The Archaeological Museum of Alicante will host from April to October of this year the international exhibition ".The Treasure of the Barbarians"The exhibition will show, through an extensive selection of pieces from the Palatinate Historical Museumlocated in the German city of Speyer, the beginnings of the decline of the Roman Empire on the Germanic bordersas well as various aspects of everyday life of the inhabitants of these territories (3rd century AD).
The sample, composed of more than 600 artefacts rescued from under the Rhine Riverincluding the famous mirror with relief of the goddess Minervawill allow the public to learn about the discovery of the Treasure of Neupotz, one of the largest assemblages of Roman-period metalwork in Europe, which stands out both for the beauty and quality of its objects and for being a testimony to one of the lesser-known stages of the history of the Roman Empire.
The President of the Alicante Provincial Council Luisa Pastor presented this morning at the National Library of SpainThe exhibition, accompanied by the curator of the exhibition and coordinator of the project, will be held in Madrid. Richard Petrovszkyfrom the Palatinate Museum, and by the Deputy Director General for Museums of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports Enrique Varela.
The event was also attended by the cultural counsellor of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Spain. Gräfin Finckesteinthe deputy director of the German Archaeological Institute in Madrid Thomas Schattnerthe deputy for Culture Juan Bautista Rosellóthe technical director of MARQ Manuel Olcinathe President of ASISA Francisco Ivorra and the managing director of Cajamurcia Pascual Martínezboth entities, sponsors of the exhibition.
Pastor has stated that "This exhibition, the result of more than a year and a half of work between the MARQ and the Palatinate Historical Museum, will allow visitors to the Alicante complex and those who come to the Costa Blanca to enjoy this discovery found under the waters of the River Rhine and to learn how one of the largest collections of metal from the Roman period in Europe was brought to light.".
For his part, Manuel Olcina explained that ".The treasures that have been preserved and that form part of this exhibition are difficult to find on land-based sites, as those that were found were recycled or recast for other uses. The pieces in this exhibition have survived being at the bottom of the river, which has allowed them to survive to the present day.".
The tour of the exhibition, which occupies two temporary rooms of the museum, begins with a explanation of the main themes of the exhibitionThe crisis of the Roman Empire during the 3rd century and one of its best-known consequences, the barbarian invasions. The reproduction of the Augsburg AltarThe monument commemorating the victory of the Roman legions over the Khutungs will serve as an introduction.
Moving through the room, the public will be surprised by one of the pieces of greatest aesthetic value in the exhibition, the famous mirror with relief of the goddess Minervaas well as by the recreation of the streets of a Roman market and a temple in the south of France..
In the next room, the visitor will be placed in the year 260 AD and will walk through a Roman road. After the incursions into Roman territory, the Germanic tribes began their return journey using a chariot as a means of transporting their booty. Just before crossing the river, the 'distribution of the treasure' took place. two silver cups The treasures are also on display. Alongside them, the treasures of the Hagenbach and LingenfeldThe two men were also rescued from the waters of the Rhine.
Richard Petrovszkyha pointed out that ".it is a very representative sample of the culture of the Roman Empire due to the large number of objects that have been recovered over the last 30 to 40 years from the waters of the river Rhine and which provide us with very complete information about this period.".
The exhibition, which includes the projection of a educational audiovisual on the theme of the exhibition, it also reserves a space to showcase the development of the 3rd and 4th centuries in what is now the province of Alicante.
In this respect, the President commented that ".through this exhibition, the public will have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of the Roman world, as the pieces come from a territory with different political and historical circumstances to those that existed in the 3rd century in the lands of Alicante.".
Thanks to treasures such as the one from Neupotz, it is known that during the 3rd century AD. looting was common in Roman territory and that many of these raids were carried out by Germans, Franks or Khutungs, who did not always manage to reach the frontier unscathed. The Roman legions awaited the looters, who, when they tried to cross the river, were surprised by the Empire's troops. The fighting ended many times with the sinking of the lootThe remains of the shipwrecks remain as unique testimonies of what happened.
The cultural counsellor of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Spain has indicated that".this exhibition is an example of the bilateral collaboration between the German and Alicante museums."He stressed the importance of both institutions pursuing the interests of education, training and the dissemination of culture.
For his part, Enrique Varela congratulated the MARQ for ".the enormous work it has been doing over the last few years to bring international exhibitions, a trajectory that has placed it at levels of excellence, both in the field of management and scientific dissemination.". In this respect, he added that ".this complex plays a very important role in the network of archaeological museums in our country.".
This initiative, the result of a collaboration with the German Palatinate Museum, is part of the activities programmed by the Alicante complex for 2012, the year of the 80th Anniversary of the museum and of the tenth MARQsince May 2002 The QueenDoña Sofía will officially inaugurate the facilities in the Plaza del Doctor Gómez Ulla.
Finally, Luisa Pastor stressed the importance of this exhibition, which is being presented for the first time in Spain, and pointed out that it is complemented by the publication of a cataloguethe edition of a didactic guide for schoolchildren and the creation of a website on the occasion of the exhibition.
