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The Iberian funerary stele from Altea la Vella -found in 1972- is the protagonist of the new temporary exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Alicantea piece of great symbolic and cultural value which is particularly noteworthy for being one of the few that contains the representationof a warriorequipped with a military panoply from the 5th century BC.
The Member of Parliament for Culture and Education, César Augusto Asencioand the Mayor of Altea, Jaume LlinaresThis morning, they presented all the details of this new exhibition, which, under the title "The immortality of the warrior.The Iberian funerary stele of Altea la Vella", will remain in the foyer of MARQ over the coming months. The event was also attended by the technical director and the managing director of the Alicante centre, Manuel Olcina and Josep Albert Cortésrespectively, as well as the curator of the exhibition Jaume Martínez.
The deputy has highlighted the importance of this piece ".which has been the subject of numerous studies and which, due to its historical value, we have considered it appropriate to exhibit it here, at MARQ, so that it can be visited by all the citizens of the province in a larger space.". Asencio has also stated that ".this type of exhibitions, carried out in collaboration with the local councils of Alicante, allow us to turn the MARQ into a more lively, dynamic, accessible and interesting museum.".
The piece, made of fine-grained sandstonecontains a incision and friction engraving which schematically represents the military panoply of a warrior, a hoplite. In it,elements symbolising status and prestige can be distinguished such as an antennae-hilted sword with a straight blade, a shaved knife for personal use, a possible glove or gauntlet, a hypothetical linothorax or breastplate made of layers of linen, a Samnite-looking belt of bronze sheeting and shin-guards.
In this sense, the curator of the exhibition has explained that ".At the foot of the Serra de Bèrnia, there was a small village with a necropolis where they buried the graves of their dead and marked them with a stone slab. This personage had to be exceptional and, for this reason, this exceptional piece was made for him. He must have been a warrior who had been in charge of defending the territory and the interests of his neighbours and he deserved that the society dedicated a considerable effort to him, elaborating this stone plaque.".
For his part, the mayor of Altea thanked the effort and dedication of all those who have worked to make this exhibition possible and pointed out that ".thanks to this exhibition, people visiting the MARQ will be able to get to know a part of the history and rich cultural heritage that exists in Altea la Vella.".
Found accidentally in an Iberian necropolis in 1972, this funerary stele is a cultural manifestation of the Iberian period. Iron Age. The area where it was found belonged to and served the settlement a few metres to the south, the site of Altea la Vella.
Finally, he explained that the exhibition is complemented by the production of an audiovisual presentation.,an information panel and a monographic catalogue that deepen the knowledge of this piece.
