8 february – 5 may 2019

Metallurgy is the transformation of metallic minerals to obtain metal. Its origins date back to the Near East approximately 7,000 years ago. In the Pitiusas islands, all the archaeological objects of prehistoric epoch known are based on copper, metal that our islands do not have naturally and that, therefore, had to be transported from other places. In this way, the study of metallurgy provides information on technological development and exchanges during prehistory.

The exhibition “The Bronze islands” presents the collection of prehistoric metal objects recovered in Ibiza and Formentera: axes of different types, ingots, an arrowhead, a fishhook, … Various objects that inform us about the importance of metal among the prehistoric societies that colonized and settled in the Pityusic Islands from the end of the third millennium before our era. Most of these metal artifacts were not located in the course of archaeological excavations, but each of these objects was found at different times, when secret stores and intentional deposits were discovered, that had been hidden in the ground in various areas of Ibiza and Formentera for several millennia.

Curator: Pau Sureda Torres