches with keystones, the vault and
the dome. These new techniques,
along with bricks and lime mortar,
can create great buildings of
considerable height, strength and
creativity, as recounted by Vitruvius
in the 1st century. Architectural
elements such as wall coatings and
marble paving, mosaics, stucco, wall
paintings and sculptures complete
the decoration of buildings and
homes.
The aqueduct, a cutting edge supply
and distribution system, brings
water from springs and reservoirs
to the cities where, through ceramic
or lead pipes, it is channelled to the
various public and private buildings.
Other contributions of the Romans
are the invention of brass, an alloy of
copper and zinc, and the discovery
Bottle and glass bowl
from the Imperial
of glass-blowing, a technique that
period. Tisneres
artisans used to perform delicate
everyday objects such as ointments, tableware and glasses
for windows in replacement of plaster or lapis specularis.
[page-n-106]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
Pottery production also experienced
significant advances. Large workshops,
especially in rural villages, supply
their pieces to dealers who distribute
them throughout the Empire. In Ceramic mould featuring
a hare and a bunch of
Republican times, and following the
grapes. Guadassèquies.
Attic tradition, black-glaze pottery
from Campania reached the Iberian
Peninsula. In Imperial times, these
productions were replaced by redglaze pottery known as terra sigillata
for having the potter’s hallmark
(sigilla) printed at the bottom. There
Terra sigillata pottery
decorated with the
were relevant Sigillata-producing
figure of Mercury.
Ampurias. 1st century.
centres at the Italian Peninsula, Gaul,
Hispania (Rioja, Teruel and Andújar), North Africa and the
Middle East. This large-scale production was possible due
to the introduction of skilled workers using moulds on
which they made different shapes and decorations. Each
workshop had its own decorative repertoire which makes
possible to identify the source of the pottery recovered.
Recreation of a pottery
kiln from l’Almadrava
de Dénia (F. Chiner).
103
[page-n-107]
104
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Art and Beliefs
The term religio was understood as the set of relationships
established between men and gods. Roman religion
worshiped many gods and goddesses and believed in life
after death. Although many Greek deities were adopted
for the construction of
the
Roman
pantheon,
they continued to worship
their ancient gods. It was
also common to worship
the domestic gods Lares*,
Manes and Penate, as well
as the Eastern and imperial
cults, reflecting the close
Lucerna or oil lamps.
relationship between religion
Ampurias.
and state.
A priesthood system was established and rituals relied
heavily on offerings and sacrifices performed in temples,
shrines, necropolises or in homes.
Rituals around the
main stages of life
and social cycle
of i n di v i du al s
(birth, marriage
and death) were
common. In the
last case, vigils
are held over
several days with
funeral processions,
banquets, music
and dancing. The
deceased
are
Reconstruction of a funeral ritual in
burial pit (F. Chiner).
[page-n-108]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
usually buried with grave
goods
and
offerings,
frequently including ceramic
or glass objects filled
with food and ointments,
oil-lamps or lucerna and
personal ornaments, as well
as a coin in the mouth as
payment for the passage to
the realm of Hades*.
Romans practiced both
cremations placed in urns as
well as burials placed in pits covered
with tiles, in vessels or in wooden,
stone or lead sarcophagi. They also
built individual or familiar funeral
buildings that may have inscriptions
regarding the deceased. Examples
of these practices are the remains
recovered in the city of Valentia or
the offerings from the necropolis of
Tisneres (Alzira).
Christian inscription
with Chrismon symbol
from the year 395.
Rome.
Their cemeteries must be located,
according to the Law of the XII
Tables, outside the cities, preferably
next to access roads, thus, acting as
a reminder to the living, who must
honour the memory of the dead
through offerings and libations.
The rise of Christianity, finally
accepted as the official religion
of the Empire in 380 AC, ends the
Funerary inscription.
Pedralba.
105
[page-n-109]
106
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
traditional classical pantheon and
brings a crucial change in Roman
world beliefs.
Some Christian places of worship
located in the Valencia region, dating
between the end of the ancient world
and the beginning of the Middle Ages,
are the monastery of the Punta de l’Illa
(Cullera) and the courtly villa of Pla de
Nadal (Riba-roja de Túria).
Liturgical cross from the
monastic complex of Punta
de l’Illa. 6th century.
Gods and cults
Some of the Roman deities are: Jupiter, god of heaven; Juno, protector of marriage
and births; Neptune, god of sea; Pluto, god of the underworld or darkness, understood
as the hereafter; Minerva, goddess of wisdom and
weapons; Venus, goddess of love; Mars, god of war;
Mercury, messenger of the gods; Bacchus, related to
wine, orgiastic dances and worship of the dead; Diana,
goddess of hunting and wildlife; Apollo, related to
virtue, healing, purification and arts; Victoria, associated
with military victory. Most of them were worshiped in
Valencian lands.
Cultural influences from the East brought the mystery
cults to Roman beliefs. These were widely accepted by
providing a different view of the world as a mere transit
and preparation to another life. The initiation rites were
understood as training to obtain the Divine favour.
The most widely spread deities were Isis and Mithra Female marble sculpture.
as evidenced by the inscription found in the Valencian València La Vella (Riba-roja de
Túria). 2nd and 3rd centuries.
town of la Font de Mussa (Benifaió).
[page-n-110]
ROMANIZATION AND THE ROMAN WORLD
The Apollo from Pinedo: from the deep sea to the Museum
On December 8th, 1963, a
group of divers found a unique
bronze sculpture in the waters
of Pinedo (Valencia), which
was taken to the Prehistory
Museum.
According to classical mythology, Apollo is the son of Zeus
and is one of the twelve gods
who live in Olympus. He is responsible for driving the solar
chariot and has the knowledge
of future. The Greeks called
him Apollo and the Romans,
Phoebus. As god of arts, he
takes the form of a floating-haired young man carrying
a laurel wreath on his head
and a lyre in his hand. Indeed,
this seems to be the more accurate interpretation of the
statue found in Pinedo.
The Apollo from Pinedo is a
copy made in the 1st century
of Greek and Hellenistic
models. It specifically seems
to be a copy of the original
made by Demetrius of Miletus
in the late 2nd century
BC
representing
Apollo
Delphinios.
The sculpture was probably
part of the cargo of a merchant
vessel whose destination
might well have been the
home of an important Roman
ruling-class
107
[page-n-111]
108
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Tetradrachm from Entella. Sicily (345-315 BC).
[page-n-112]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
The history of money
109
[page-n-113]
110
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The history of money
English manila for the
African trade.
18th-19th centuries.
Kuba fabric. Democratic
Republic of Congo.
20th century.
Gambling token. Thailand.
19th-20th centuries.
A wide variety of objects display
the different formats of money
spent on the five continents
at different times in history.
They have all served as means
of payment or as a measure of
value and have proven useful for
storing wealth: notes and coins
but also bracelets, weapons,
tools, glass-paste beads, knives,
axes, hoes, porcelain tiles,
bamboo sticks, textiles, bronze
or silver ingots, lead coins, salt,
tea, cocoa or quartzite stones.
The tour of the room does not
show only forms of money, but
includes a wide variety of pieces
that have been associated with
their management, use or social
perception, such as piggy banks,
wallets, invoices, legislation,
engravings, scales, weights or
calculators.
The coin as we know it today
appeared in the late 7th
century BC on the Greek coast
of Asia Minor and has been
the most widespread form of
money throughout history.
Coins dominated the economic
networks until the introduction
[page-n-114]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
of banknotes in the 17th
century and credit cards
in the 20th century.
The artisanal manufacturing of coins was one of
the most important proScales to weigh gold coins. 1760.
cesses of antiquity. The
hammered coinage lasted
until the 17th century, becoming a specialized technique by
which the coins of most of the history of mankind were
produced. The introduction of machinery for coin production goes back to the 16th century.
Minting
A mint is where coins are made. The
minting hammer first appeared
in the 7th century BC and lasted
until the 17th century, when
the mechanization process
became widespread. The
use of machinery allows
obtaining larger
and more
homogeneous
pieces while the
productivity increases and
so does the difficulty of forgery.
The minting process begins with the preparation of the blanks. En general, during antiquity, they were melted into molds, while in the
Middle Ages and Modern times the practice
of cutting them from plates extended. The
blank is placed between the two dies, one for
the obverse, fixed on the anvil, and another
one for the reverse, held by the operator. The
strength of the mallet marks on the metal the
designs on both sides
Recreation of the minting
process. F. Chiner
Bolskan. 2nd century BC.
111
[page-n-115]
112
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Drachma. Arse. 2nd century BC.
As from Valentia. 2nd century BC.
Timbre of Alfons el Magnànim. 1426-1451.
Ducado of the Catholic Monarchs. 1479-1516.
[page-n-116]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
The various exhibition areas provide a broad overview of
the history of money. The visit begins by introducing unique
monetary treasures from Valencia: the coin set from Llíria,
consisting of about 6,000 Roman denarii; the extraordinary
Islamic treasure of Santa Elena Street (Valencia) composed
of 1,940 pieces of gold which go back to the end of the 11th
century; and the one from Requena, formed by 223 Spanish
gold pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries. A selection
of four exceptional coins allows the visitor to contemplate
the best of the Valencian monetary art through an Iberian
drachma from Arse, a Roman as of Valentia, a timbre of
Alfons el Magnànim and a ducat of the Catholic Kings
minted in the mint of Valencia.
The origin of coins is explained and the most representative
emissions of Greek and Roman times are displayed. From
this point, the chronological order is abandoned to adopt a
thematic discourse where coins and banknotes are analyzed
from different perspectives such as manufacturing,
metrology, values and formats, monetary policy, authorities
and designs or the phenomenon of forgery.
In both public and private buildings, safes are
used to store money and important documents.
Models with triple lock make necessary the
presence of three different people simultaneously
in order to open them, thus achieving a more
controlled access to its content.
Safe made in Marseille. 18th-19th centuries.
113
[page-n-117]
114
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
The visit is assisted by the recreation of a 17th century mint
as a teaching resource for understanding the hammered
coinage, a traditional process that was applied for about
2,500 years.
Setting coins and notes aside, another area of the exhibition
focuses on introducing
other types of currencies
from different periods
and cultures. Displayed
in a large showcase
are objects used as
money organized in
groups according to
the material which they
were
manufactured
with. In this context,
tokens and vouchers,
and unique formats
used as money by preindustrial societies of
Africa and Oceania are
shown.
One yuan Ming banknote. Ca 1375.
One peseta banknote with the
Lady of Elx design. 1948.
[page-n-118]
THE HISTORY OF MONEY
Recreation of a mint from the
late 17th century.
The unavoidable topic of the custody and saving money is
also approached. In this part of the visit one can see a bigsize safe used by the County Council of València in the 19th
century, a scene that recreates a bank from the early 20th
century and a cash register from 1911.
Finally, different related issues are addressed, such
as medals, accounting, the numismatic tradition and
even the use of money with a different purpose from
the economic one through
materials of different periods
and backgrounds.
Indian-shaped piggy bank.
Domund. Mid- 20th century.
Medal of the SIP commemorating
the 50th anniversary. 1977.
115
[page-n-119]
[page-n-120]
Glossary and bibliography
[page-n-121]
118
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Glossary
B
Basilica: public building used in Roman times as meeting
place and venue of courts. It was located near the forum.
Blade technology: common technique since the Upper
Palaeolithic. It consists in preparing the flint core to extract
long and thin blades. This technique leads to a better use
of the stone core.
Bronze: metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually
with tin as the main additive but sometimes with the
addition of zinc or some other element.
Burial: disposal of the corpse in a grave or burial structure.
C
Comb: small bone toothed spatula employed to make
impressions on pottery.
Courtly Villa: palatial residence.
Cupellation: metallurgical operation consisting in melting
minerals or metals separating its impurities through a
crucible.
Curia: public building where the judges of the Senate met.
It was located near the forum.
D
Damascene: artisan work made by inlaying silver threads
into slots or openings on iron or bronze pieces.
F
Filigree: jewellery metalwork made of thin gold sheets,
gold threads and beads attached by welding.
Flake: fragment that emerges from the core of a stone
after hitting it. It is generally wider than longer. It can be
used as a cutting tool or for other purposes by changing
its edges.
[page-n-122]
GLOSSARY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Flint: sedimentary rock composed mainly of silica used in
the manufacture of tools during prehistory.
H
Hades: name given in Greek mythology to the world of
the dead.
K
Kalathos: cylindrical ceramic container with flat edges
characteristic of the Iberian world. Also known as “top hat”.
L
Lares, manes and penates gods: roman religion
worshiped these household gods identified with spirits of
ancestors who protected the family and home.
Levallois and discoid technology: knapping techniques
used since the Paleolithic consisting in preparing the rock
core for obtaining flakes, blades and points.
Libation: ritual or religious ceremony that consists in
pouring wine or other alcoholic beverage to honour the
gods.
M
Mint: place where coins are made.
N
Necropolis: cemetery or space devoted to the dead.
P
Paleohispanic or pre-Roman Languages: languages
spoken in the Iberian peninsula before the arrival of the
Romans.
Portable Art: set of artistic expressions that can be
transported. Usually made on bones, stone plates or mud.
119
[page-n-123]
120
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
Q
Quaternary: last of the geologic eras characterized by the
appearance of humans and the alternation of glacial and
interglacial periods.
R
Rock art: set of artistic expressions made on the walls or
ceilings of caves, shelters or rock formations.
S
Sedentary communities: societies, such as the Neolithic
ones, characterized by living in permanent settlements.
Stipendiary Cities: cities under the rule of the Governor
of the Province, which were obliged to pay tribute and to
contribute to the Roman army.
T
Tartessos: culture that developed during the end of the
Bronze and Iron Age on the southwest coast of the Iberian
Peninsula (modern Huelva, Seville and Cadiz).
Telluric Beliefs: beliefs based on the strength of the
natural elements.
V
Votive offering: figurines, usually of small size, made in
bronze, clay or stone, which are offered to deities as a form
of gratitude. Usually found in sanctuaries.
[page-n-124]
GLOSSARY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliography
• Ariño, A.; Benito, D. and Cervera, R. (2003): La Casa
de Beneficencia de Valencia. Biblioteca Valenciana.
Generalidad Valenciana. Valencia.
• Bernabeu, J. and Pascual, J. L. (1998): L’expansió de
l’agricultura. La vall de l’Alcoia fa 5000 anys. Museu de
Prehistòria. València.
• Bonet, H.; Llorens, M.ª M. and De Pedro, M.ª J. (1991):
Un segle d’arqueologia valenciana. Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
• Bonet, H. (1995): El Tossal de Sant Miquel de Llíria. La
antigua Edeta y su territorio. Servicio de Investigación
Prehistórica. Valencia.
• Bonet, H.; Albiach, R. and Gozalbes, M. (2003): Romanos
y Visigodos en tierras valencianas. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Bonet, H.; De Pedro, M.ª J.; Sánchez. A and Ferrer. C (2007):
Arqueología en blanco y negro. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Fernández, J.; Guillem, P. M. and Martínez, R. (1997):
Cova del Bolomor. Los primeros habitantes de las tierras
valencianas. Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Gozalbes, M. (2010): Guía de sala. Historia del dinero.
Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Jiménez, J. L. (1994): L’Apol·lo de Pinedo, Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
• Martí, B. (1996): Museu de Prehistòria “Domingo Fletcher
Valls”. Museu de Prehistòria. València.
• Martí, B. and Hernández, M. S. (1988): El Neolític Valencià.
Art rupestre i cultura material. Servei d’Investigació
Prehistòrica. València.
121
[page-n-125]
00.
000
1.4
hic
e
pipaleolit ic
h
mesolit
0.0
00
25
[page-n-126]
[page-n-127]
122
PREHISTORY MUSEUM OF VALENCIA
• Martí, B. and Juan, J. (1987): El neolític valencià. Els primers
agricultors i ramaders. Servei d’Investigació Prehistòrica.
València.
• Pérez, A. and Soler, B. (2010): Restos de vida restos de
muerte. La muerte en la prehistoria. Museu de Prehistòria.
València.
• Villaverde, V. and Martí, B. (1984): Paleolític i epipaleolític.
Les societats caçadores de la Prehistòria Valenciana. Servei
d’Investigació Prehistòrica. València.
• Villaverde, V. (1994): Arte paleolítico de la cova del Parpalló:
estudio de la colección de plaquetas y cantos grabados y
pintados. Servei d’Investigació Prehistòrica. València. 2 vol.
[page-n-128]