Las placas ornamentales de la necrópolis celtibérica de Arcóbriga (Monreal de Ariza, Zaragoza)

Abstract

The Celtiberian cemetery at Arcóbriga, excavated by E. de Aguilera y Gamboa, Marqués de Cerralbo, during the early twentieth century, has yielded an exceptional collection of bronze plaques, which have been examined mainly using photographic documentation. This collection, which dates back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, includes several different models: simple plaques, such as the quadrilobate or polylobate models, as well as more complex designs, which are hinged and quadrangular in shape. All the plaques were made using very thin sheets of bronze, decorated using embossing or die casting techniques, with clearly ornamental decorative motifs. Most of the models have a strong symbolic content, the finest examples of which can be found in the cemetery at Numancia.