On August 29, Sergio Narciandi, a municipal water utility, was checking some pipes that crossed a steep slope in the municipality of Cavandi (Asturias) when he found something glistening under his feet. He took it down and called the Guardia Civil, who recommended that he notify the authorities. Shortly afterwards, María Antonia Pedregal and Ángel Villa from the Archaeological Museum of Asturias, as well as the professor of prehistory at the University of Cantabria, Pablo Arias Cabal, arrived at the scene. During a quick inspection, they found a second golden torque that had shattered into six pieces. “This discovery is very important because for the first time we know the exact origin of two of these valuable objects, which represented the highest symbol of prestige for pre-Roman communities, and the context in which they were deposited; This will allow us to solve many puzzles for which we lacked data. It is a window opened to a part of Iron Age history that was previously forbidden. [siglos V al II a. C.]“say research sources.
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Torques were prestigious necklaces, usually made of precious materials, that best represented the goldsmithing skills of the people of the Iron Age on the Iberian Peninsula (IXth-I BC), and which received this name because of their shape. turned They are rigid and round and were used by the Celts and Germanic peoples. Ángel Villa, expert at the Archaeological Museum of Asturias, explains that when the pieces are recovered, their value lies not in their sumptuous and rich elaboration, but in their quality as a historical document and instrument “to bring us closer”. to the knowledge of that time, its technology, its customs, its cultural roots and its social organization.”
“In both pieces all the techniques of antiquity used by a goldsmith of extraordinary skill are concentrated: casting, filigree, graining and welding, combined with aesthetic and geometric motifs and styles that now allow us to delve deeper into aspects such as the diversion other pieces whose true origins we weren’t sure,” he explains.
The first of the specimens found by the waterworks employee is a rigid necklace with a gold finish that can be equated to the torque set commonly referred to as Astur-Galic and is characterized by bars with finials and decorations that develop geometric motifs decorative. The experts also highlight the actions of the explorer, who immediately reported the discovery of the pieces without changing the location, thus giving researchers the opportunity to obtain all possible information. “It was important not to lose any data,” they point out.
The second piece, fragmented into six parts, was provisionally recovered from the Archaeological Museum of Asturias and checked for completeness. It is a rigid necklace with a gold finish and a ring with a rectangular section decorated with heads.
The pieces were not found with other archaeological elements, although they may have been in a wooden box or bag. “What is the reason why the bail was justified? What made the guy decide to leave this in the bush?” “We need to think about the archaeological context and its surroundings, study it and start the work that has a fundamental analytical part and in a quiet way at least in a year or a year and a half needs to be developed,” emphasize the researchers.
Archaeologists who analyze the torcs are currently emphasizing “the goldsmith’s enormous skill” right from the start. Spectacular”. “The basic analytical work begins now. The pieces may have been intended to represent an accumulation of community wealth, not that of an individual. We don’t know. Not even if they were intended for men or women,” although they are usually by were used by warriors.
To find an answer, the team of experts (including Esperanza Martín, Ignacio Montero, Inés Sastre, Almudena Oreja, Óscar García Vuelta, Alicia Perea) has just over a year. “The discovery cannot be understood in the way it was understood centuries ago, as a mere exhibition treasure, despite its spectacular nature, but rather as a window into knowledge of a history that was previously forbidden to us,” they reflect. María Antonia Pedregal Montes, director of the Archaeological Museum of Asturias, concludes: “A multidisciplinary team is being formed, the most advanced in the Iron Age, with experts from different national institutions. “The best”.
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