V.E.-Weapons: the foundations of power.
The abundance of weapons in Iberian burials is arguably the best indicator of the profound changes that took place between the Orientalizing/Early Iberian period and the later phase. As we have already seen, from the last decades of the 5th century BC (c. 425-410 BC) onwards the percentage of burials with weapons rose sharply. Perhaps the site at Cabezo Lucero in Alicante (Aranegui et al. 1993) is the best example of the dramatic rise in the number of weapons from c. 425 BC. During the 4th century BC this pattern became the norm, and between 25-45% of burials with weapons is a normal figure in the Southeast Iberian cemeteries (see Figure 13), such as Cabecico del Tesoro (Quesada, 1989) or Cigarralejo (Cuadrado, 1989).
Thus, while weapons had been rare during the Orientalizing and Early Iberian period and mostly limited to princely or very rich burials, during the 'Iberico Pleno' in the 4th century BC the right -or custom- of carrying weapons into the grave became much more extended, including wider -lower- segments of the population. Another significant fact is that weapons are now often found grouped into coherent panoplies: the simpler ones consist of falcata sword, round shield and two spears; the complex ones may also contain a helmet, soliferreum and dagger. It is not uncommon, however, for the concept of wealth through accumulation observed when discussing Attic pottery and other grave goods should also lead to the stockpiling of weapons: it is thus possible to find three or more spearheads, two swords and even, very occasionally, two shields in a particular burial, therefore disturbing the original 'functional' or 'coherent' panoplies.
Thus, on the one hand, the richer Iberian burials had a distinct 'military' appearance during the 4th century BC as complex sets of weapons -often decorated with silver inlay motifs- represent a considerable part of the grave goods; on the other hand, weapons also became common in poorer burials.
It has in fact been proved that burials in all wealth groups contain weapons, but that while nearly all of the very rich burials contain them, only a small proportion of the poorer groups have weapons, and these are usually simple panoplies without daggers, helmets and other elements of the richer assemblages (see Quesada, 1994b:Fig.5). It can also be proved, however, that burials with weapons are on the whole considerably richer than those without them, and that this is the case even if the weapons themselves are not taken into account when calculating the figures for wealth deposited in the different categories of burials. In a society much more involved with weapons than before, it seems that these differences in wealth must also mean differences in social status, an idea confirmed by the fact that the pattern of deposition of weapons tends to coincide with that of imported Attic pottery, the other great indicator of status and wealth (see Quesada, 1989, 1994b, Santos Velasco 1994 and especially 1989:83-85).
Hier etwas ueber Spanische Falcatas beerdigungen unsw
Der ganze link folgt gleich.
http://www.ffil.uam.es/equus/warmas/onl ... ualid2.htm
Gruss aus Holland.
Don Turan
:):)
