Temporary exhibitions

The National Archaeological Museum (Madrid) announces in its programme of the IV cycle dedicated to archaeological current affairs in Spain, the conference 

The Metallurgy with precious metals in Iron Age settlements in Asturias

Tuesday, 7 December. Assembly Hall, 18:00 (Free and open to the public until full capacity is reached)

by 

ÁNGEL VILLA VALDÉS (Archaeological Museum of Asturias), RUBÉN MONTES LÓPEZ (Archaeologist), ÓSCAR GARCÍA-VUELTA (Institute of History, CSIC)

Goldsmithing during the Iron Age is one of the most characteristicmanifestations of the pre-Roman peoples who inhabited the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. However, its study and dating have been hampered by the lack of archaeological contexts. Recent discoveries of several craftsmen's workshops in the context of fortified settlements and the identification of gold mines exploited prior to the Roman conquest, not only by panning, as was assumed, but by complex gallery mining, have greatly modified our knowledge of precious metal mining and metallurgy during the Iron Age.

The conference aims to report on the fortified settlements that have provided data on the manipulation and transformation of these metals, as well as the archaeological records that support their synchrony with the mining operations. These are expressive testimonies of metallurgical activity in a territory with abundant and rich metal deposits and a mining tradition that dates back to the Chalcolithic period. Their study opens up new perspectives for research into the provenance of the raw materials used (including their isotopic characterisation), the dating of castreño goldsmiths' work and the role played in the establishment of large-scale gold mining after the Roman conquest. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)