Iberian Bronze Age

Sword with gold hilt. Gold, copper, Middle Bronze Age, Gusdalajara.
This object, unique in Bronze Age Iberia, illustrates how the sword became a prestige weapon and status symbol that began to appear at this time in the richest burials all over Europe. Designed as a dress sword rather than a serious combat weapon, this piece was, above all, a symbol of power.
Photos: Füsun Kavrakoğlu, National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, 2026.

Gold diadem, Early-Middle Bronze Age.
This example of Argaric goldsmithing probably came from a grave, like other silver objects of the same type found in female graves at the Necropolis of El Argar.
The diadem demonstrates the technical possibilities of beaten gold, in this case used to create a delicate piece of jewellery designed to adorn and proclaim the social rank of its owner, even after death.
Gold bangles, Early-Middle Bronze Age.

Symbols of Power

Bronze Age societies visually marked their social differences through the use of prestige elements, and metal objects played a particularly important role in this respect.

Bronze weapons and ornaments were widely used by many members of society, but only the highest-ranking people used precious metals such as silver and, above all, gold. This taste for ostentation extended to other exotic materials which came from distant lands and were therefore rare and very costly, such as ivory.

Within this competitive framework, amassing wealth in the form of metal objects was the first step towards valuing and viewing them as a primitive form of money.

National Archaeological Museum, Madrid.