The Villena's Treasure was found inside a Bronze Age vessel in the sands of a dry ... bracelets; 3 spiral; 13 rings; 10 conical or trumpet form pendants; a globular.
Mauro S. Hernández Pérez Gabriel García Atiénzar Virginia Barciela González
In 1963, two extraordinary prehistoric goldsmithing sets were discovered in Villena: Villena’s Treasure and Cabezo Redondo’s Tesorillo The Villena’s Treasure The Villena’s Treasure was found inside a Bronze Age vessel in the sands of a dry riverbed. It comprised of a set of gold objects which included 11 bowls, 28 bracelets, 3 bottles and other small pieces (total weight equal to 9,754 kg). The treasure also included 3 bottles of silver (total weight over 600 gr), 2 iron objects and remains identified as amber.
Location of findings
Cabezo Redondo’s Tesorillo The Tesorillo (literally Little Treasure ) was collected from the quarry lands of the eastern hillside of Cabezo Redondo. It is composed of 35 pieces of gold weighing 147 gr: a headband that was 55 cm long and 1,2 cm wide; 3 bracelets; 3 spiral; 13 rings; 10 conical or trumpet form pendants; a globular bead; 2 headbands fragments; an ingot; and a bracelet fragment with a molding around the edge and a 15 spines row reminiscent of other bracelets decorations from Villena’s Treasure. Some of the rings have similar decorations to the bracelets.
Goldsmithing in Cabezo Redondo Villena's treasure was found in the sands of a dry riverbed
The Tesorillo of Cabezo Redondo was discovered on the eastern hillside of Redondo Cabezo
Cabezo Redondo is an exceptional Bronze Age site, not only for its size and complex stone and mud architecture, but also for the variety and richness of its archaeological materials and the large number of absolute dating. An important jewelry set had been recovered in the excavations that allow Tesorillo and Villena’s Treasure contextualization. Among the golden objects, we found a triple twisted spiral wire, coming from a western hillside burial; 4 golden trumpets recovered from both domestic and funerary contexts; 3 hemispherical head rivets with a square section appendix in the inside; and a golden thin sheet ring manufactured with inwardly folded edges. Also, several silver objects had been recovered including a spherical bead and thin sheet. The most interesting finding is a 12 mm-wide, 132 mm-long golden band, twice drilled in both endings. It is a bracelet held by two golden pins. Along with this piece, 83 4 mm-long golden nails and the remains of a bronze linked necklace were found. All these pieces come from Department XXVIII in a domestic context dating, by using carbonized barley, from 3110±30 BP.
The relationships between the sets
In recent archaeological excavations in Cabezo Redondo, hundreds of gold and silver ornaments have been recovered
The relationship between the Tesorillo and the site of Cabezo Redondo is unquestionable due to the location of the Tesorillo in one on the slopes and the similarity presented in both sets between the golden objects (several cones, little trumpets and a ring). The Tesorillo is also related to the Villena’s Treasure because of the barb decoration of the bracelet and the ring’s decoration, similar to one of the bracelets. The relationship between Cabezo Redondo and the Treasure is based on the decorations of the ceramics. The decorative technique in the typical relief on the golden bowls resembles the technique used in the vessel with pointy appliques (mamelones) from Department XX, dating from 3180±70 BP. On the other hand, the decoration of hanging garlands evokes the decoration of a vessel from Department XXV, dating from 3270±40 BP.
About the origin and meaning
The chronology of the site dates these sets between 1700 and 1300 cal BC
The meaning of the Villena’s Treasure has been the object of intense debate since its finding. It has been interpreted in different ways such as a religious offering, a way to symbolically delimit the territory and even as a form of hiding when danger was coming. Additionally, the bracelets have been identified as elements for feminine dowries that would ensure an exchange network, where the golden bowls were used to drink after the signature of the agreements, similar to the Homeric epopee. The small golden pieces are related to scepter adornments or swords and dagger helms. The golden threads of these appliques would be held to the structure by the square-section nails, similar to the ones the hemispherical head rivets found in the inhabited. The treasures would confirm the presence of a hereditary aristocracy in Cabezo Redondo between 1700 and 1300 cal BC that would base its power on the control of the routes of water, salt and grass exchange.
