The best jewelry collection of the eleventh century is sold online

La guerra civil estalló en el Califato de Córdoba en el 1009 y se alargó durante más de dos décadas. El enfrentamiento armado (fitna) entre las dos facciones que pugnaban por el poder al sur de la Península supuso la deposición del califa Hisham II y la división de Al-Ándalus en numerosas taifas. La inestabilidad política se extendió y el miedo se impuso entre los habitantes. Por eso, según la hipótesis de los expertos, un rico judío enterró, en lo que hoy es el término municipal de Baena (Córdoba), un espectacular ajuar. Mil años después, una fotografía en las redes sociales puso sobre la pista a la Unidad de la Policía Nacional adscrita a la Junta de Andalucía. El resultado fue la incautación el año pasado de la “mejor colección de joyas del siglo XI”, según Alberto Canto, profesor de Arqueología de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Desde ayer, el conjunto se puede admirar en el Museo Arqueológico de Córdoba.

El Tesoro de La Amarguilla ―llamado así por la finca en la que se halló―es un conjunto de 623 joyas andalusíes del siglo XI que incluye 98 piezas de oro, plata y plata sobredorada.Among these goldsmith elements are four bracelets for dolls and ankles, whose ends simulate bird heads, as well as a delicate star of David locked in a gold ring.They also highlight 14 quartz and rock glass accounts, another four pink coral, 31 glass paste of different colors and 476 irregular pearls or aljófares."The state of the set is good, especially when it has been submitted for a year to a restoration process by the experts of the Córdoba Museum," according to the Junta de Andalucía, which has invested 15.000 euros in the recovery of jewels.

Canto, one of the world's greatest specialists in Al-Andalus and researcher at Medina Azahara, details it: “It is simply spectacular.I have not seen anything the same.We cannot know who hid it or who belonged to, because it lacks coins, but it is most likely to be owned by a Jew, since David's star is among the pieces is.It seems also the trousseau of a bride, because it includes many pieces to hang on the vests ”.

However, the university professor and researcher considers that the group is not complete, since its numismatic part has not appeared.“All Umayyad treasures include coins, which shows that in this case they have been sold, because these types of pieces have very easy exit, but the jewels.No antiquarian or collector would buy them.The lack of coins makes it difficult for us to establish exactly the moment in which it was buried.But I lean for the beginning of the eleventh century ".

The Treasury, according to the specialists consulted, was buried inside a bag or a ceramic container on the ground.Therefore, all the pieces were dirty, with land, which shows that it did not belong to any particular collection and that it had recently been extracted.Police investigations extended through the Cordoba municipalities of Lucena, Luque and Baena, where the treasure was finally found in an industrial ship.The person who had him in his possession led the police to a farm in Baena where he says he found it.

But, according to the sources consulted, their statements did not seem very coherent.In fact, as archaeologists are not convinced that the place that indicated as a site of the finding is correct, an excavation has not been undertaken to determine whether other elements had been abandoned or forgotten.

National Police sources explain that "a municipal archaeologist from Córdoba discovered in social networks some photographs of several pieces with possible archaeological value".Police investigators thus "identify a person, which in turn facilitated the identification of another person who was related to the holder of the pieces".The latter, being discovered, "intended to deliver the Treasury to the City of Baena", but finally he did it at the Junta de Andalucía, specifically in his provincial delegation of Córdoba.From there, to the museum.Police emphasizes that their investigation was only to “avoid the possibility that these pieces could become part of illegal trade.

For its part, the director of the Archaeological Museum of Córdoba, María Dolores Baena, highlights the work of the restoration carried out, which includes the most advanced techniques (laser technology) to return its original appearance.From this Thursday until June 6, it is shown in a temporary exhibition, although when it ends it will go to the permanent collection of the center."It is one of the best jewelry sets we have.The six -pointed star is something unique.There is nothing similar, which gives it an extraordinary value, ”says the director of a museum with more than 35.000 records, and that each record can include up to 500 pieces.