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The southern doorway of Jaca Cathedral is much less well known than the western entrance to the church, with its famous chrism and inscriptions. However, it was one of the first historiated doorways in the Romanesque style in the Iberian Peninsula. The alterations suffered over the centuries and the loss of original elements have undoubtedly contributed to this historiographical neglect.
A hypothesis for the reconstruction of the ensemble, based on the study of components still in situ and other decontextualised elements, will make it possible to highlight its singularities and propose new keys for reading its images. In this sense, the cathedral doorway is revealed as an important milestone in the creation of visual discourses and the configuration of entrance typologies at the end of the 11th century.
The archaeological site of Los Hitos (Arisgotas -Orgaz-, Toledo) is an important rural and sacred complex related to the Late Antique elites of the capital of Toledo. The archaeological and documentary records reveal the process of monumentalisation of Toledo and its territory throughout the 7th century, and allow us to understand the collapse of the Roman territorial model based on uillae (e.g. Carranque), and its replacement by a genuine Visigothic model in which monastic, sacred and funerary complexes, as in the case of Los Hitos, constituted new references in territorial planning. The architecture documented in this area is particularly valuable in this sense and context and, consequently, served to transform the image of the cities, territories and landscapes linked to kings, aristocracies and religious elites.
Video of the permanent exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum. Protohistoric Area: Celtic peoples.
Following organisational models that are well documented in Andalusian citadels, the Salobreña citadel is divided into three enclosures that had very different uses. The layout of the three gates that mark its perimeter corresponds to a very sophisticated design for the relationship and control of the surrounding territory: the port, the medina and the countryside. Inside, there is a complex system of checkpoints designed to guarantee maximum security, especially that of the enclosure at the top of the mountain, which is none other than the palatine area. In the latter we can identify the very scant remains of the main residence and a tower-qubba which, in addition to housing the throne room, served to stage Nasrid power in front of the jetty at its foot. Attached to the palace and at a lower level, we have exhumed a bath that conserved part of its original glazed floor tiles. The remains of both buildings are sufficient to affirm that their articulation and the presence of the tower-qubba correspond to the existing model in the palace of Comares in the Alhambra.
Video of the permanent exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum. Protohistoric area: Celtic peoples.
Biscós Square is located at the northern end of the historic centre of Jaca; it has been an open space for public use since the beginning of the 16th century, when it became known as Campo del Toro (Bull’s Field). It had previously housed the Main Cemetery for four hundred years, from the end of the 11th century. This space was the subject of archaeological excavations between 2005 and 2006, on the occasion of the construction of an underground car park. The work brought to light almost 900 tombs of various types, as well as the remains of the wall that had been demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. Among the findings were around twenty burials with Pecten shells that link this area to the Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago de Compostela. The documentation of the Main Cemetery has recently been completed with archaeological excavations carried out in neighbouring plots (Plaza Biscós no. 2 and Plaza Ripa no. 4), documenting around fifty tombs, belonging to the first phase of use of the necropolis and which mainly housed infants and children.
Reflection on the importance of the presence of the Jewish people in the Iberian Peninsula between the 4th and 15th centuries, from the communities attested in the Late Antique period to their fundamental role in late medieval Hispanic society, also giving special relevance to the recent results provided by archaeological research.
The strong networks of cultural exchange that linked the Iberian Peninsula and Egypt during the Middle Ages explain the extraordinary collection of objects of Egyptian origin preserved on the Peninsula. In addition to the rock crystal objects and the silver and ivory chests of Fatimid origin, the collection of bronzes from Denia, the treasures of Fatimid coins and the Egyptian ceramics that reached al-Andalus or, conversely, the Andalusian ceramics found in Fustat, have recently been added. At the round table discussion Sumptuary arts: specificities and similarities, several specialists will debate the reflection of these cultural connections in the sumptuary arts and the problems posed by the identification of the origin of the luxury products preserved in the Iberian Peninsula, Egypt and other parts of the Mediterranean. These objects are the best testimonies of a globalised Mediterranean where a dynamic cultural and artistic dialogue existed.
The aim of this conference is to explore different aspects of the construction of spaces and artistic production related to medieval knowledge and learning, covering different geographical, cultural and social areas of the Mediterranean.