The Iberians arrived in Basel

29 November 2023

Celts, Etruscans and German tribes have long been the focus of public and scholarly interest. However, little is known outside Spain about the Iberians, although these people were a significant cultural and economic regional power until Roman rule in 206 BC.

The Celts are an amalgamation of numerous tribes. This is also the case with the Iberians. Ancient authors mention the Cessetani, Ilercavones, Sedetani, Edetani, Ilergetes, Bastetani and Contestani, among others. The area stretched from the Pyrenees east to southern Spain along the Mediterranean.

Pictures: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The Iberians came from North Africa and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar after 1,000 BC. They developed a highly developed culture with relatively many cities and settlements with stone houses, gods, religious art and rituals, coins, textiles, writing, sculpture, (ivory) jewellery, arable farming, animal husbandry, international trade and shipping.

The area was rich in minerals, silver, gold and iron. That was also the reason for other people’s interest in the Mediterranean countries, first the Phoenicians, then the Greeks, the Punics and finally the Romans. The heyday of their culture lasted from the sixth to the first century BC.

Several towns and settlements have been archaeologically investigated and documented, including Ullastret (Ullastret), Puig Castellar (Santa Coloma de Gramanet), Burriac (Cabrera de Mar) and Masies de Sant Miquel (Banyeres del Penédes) in the north, Sagunt (Sagunt), Punta del Llops (Olocau) and Castellet de Bernabé (Llíria) in the centre and Baza (Baza), La Picola (Santa Pola) and Puente Tablas (Jaén) in the south. Several smaller and larger settlements have been located but have not yet been archaeologically investigated.

Overview of the exhibition ‘Iberer’, © Ruedi Habegger, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

Picture: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The towns are characterised by the presence of city walls and other fortifications, economic centres for the storage of goods, including grain, wine, olives, and other foodstuffs, artisan sites, temples and other shrines, and cemeteries with monumental Necropolises for the elite.

These urbanised areas were the economic and power centres of local princes and tribes. There were also many agricultural settlements and buildings. Like the Teutons and Celts, it was a hierarchical culture with a monarch and nobles/warriors at the top.

Since the nineteenth century, numerous archaeological discoveries have been made, put on display in various museums (especially Spanish ones), and documented in multiple publications (also primarily in Spanish). It is not only Iberian culture, society, and art that fascinates me, but also its early relations with other Mediterranean regions.

Picture: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The Phoenicians (roughly inhabitants of present-day Lebanon) settled in the region as early as the ninth century BC. Cadiz, La Rebanadilla, Cerro del Villar, Toscanos and Huelva are some examples. The Greeks followed in the following centuries, including the foundation of Empúries (Empórion).

These settlements were primarily trading places (factories) for storing and trading goods across the Mediterranean, including ivory, textiles, and ceramics from the East, as well as raw materials such as iron, wood, agricultural products, and foodstuffs from Iberia.

However, Iberian culture soon adopted Greek and Phoenician cultural features, as the exhibition shows through various objects. Ivory, glass, technological innovations and, among others, the Phoenician alphabet appeared among the Iberian tribes through these contacts.

Stele von Palermo (Teruel), 2nd/1st century BC. Museu d´Arqueologia de Catalunya

Although the Strait of Gibraltar was perceived as the world’s end during this period, it was the hub of Mediterranean trade between the East and the West until the 6th century BC. In the sixth century, however, a new superpower appeared: Carthage and the Punic culture.

Carthage was founded in 814 BC by Phoenicians as an essential trading post on the Mediterranean. The city became a powerful city-state, and by the sixth century, it played a dominant role in the towns also founded by Phoenicians on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar.

When the capital of the Phoenicians, Tyre, in present-day Lebanon, was conquered by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 573 BC, Carthage seized its chance. Carthage then dominated the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Iberian territories.

Picture: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

However, another superpower emerged in the following centuries: Rome. Rome and Carthage disputed power in the Mediterranean and also in Spain. Three Punic Wars resulted from this: 264-241, 218-206 (and Hannibal’s campaign) and the last 149-146 B.C. The Romans eventually won and, from 206 B.C. onwards, occupied the territory of the Iberian tribes. Rapid Romanisation put an end to Iberian culture. Emperor Augustus conquered the other regions of Spain (and Portugal) only in 19 BC, but that is another story.

Coins, writing and the language

The Iberian language was distinct from the other languages on the Peninsula. The other main languages were the Celtic-Iberian language, the Lusitanian language (Portugal), the Turdetanian language, and the Vascoaquitanian language (present-day Basque Country and areas in southwestern France). The Iberian language has three variants according to the region: northeastern, southeastern and the Greco-Iberian variant near Alicante. The written Iberian language already disappeared in the 1st century BC due to Romanisation.

Pictures: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The most important information about the Iberian script comes from about 2,500 inscriptions. Although still undeciphered, it has been confirmed that the Phoenician alphabet is the basis. There also seem to be similarities with the Basque language. After the Roman times (5th century AD), the Iberian languages had disappeared entirely as spoken languages, a parallel with the Celtic languages.

The high level of development in the region is also evident in the coinage system. Currency played an essential role in trade in the Mediterranean region. From an archaeological and cultural-historical perspective, this source is relevant due to its images and inscriptions.

Stele with inscriptions, 2nd century BC. Museu d´Arqueologia de Catalunya

Conclusion

The exhibition ´Iberer´ is presented in five languages (English, German, French, Catalan and Castilian). It is an eye-opener with many objects leaving Spain for the first time. For the first time? The silver treasure of Tivissa from the Castellet de Banyoles settlement had already stayed in Geneva during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Almost forgotten in northern countries, this culture of the Iberians and their relations with the Mediterranean’s oldest civilisations is a successful follow-up to previous exhibitions. It fits seamlessly into the museum’s permanent collection.

(Source and further information: Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig; Museu d´Arqueologia de Catalunya).

Impressions of the exhibition ‘Iberer’.