ORETANA NECROPOLIS · BURIAL 4

453 astragali from Alarcos

Game, chance, protection and death in the same tomb

A tomb at Alarcos contained 453 sheep or goat ankle bones, whose use is still being studied.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Image of 453 astragali from Alarcos — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

The cremation tomb of a man approximately 20 to 30 years old gathered a decorated falcata, spears, shield, fibula, buckle, pottery and 453 ovicaprine astragali. The assemblage turns an everyday bone into an exceptional funerary accumulation.

The astragali could have served for playing, casting lots, practising divination, acting as amulets, becoming tokens or forming an offering. Some perforated or worked specimens show distinct biographies; quantity does not automatically equate to a single function.

Calculating minimum animals helps measure the scale of the deposit, but does not prove that all were sacrificed in a single funeral. The museum preserves this uncertainty as a central part of the story.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: number of astragali, species, grave goods, cremation and published anthropological data. Interpretation and caution: «Prince of Alarcos», unique collective sacrifice and exclusive meaning of the astragali are not demonstrated.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology
Location: Oppidum of Alarcos, Poblete/Ciudad Real
Material: Bone, iron, bronze and pottery
Context: Aristocratic cremation tomb with warrior grave goods
Classification: Iberian collection or explicit interpretive resource
Visual reference: Tomb plan and astragalus assemblage · UCLM publication

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

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4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology

453 astragali from Alarcos

Iberians

Funerary context chronology, not direct dating of each astragalus.

Current record

Bone6 dated objects

6 / 6In the centre: 453 astragali from Alarcos

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Bone needlePrehistory · No individual dating published on this record
Ishango, without genealogical shortcutBatwa / Twa histories · More than 20,000 years; context ca. 25,000–20,000 BP
Oracle bonesAncient China · from ca. 1200 BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Games

Royal Game of Ur · 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Rubber before the stadium · c. 1600–1200 BCE for the oldest specimens · Maya worlds
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians — You are viewing

Funerary contexts

Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
El Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · Prehistory
Guadancil idol-plaque · 3750–2500 cal BCE · Iberians
Staff of Anta 4 · Late 4th–first half of the 3rd millennium BCE. · Prehistory
Abydos Boats · ca. 3000 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Queen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · Sumer
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Osmankayası and Ilıca · ca. 1700/1650–1200 BCE · Hittites
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Ceramic stand 1010 · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Two voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians — You are viewing
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Cemetery · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Livestock and mounds · c. 2050–1500 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Shum Laka · c. 8,000 and 3,000 years before present · Bantu-speaking worlds
The quarry remained visible · Mainly 6th–5th centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Three hundred lives in the sand · Mainly 4th century BCE–3rd century CE · Yayoi Japan
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds

Arms and military equipment

Bilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · Prehistory
Nahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · Prehistory
Holmegaard bow · ≈7000 BCE · Prehistory
Gebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians — You are viewing
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Dance with weapons · Towards 400 BCE. Xenophon's story · Thracians
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Tools in relation · ca. 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Two burials that must not be confused

The large assemblage of 453 astragali comes from Necropolis II of Alarcos, where these bones appear in approximately a quarter of the burials, associated with rich grave goods. A different context helps refine the comparison: tomb 36 of Necropolis III contained seven astragali with fire signs, a bone die and two smooth river stones interpreted as possible tokens. This association offers more concrete indications of play than the isolated astragali. However, it does not allow automatically transferring that function to the 453 pieces from the other burial.

Research · Pedro Miguel-Naranjo, M.ª del Rosario García Huerta and collaborators · A Punic scarab with Isis kourotropha iconography in the Iberian Necropolis III of Alarcos (Poblete, Ciudad Real)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Sources and references

Pedro Miguel-Naranjo, M.ª del Rosario García Huerta and collaborators · A Punic scarab with Isis kourotropha iconography in the Iberian Necropolis III of Alarcos (Poblete, Ciudad Real)

Expand this information and consult its provenance

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453 astragali from Alarcos

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

453 astragali from Alarcos

Hohle Fels flute

Rondelle de Mas-d'Azil

El Miradero spatula-idols

Naqada labels

Ivory tablets

453 astragali from Alarcos

A closer look

Two burials that must not be confused

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?