Unit 7. Ancient History of Spain. The Iberians and the Celts. Social Science

VOCABULARY

The Iberians

The Celts

Iberian Peninsula

Inhabit

Tribes

Chief

Fortified settlements

Crop farmer

Livestock farmer

Craftsmen

Warrior

Trader

Fort

Walled towns
The Lady of Elche
Headdress
Bust
Coil
Priestess
The Bulls of Guisando

The mysterious Lady of Elche

In 1897, archaeologists uncovered a stunning artifact on a private estate at L'Alcúdia in Valencia, Spain. This find was a statue – a bust of a woman’s head. Believed to date back to the 4 th Century BC, the bust features a woman wearing an elaborate headdress. Now seen as one of Spain’s most famous icons, the bust is known as the Lady of Elche.

It is said that a young boy of fourteen had overturned a stone when he came across the bust. The bust shows the woman’s head, neck and shoulders, and extends down to her chest. However, it is possible that the bust was originally part of a larger, full-body statue.

The complex headdress features two large coils known as “rodetes” on either side of the head and face. It is thought that this was a ceremonial headdress, and that the woman may be a priestess. The headdress runs across the forehead, some pieces hang in front of the ears, and elaborate necklaces grace her chest. The woman’s face contains an expressionless gaze, and when it was found, contained traces of red, white, and blue decorative paint. The composition of the stone indicates that it was carved at L'Alcúdia.

The origin of the sculpture is puzzling, some suggest that the sculpture is Iberian, and may be associated with Tanit, the goddess of Carthage.

BULLS OF GUISANDO

The Bulls of Guisando are a set of celtiberian sculptures located on the hill of Guisando in the municipality of El Tiemblo, Ávila, Spain. The four sculptures, made of granite, represent quadrupeds identified as bulls.

The Bulls of Guisando are examples of a type of ancient sculpture. They are associated with the territory of a celtiberian tribe called the Vettones. The Bulls may have been made during the 2nd century BC. 

The field around the Bulls was the place where the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando was signed between Henry IV of Castile and his half-sister Isabella of Castile on September 18, 1468, which granted her the title of Princess of Asturias thus ending a civil war in Castile.