Title

Belt buckles

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

On the hill of La Muela de Garray (Soria) lies Numancia, an archaeological site situated between the rivers Tera, Duero, and Merdancho. The date of its foundation has been a subject of debate: some authors place it around 300 BCE (Schulten, 1945), while others suggest 153 BCE (Wattenberg, 1960). When the inhabitants of Segeda fled, they sought refuge in Numancia, suggesting that the city had already been established by then. It was described extensively by Appian of Alexandria, Florus, Livy, and Orosius, among others (Jimeno and Tabernero, 1996), providing insights into the city's structure and its population.

After completing his studies, Eduardo Saavedra traveled to Soria to work on a project related to a Roman road. This project led to the discovery of Numancia. The impact of this find on the scientific community attracted numerous scholars. One of them was the German archaeologist Alfred Schulten, who visited Soria in 1902, drawn by the discovery. After contacting Saavedra and the relevant authorities, Schulten sought permission to carry out archaeological excavations. The project was funded by both the Spanish and Prussian governments (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015). On 12 August 1905, after receiving plans from Saavedra, the excavations began, quickly uncovering artefacts that allowed the campaign to celebrate its success in the presence of King Alfonso XIII (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015).

According to a letter dated 1905, Schulten made it clear to Saavedra and Granados that his goal was to establish a museum in Garray dedicated to Numancia: “I do not want any of the objects found during the excavations; they should all go to the owners or be used to form a museum in Garray or Soria. Personally, I seek only the scientific results” (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015). However, this did not occur. A significant portion of the materials discovered at the site was transported to Germany in crates. The first items arrived in Bonn and were returned to Spain in 1906 by Koennen (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015). Nevertheless, a second shipment of numerous artefacts was sent to the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz for further study. These items were never returned. The removal of these artefacts from Spain was regarded as a betrayal by Schulten, leading to a campaign to discredit him (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015).

In 1929, Schulten donated the artefacts from Numancia to the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz (now known as the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie). His only condition was that they be displayed in a dedicated gallery featuring all the relics found in Spain (Gómez Gonzalo, 2015). Like other European archaeologists of the early 20th century, Schulten retained part of the findings to exhibit them in his home country. Thus, Numantine artefacts left Spain in 1906 for Mainz, where they remain to this day.

Description

Among the most remarkable artefacts from the Numancia site are the belt buckles. These served a dual purpose, being both functional and decorative (Cerdeño Serrano, 1978). According to Sánchez-Moreno (2002), "in an unequal, clientelist, and aristocratic society like the Celtiberian one, the attire of certain individuals, by exceeding mere functionality through its quality and significance, became an outward symbol of the power of its owners". The buckles discovered are adorned with geometric motifs and sometimes feature glass inlays along the edges.

Locations

• II B.C. - ca. 1905

  archeological site

  Numantia, Garray (Spain)

• ca. 1905 - ca. 1929

  archeologist

  Ernst Adolf Schulten, Gotinga (Germany)

• ca. 1929 - present

  museum

  LEIZA: Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Maguncia (Germany)