Treasure of the Marina Alta

Group of four gold objects; three torcs and a pendant. The torcs are bars of gold, with circular cross-sections, the thickness of which decreases towards the ends forming threads which are twisted to form the fastenings. In the lower part they form a loop and two of the torcs have two spherical beads attached either side of the loop (the beads on one of the torcs are squashed flat). On the third torc the loop is decorated with cross hatching and triangles of incised lines and from which hangs a pendant. This is made from a sheet of gold, cut back on all sides to form two circles decorated with impressed rosettes. The two sides are attached together by a thin strap, decorated with grooves, which is bent at the loop to link the two circles together.
The pendant is in the shape of a schematic lotus flower. Each side is decorated with gold filigree and circles of gold thread. The pendant would have been suspended by a double ring linked by a small piece on top of the pendant. Underneath the volutes there are two soldered rings from which hang other small pendants in the shape of pomegranates. Another ring at the bottom of the pendant would have had another piece hanging from it, but this is missing.

The four pieces of the treasure have been recently analysed by a team from the University of Valencia, who have determined that they are made of an alloy of a very high percentage of god (more than 90%), silver and copper. The group of objects were found inside a masonry wall on the site, which indicates that they could have been hidden. Recent investigations have proposed that the Pic de l’Àguila site was a fortress erected to control and defend Dianium and its territory during the Sertorian wars (80-73 BC). This is because various classical writers, such as Cicero, Salustius and Strabo mentioned that the town was Sertorian’s naval base and one of his last enclaves on the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, perhaps an event related to this struggle caused the treasure to be hidden and which would not reappear until more than two thousand years later.
A. Perea and C.Aranegui have proposed that the pieces of jewellery could be even older, however, parallels have been found in a collection of necklaces from Santana da Carnota in Portugal. These have very similar decoration to one of the torcs and were also hidden during the Sertorian wars.
C.S.: 12255, 12256, 12257, 12258
PEREA, A. y ARANEGUI, C., 2000.
FERRERO, J.L. et al., 2001.
OLCINA, M. y SOLER, J., 2002.