Spain Day 21e - Streets of Madrid

These are the pictures taken on our last full day in Spain. Enjoy.

Spain Day 21d - MAN Part 3 - Byzantine and Islamic Sections

Here we started to rush as on the Thursday before Good Friday, public buildings close earlier in the afternoon.

Objects from the the Guarrazar hoard, from between 621 and 672 CE.

Votive crowns from the Torredonjimeno hoard.

Astrolabe made in Toledo by Ibrahim ibn Said al-Shali in 1067.

15th Century brazier.

Tabernacle door from the cathedral of Jaen.

Ornate wooden ceiling.

An ornate wooden dome.

Spain Day 21c - MAN Part 3 - Roman Iberia

There are many unique items in the MAN that I have not seen elsewhere and/or were distinctive in their quality.

3rd Century mosaic of a gladiator fight.

Another incredible mosaic.

Huge room with huge mosaics.

Mosaic of the Genius of the Year, a deity that produced and preserved everything that lived and evolved. 

Roman law on a bronze plate, for display on government buildings. From 81-96 AD.

A bronze water pump for mining from the 1st century.

A late 2nd - early 3rd century standard of a civic collage.

A bronze centaur lamp from 1st to 2nd century.

Glass objects.

Semi-precious stones.

A broach of ivory, gold, and semi-precious stones.

Spain Day 21b - MAN Part 2 - Bronze and Greek eras

The Bronze age in Iberia was from 2200 to 1300 BCE. Cultural diversity begins to be more apparent and easier to identify for modern archeologists. It is also the time where differences in economic status become more pronounced.

Pots from cultures of the Bronze age. An example of walled towns are depicted behind them.

Gold plaques make up this belt showing the god-hero Melqart fighting creatures real and imagined.

Using sheet silver a patera for drinking was made. Wolfs eating a human head while serpents surround both have been uncovered in the Iberian peninsula. What makes this item unique is the Hellenistic centaurs at a banquet holding instruments. This is most likely because of the interaction between Iberians and the Phoenician and Greek trading ports and colonies here.

Indicating the prominence of women in early Iberian cultures, the Lady of Baza statue has symbols of divinity and that of a spiritual intermediary.

The Lady of Elche has similar symbols as the Lady of Baza.

Pendants of heads made in the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE. They look interesting but odd and I would love to know more about them.

There was a culture on the Canary islands before taken over by the Spanish made up from ancestors of the Berbers. It is postulated that the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians most likely visited there. King Juba the second is credited as being the first to claim and record its discovery and various European sailors made small colonies here. The Castilian Spanish in 1402 made a full invasion and brutalized the population here which lasted for over a century and led to enslavement for its indigenous population for growing and harvesting sugar. The mummified remains below was found in a cave in 1764 and is from the 12th to 13th centuries.

From the late bronze age, this gold bowl or hat is from the Tumulus or Urnfield cultures. There are solar symbols on it, probably for religious events.

A Greek urn from the workshops in the Colony ports in Iberia.

A diadem from the third century BCE, found in the La Puebla de los Infantes horde.

Spain Day 21a - MAN Part 1 - Background and Prehistory Section

The MAN, or Museo Arqueologico Nacional (National Archeological Museum), was founded in 1867 by Isabella the second. It started with the royal collection of historical items. Its current location was finish in 1892 as a purpose built location for the museum. 

The sphinx, keeper of knowledge.

Statue of Diego Velazquez, famous Spanish painter.

Replica of the cave of Altamira.

The lobby has a great introduction to the world of history, culture, and people of the world.

It also includes a video timeline of the Earth and its history. The was an excellent display video, on a map of Spain, showing the different cultures that existed in the Iberian peninsula. It was an excellent visual primer on what the museum has to offer. 

The pre-history section of the MAN is by far one of the largest and best presented of any I have seen. I was very impressed by not only the items on display but also being blunt about what is conjecture and what is fact.

Found in the cave of Los Murcielagos are textiles from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras, made with esparto grass. Spain has many caves that have preserved remains and items from pre-history> The Iberian peninsula is the region with the best as well as most preserved finds of Europe.

Baskets and sandals also made from esparto grass.

Cut from schist or slate, these plaque idols from Cespedes farm are found throughout the Southwestern Iberian peninsula. Even though they look alike none have been identical. 

Throughout this section there are handy maps showing where items have been found, based n the topic of that sub-section.

A plaquette decorated with an equid, found in Castillo cave and part of the Magdalenian culture.